@article{ref1,
title="Covid-19 patient care predicts nurses' parental burnout and child abuse: mediating effects of compassion fatigue",
journal="Child abuse and neglect",
year="2021",
author="Stevenson, Margaret C. and Schaefer, Cynthia T. and Ravipati, Vaishnavi M.",
volume="ePub",
number="ePub",
pages="ePub-ePub",
abstract="BACKGROUND: Nurses who are also parents may be at risk not only for professional compassion fatigue, but also parental burnout - a reliable and valid predictor of child abuse and neglect. In support, recent research reveals that parents' COVID-19 related stressors predicted elevated potential for child abuse (Katz and Fallon, 2021). <br><br>OBJECTIVE: We explored the harmful effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on nurses' parental burnout, child abuse, and child neglect, as mediated by compassion fatigue (i.e., a combination of job burnout and secondary traumatic stress). PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING: Participants were 244 nurses (M age = 32.4; 87% female) who were parents of young children (age 12 or under) recruited via chain referral sampling. <br><br>METHODS: Participants completed an anonymous survey assessing the extent to which they care for COVID-19 patients, are exposed to patients suffering and dying from COVID-19, and have lost family income due to COVID-19. We also measured their compassion fatigue, compassion satisfaction, substance abuse, spouse conflict, parental burnout, child abuse, and child neglect. <br><br>RESULTS: As hypothesized, direct care of COVID-19 patients, exposure to patient death and suffering due to COVID-19, and family income loss due to COVID-19 predicted greater compassion fatigue, which in turn, predicted greater parental burnout, child abuse, child neglect, spouse conflict, and substance abuse, (IEs ≥ 0.06, all ps < 0.05). Also, as compassion satisfaction increased, parental burnout, child abuse, child neglect, spouse conflict, and substance abuse decreased, rs ≥ -0.203, ps < 0.01. <br><br>CONCLUSIONS: Theoretical implications and practical implications for medical practice and child abuse prevention are discussed.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="0145-2134",
doi="10.1016/j.chiabu.2021.105458",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2021.105458"
}