Secondary Traumatic Stress and Positive Adaptation Among Social Workers: The Roles of Burnout, Compassion Satisfaction, and Perceived Social Support in a Cross-Sectional Study

Objectives: This study aimed to examine the associations of secondary traumatic stress with social workers’ positive psychological outcomes (resilience and post-traumatic growth) and to test the moderating roles of burnout, compassion satisfaction, and perceived social support. Methods: This study adopted a cross-sectional survey design and recruited practicing social workers from health and social care institutions in Singapore and China. A total of 673 valid questionnaires were obtained, including 354 from Singapore and 319 from China. Hierarchical regression analysis was conducted to test the direct and moderating associations among the core variables. Results: Secondary traumatic stress was positively associated with post-traumatic growth (β = 0.25, p < 0.01) with no significant association with resilience. Burnout negatively moderated the secondary traumatic stress–post-traumatic growth link (β = −0.13, p < 0.01) but not the secondary traumatic stress–resilience relationship. Compassion satisfaction negatively moderated the associations of secondary traumatic stress with both resilience and post-traumatic growth (β = −0.14, −0.15, p < 0.01). Perceived social support showed no significant moderating roles but was positively associated with both adaptation indicators (β = 0.19, 0.14, p < 0.01). Conclusions: This study challenges the conventional “risk-protection” dichotomy by revealing a nuanced stress–adaptation mechanism. Secondary traumatic stress co-occurs with post-traumatic growth (PTG) rather than baseline resilience, while compassion satisfaction exhibits a paradoxical “buffering-ceiling” interaction that attenuates the positive associations between traumatic stress and growth. Practically, organizations must move beyond generic wellness programs to implement dual-track strategies: mitigating burnout to foster social workers’ growth potential while leveraging compassion satisfaction as an early-stage shield rather than a late-stage resilience enhancer.