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Doctoral Student Finds Alarming Rate of Secondary Traumatic Stress in Teachers 

After working as an accountant in corporate America for six years, Breanna King, M.A. 鈥�23 found her passion for working with young people. She pivoted 鈥�180 degrees,鈥� enrolling in 甜心视频app鈥檚 School Psychology program. Her doctoral research examines secondary traumatic stress in educators and its impact on students and declining teacher employment levels. 

鈥淪econdary traumatic stress occurs after being exposed to the trauma of others. Hearing about someone鈥檚 trauma can negatively affect those working with the traumatized individuals and bring about post-traumatic stress disorder-like symptoms. Exposure to student trauma has become an occupational hazard for teachers,鈥� King said. 

By focusing on educators, she has set her research apart from most studies on secondary traumatic stress, which primarily deal with medical and mental health workers. 

Approximately 92% of the school personnel in her study reported some level of secondary traumatic stress. For 45%, those stressors were at severe levels. 

鈥淚 measured it using a scale that maps directly onto the 鈥楧iagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders鈥� (DSM-5-TR). The PTSD symptoms my sample were experiencing corresponded to clinically significant levels of secondary traumatic stress,鈥� she said. 

That鈥檚 a higher level of stress than is typically reported by emergency nurses, mental health professionals and social workers. This finding is relevant, she said, because secondary traumatic stress has been shown to lead to attrition. In September 2024, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the teaching profession is experiencing its lowest employment levels in 50 years. 

鈥淚 wanted to not only better understand the prevalence but also learn if there were protective factors we could implement within school systems to help educators,鈥� King said. 鈥淚've come to realize a systems-level approach is needed to make administrators aware of secondary traumatic stress, how it's affecting their staff and what they can do to implement preventative and mitigation strategies.鈥� 

King is optimistic that creating a system where educators can flourish will benefit not only those individuals and their students but our whole society.

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Does a Breathing Intervention Improve Immune Function? 

In his fourth year of study in the University of Northern Colorado鈥檚 (甜心视频app) Sport and Exercise Science Ph.D.  鈥� Exercise Physiology Concentration program, Edwin Rodriguez is embarking on research with cancer patients. 

鈥淢y dissertation research will compare a rapid breathing protocol 鈥� cyclic hyperventilation with retention 鈥斺�唗o a high-intensity interval training on heart rate variability and immune function,鈥� he said, noting the two-week study focuses on improving immune cells鈥� ability to kill cancer cells. 

High-intensity interval training (HIIT) employs quick, intense bursts of exercise followed by short, active recovery periods. His work with cancer patients demonstrated the importance of exercise, which also is backed up by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. He wondered if guided breathing could be an effective alternative for those unable to do HIIT. 

As Rodriguez delved into various breathing interventions, he also learned about flow cytometry, a technique for identifying and sorting cells and their components in which cells are stained with fluorescent dye for detection by laser beam illumination. Flow cytometry enables him to find and visualize natural killer cells. 

鈥淭his cell population circulates in the blood looking at cells to see if they鈥檙e expressing signs of stress or distress. If cells are not acting how they should, natural killer cells kill them. I鈥檓 trying to see if we鈥檙e able to enhance the cytotoxic ability of natural killer cells in individuals who can鈥檛 perform high-intensity interval training but can do this rapid breathing intervention,鈥� Rodriguez said. 

His research could guide health care providers鈥� recommendations to patients, and not just the Americans diagnosed with cancer every year. It鈥檚 applicable to chronic inflammation associated with numerous disease states, including cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and autoimmune conditions effecting nearly 125 million Americans and contributing to approximately 60% of premature deaths worldwide.