Purpose: This study examined the measurement invariance of the Secondary Traumatic Stress Scale (STSS) across racial and gender groups among public child welfare workers. Method: Survey data from 2,004 participants were analyzed using a series of exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses to examine the measurement invariance of a 17-item scale assessing intrusion, avoidance, and arousal symptoms of secondary traumatic stress (STS). Results: The study identified a single-factor model that combined all STS symptoms. A measurement invariance test revealed that the STS scale did not achieve acceptable measurement invariance between White and Black workers. For gender, partial scalar invariance was supported although the latent mean of STS did not differ significantly between male and female workers. Conclusions: Findings underscore the importance of further research to improve the STS scale to better capture racial disparities in STS and reflect culturally specific symptoms of STS, especially among Black social workers.

中文翻译：

---

测量继发性创伤应激量表的不变性：种族和性别差异


目的： 本研究检查了公共儿童福利工作者中继发性创伤应激量表 （STSS） 跨种族和性别群体的测量不变性。方法：使用一系列探索性和验证性因素分析对来自 2,004 名参与者的调查数据进行分析，以检查评估继发性创伤应激 （STS） 的侵入、回避和唤醒症状的 17 项量表的测量不变性。结果： 该研究确定了一个结合了所有 STS 症状的单因素模型。测量不变性检验表明，STS 量表在白人和黑人工人之间没有达到可接受的测量不变性。对于性别，尽管 STS 的潜在平均值在男性和女性工人之间没有显着差异，但支持部分标量不变性。结论： 研究结果强调了进一步研究以改进 STS 量表的重要性，以更好地捕捉 STS 中的种族差异并反映 STS 的文化特异性症状，尤其是在黑人社会工作者中。