?Jag känner personligen att jag ibland är så mättad av de här berättelserna att jag inte orkar höra ett ord till om våld? ? Hur socialsekreterare upplever och hanterar våldsberättelser
Treatment of domestic violenceCoping strategiesVicarious traumatization and social workers experienceBehandling av våld i nära relationerCopingstrategierStällföreträdande traumatisering och socialsekreterares upplevelser
The aim of this study is to investigate and analyze the potential effects on a number of social workers that may arise from listening to stories of domestic violence, and how these social workers deal with the potential effects. The study is based on qualitative interviews with seven social workers that work with domestic violence. The theoretical perspective that we used was the theory of coping. The results of this study have indicated that the respondents have been affected of listening to the stories of domestic violence. Examples of different impacts that the work has had on some of the social workers is that they avoid movies and/or books with elements of violence, they are more aware of the domestic violence in the surroundings and there has also been changes in their cognitive schemas. The respondents have also developed coping strategies such as feelings to cope with a situation and collegial support. Another significant coping strategy is the organizational aspects such as professional tutoring, a balance in the workload and additional education. The aforementioned results and the results from previous studies are comparable, and we have been able to identify some similarities, which could indicate vicarious traumatization.