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Abstract
Counselors working in schools have important roles in effectively addressing childhood adversity. Research over the last two-and-a-half decades has asserted that adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are a significant public health issue (American Academy of Pediatrics [AAP]; Felitti et al., 1998; Garner & Shonkoff, 2012). Incorporating trauma-informed care into schools has the potential to maximize student-teacher relationships and create systemic change by encouraging a common language for understanding trauma. Counselors working in schools can provide trauma-informed professional development to teachers that helps them create an environment of safety and foster strong relationships with their students. The purpose of this study was to examine how personal trauma histories, school-level professional development training, and professional quality of life (compassion satisfaction, burnout, and secondary traumatic stress) were related to attitudes toward trauma-informed care among elementary school teachers working in rural Title I schools in the southeastern United States. A hierarchical regression was utilized to examine the impact of teachers’ (N=147) personal history of trauma, school-level professional development training, and professional quality of life with regard to their attitudes related to trauma-informed care. Results indicated that school-level professional development and burnout were significantly negatively correlated with attitudes related to trauma-informed care, and compassion satisfaction was significantly positively correlated with attitudes related to trauma-informed care. Additionally, the hierarchical regression indicated that school-level professional development training was significantly inversely related to attitudes related to trauma-informed care and accounted for 16.9% of the variance. Burnout was also significantly inversely related to attitudes related to trauma-informed care and accounted for an additional 8.7% of the variance, with professional development, compassion satisfaction, and burnout accounting for 25.6% of the total variance. Implications for counselors working in schools, counselor educators, teachers, teacher preparation programs, and advocacy for systemic change through research and legislation are discussed.