Journal of College & University Student Housing Volume 48, No. 2 - 77

. . . the term secondary stress represents a complex cluster
of symptoms that are often associated with compassion fatigue
as well as burnout.
Procedure
Purposeful sampling was used in this study. All RAs are required to attend mandatory
training and orientation at the beginning and end of each semester. It was during
these sessions that respondents were given a verbal review of the intent of this project
and were asked to volunteer to complete the ProQOL survey. All RAs were invited to
participate (N = 125), but it was acknowledged that participation in the survey was not
mandatory and they could decline. Those who wished to decline were given an opportunity
to take a brief break. The survey took approximately 15 minutes to complete, and
respondents were given the self-scoring instructions if they wished to determine their
own sub-scale scores. The total sample size was 106 (84%) for the pre-test group and
115 (92%) for the post-test group, with 98 (78%) contributing to the qualitative data set.
Measure
The ProQOL is the most frequently used quantitative tool to measure the effects of helping
others who have experienced crisis as well as trauma. As stated earlier, the term secondary
stress represents a complex cluster of symptoms that are often associated with
compassion fatigue as well as burnout. The ProQOL measure is a well-developed tool
that has been around for several decades, is well researched, and is uniquely capable of
assessing the complexity of trauma. Furthermore, the scale has a demonstrated history
of high reliability scores and high construct validity (Stamm, 2010). The ProQOL has
three inherent sub-scales: one each for compassion satisfaction, burnout, and secondary
trauma. The current version, the ProQOL 5, was used.
The ProQOL instrument consists of 30 questions, each with a 5-point Likert scale
rating from 1 = never to 5 = very often. Participants were asked to view the questions
in relation to their current work situation and then to select the number that honestly
reflected how frequently they experienced this in the previous 30 days. A higher average
score indicates greater levels of compassion satisfaction, burnout, and secondary
traumatic stress. Within the ProQOL Secondary Trauma Stress Sub-Scale, several
questions are inversely scored. Each sub-scale contains 10 specific questions and the
same Likert scale rating.
Quantitative Methods
The pre-test ProQOL data set scores were reviewed for missing or misrepresented
data. Data consisted of aggregated totals of three sub-scales and the demographic characteristic
of the respondent's residence hall. Of the 424 data points, only 12 items or 3%
were incorrectly labeled. The scores that were initially coded as high, average, and low
were re-coded into 57+, 50, and 43-. There was no observable pattern to the labeling.
Thus, the labels were adjusted to reflect the allocated totals versus the corresponding
label. There was no missing data, and the data that was originally misrepresented did
not distort the data pattern after recoding.
Volume 48, No. 2 * 2022 77

Journal of College & University Student Housing Volume 48, No. 2

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Journal of College & University Student Housing Volume 48, No. 2