Abstract
Due to the nature of their work, sexual assault advocates are at an increased risk of developing symptoms of compassion fatigue (CF) and burnout (BO), which often lead to reduced well-being of the advocate and the organization. However, many advocates also experience positive outcomes, or compassion satisfaction (CS), as a result of their advocacy work. Given that advocates work within the context of an agency and under the direct guidance of a supervisor, the present study sought to determine if supervision styles predict CF, BO and CS. Additionally, individual characteristics of the advocates were examined as potential predictors. The present study was conducted with 121 advocates from community sexual assault crisis centers who provide direct short-term services to victims in acute crisis situations. Advocates completed a survey packet containing a demographic questionnaire, the Professional Quality of Life Scale (Stamm, 2005), the Supervisor Styles Inventory (Friedlander & Ward, 1984), and the Strengths Based Practices Inventory (Green, McAllister, & Tarte, 2004). Regarding supervision styles, correlational analyses found significant relationships between greater attractive supervisor style and less BO and between greater empowerment approach and greater CS. Trends toward significant relationships were found between greater attractive style and greater CS, greater interpersonally sensitive style and less BO, and greater relationship supportive style and less BO. Regarding individual factors, correlations found greater frequencies of supervision to be positively related to CF and BO. Trends towards positive relationships were found between CS and hours spent in contact with the agency, hours of supervision, and hours of crisis work, as well as between CF and hours of crisis work. Additionally, advocates with a personal history of trauma reported greater levels of CF and BO. Furthermore, advocates with higher education reported significantly less CS than advocates with lower education. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses found that, while overall models were not significant, two individual factors, frequency of supervision and personal history of trauma, significantly contributed to the prediction of both CF and BO. Implications for agencies and supervisors of advocates are presented.