Testing assumptions about peer support specialists' susceptibility to stress.

Area of Science:

• Mental Health
• Occupational Health
• Psychology

Background:

• Peer support specialists (PSs) leverage lived mental health recovery experience to aid others.
• Limited research exists on stress experienced by PSs compared to other professional groups.
• Understanding PS stress is crucial for effective support and retention in mental health services.

Purpose of the Study:

• To characterize and compare stress levels among PSs against general adult and nonpeer clinician populations.
• To identify if PSs with current mental health symptoms experience different stress levels.
• To inform strategies for supporting PSs and other mental health clinicians.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional online survey administered to 738 PSs in U.S. mental health settings.
• Utilized Maslach Burnout Inventory, Secondary Traumatic Stress Scale, and Perceived Stress Scale (PSS).
• Compared PS stress scores with normative samples, stratified by current symptom levels (Brief Symptom Inventory).

Main Results:

• Overall, PSs reported low to moderate general and work-related stress.
• PSs showed modestly lower general stress than community residents and lower secondary trauma than social workers.
• A subgroup (21.6%) with significant current symptoms experienced substantially higher stress and emotional exhaustion.

Conclusions:

• PSs as a group do not appear more susceptible to general or work-related stress than comparison groups.
• A distinct subgroup of PSs with current symptoms experiences elevated stress, mirroring patterns in other populations.
• Findings highlight the need for tailored support for PSs, particularly those with ongoing symptoms, and other clinicians facing work stress.