Impact of occupational death trauma on burnout among mental health professionals: the mediating role of secondary traumatic stress

Abstract

Introduction: In response to growing evidence regarding the psychological burden of client deaths on mental health professionals (MHPs), this study investigates how occupational death trauma influences burnout, particularly through the mediating role of secondary traumatic stress (STS).

Methods: A structured online survey was administered to 224 MHPs working at mental health welfare centers across South Korea in June 2024. Multiple regression analysis and mediation analysis were performed using bootstrapping with 5,000 resamples in Stata/MP 18.0.

Results and discussion: Greater exposure to occupational death trauma was significantly associated with higher levels of burnout among MHPs (β = .515, p <.001). Occupational death trauma exerted a significant direct effect on burnout, and STS was found to partially mediate this relationship (β = .277, p <.001). Specifically, increased exposure to occupational death trauma elevated STS, which in turn intensified burnout among MHPs. These findings underscore both direct and indirect pathways through which occupational death trauma contributes to burnout, emphasizing the need for structured psychological interventions within the mental health workforce.

Keywords: burnout; mental health professionals; occupational death trauma; secondary traumatic stress; vicarious trauma.

Figure 1

Conceptual framework of the mediation effect of STS on the relationship between occupational death trauma and burnout. H1 = Hypothesis 1: Occupational death trauma is expected to have a positive effect on burnout. H2 = Hypothesis 2: STS is hypothesized to mediate the relationship between occupational death trauma and burnout.