Development, Validation, and Application of the Secondary Traumatic Stress Scale (STSS) in the Kenyan Context

Abstract

There is a growing recognition about the mental health of those in the helping profession, especially since they encounter traumatic clients and incidents. As a result, there is an increasing interest in studying secondary traumatic stress (STS) among this population. Many validation studies of the Secondary Traumatic Stress Scale (STSS) have been carried out yielding positive outcomes, yet there remains a gap in the local validation or adaptation of the STSS in Kenya. The purpose of this study was to examine the development, validation and application of the STSS in the assessment of STS in the Kenyan context. This was achieved by reviewing current literature from peer-reviewed journals between 2020 to 2025. The studies presented here were screened for their empirical use, their translation process, and their validation or adaptation of the STSS. Some important information extracted from these reviewed sources included the factor structures of the tool, the internal consistency indices, contextual suitability, and the translation methods. Global validation studies (Chinese, Italian, Urdu, French) demonstrated strong reliability of the STSS with two studies (Italian & Chinese versions) indicating some modifications or restructuring of the factor structure of the STSS. The African studies indicate that the STSS has high internal consistency (α > .80), but they all lack cultural validation, translation procedures and confirmatory analysis (CFA). Although the STSS has also been used in Kenya across the healthcare and humanitarian fields and has exhibited high internal consistency, no validation studies have been undertaken to test its structural validity. This gap raises concerns about the structural and cultural suitability of the tool within Kenya and Africa in general. This study recommends that future research should prioritize the validation of the STSS including translating, CFA, and measurement invariance testing to ensure that the STSS culturally and contextually reflects the phenomena of secondary traumatic stress within Kenyan populations and Africa in general.