Self-care practices and occupational stress in the field of youth work: a scoping review

Youth workers play a critical role in the emotional support and development of disadvantaged children placed within the Out-of-Home Care (OOHC) system. Similar to other child welfare professionals, youth workers experience elevated rates of burnout, secondary traumatic stress, and staff turnover. Self-care is purported as a protective factor against occupational stress; however, a stronger understanding of self-care efficacy for the youth worker population is needed. This scoping review was conducted in accordance with Arksey and O’Malley’s (2005) five step procedural framework and aimed to (1) explore available research on self-care practices within the youth work field, (2) assess the quality of this research, and (3) consolidate existing information, identify gaps in the literature, and provide direction for further research. A search of four electronic databases and six associated journals yielded 556 articles. After screening articles against the inclusion criteria, a total of 6 studies were included in the review, with a quality assessment performed on the selected articles. Results indicated significant negative correlations between youth worker self-care practices and occupational stress, vocational dissatisfaction, and trauma-related symptoms. Quality of agency support, perceived capability, and the accumulation of occupational stressors were found to influence self-care engagement. Methodological issues identified from the quality assessment raised validity concerns, with lack of studies also impacting generalisability of the results. Existing research on youth worker self-care is minimal, with further qualitative studies needed to examine factors and practices idiosyncratic to this population. A self-care measure validated within the youth worker population is of elevated importance.