Indirect Trauma Exposure Scale for Prosecutors: Operationalization of Indirect Trauma Exposure Among Prosecutors and Relationship to Secondary Traumatization

Research has highlighted an increased risk of posttraumatic stress symptoms among legal professionals, but a screening tool for indirect trauma exposure is lacking to support research and practice. This study aims to develop and validate a measure of indirect trauma exposure among prosecutors. Two nationwide surveys were conducted among Danish prosecutors in 2021 and 2022. The first survey collected open-ended responses from N = 572 prosecutors (response rate 80%) that were content analyzed to generate the Indirect Trauma Exposure Scale for Prosecutors (ITS-PRO), a 24-item measure of indirect trauma exposure that was initially validated using a focus group. For further validation, the ITS-PRO was included in a second survey among Danish prosecutors including a measure of secondary traumatization (N = 528, response rate 68.2%). Multiple hierarchical regression analysis was used to study the relationship between indirect trauma exposure and secondary traumatization. The ITS-PRO was the strongest predictor of secondary traumatization and explained variance in secondary traumatization beyond known risk factors. The items on the ITS-PRO most strongly related to secondary traumatization were contextual factors and there was variability in risk profiles across seniority levels. The ITS-PRO is a valid and free measure of indirect trauma exposure in prosecution that can support research and practice in preventing secondary traumatization.