The Professional Counselor | Volume 14, Issue 2 159 rates of childhood adversity and trauma (Brown et al., 2022; McKim & Smith-Adcock, 2014; Thomas, 2016). Yet, despite having higher rates of ACEs, participants in our sample reported moderate levels of compassion satisfaction, burnout, and secondary traumatic stress on average, which is supported by previous research and theory related to these constructs, as PSCs’ stress and job satisfaction are mediated by burnout (Mullen et al., 2017). Our examination of the compassion satisfaction of PSCs showed that as a whole, those who identified as female, racially minoritized persons, and those who came from higher childhood SES were more likely to experience higher compassion satisfaction. For PSCs having three or fewer ACEs, being female and having higher childhood SES predicted higher compassion satisfaction. For PSCs with four or more ACEs, being female and being racially minoritized predicted higher compassion satisfaction. We found these results, which were also congruent with Brown et al.’s (2022) study with CMHCs, to be notable. It may be expected that coming from a higher childhood SES would result in higher compassion satisfaction as higher SES may be a protective factor. Yet, female and racially minoritized PSCs reporting higher rates of compassion satisfaction despite having higher ACEs scores on average is worth noting, as this builds upon recent findings that BIPOC PSCs have elevated essential wellness (i.e., meaning and purpose) compared to White PSCs (Fye et al., 2022). In terms of who is more likely to suffer from burnout, in the total sample, we found that being male and being White predicted higher levels of burnout compared to PSCs who identified as being female and racially minoritized. Previous literature has shown that years of experience is negatively correlated with burnout (Fye, Cook, et al., 2020); however, our data extends this to other demographic variables. For those with fewer than three ACEs, having higher ACEs predicted higher burnout, suggesting that regardless of the ACEs threshold, as the number of ACEs increases, PSCs are more susceptible to burnout. For those with four or more ACEs, having higher rates of ACEs, being male, and being White predicted higher burnout scores. This lends further support to research showing that male counseling graduate students experience heightened levels of exhaustion compared to their female peers (Basma et al., 2021). Considering the higher rates of ACEs in the female and racially minoritized groups, it is notable that these two groups of PSCs experienced burnout less than male and White counselors. Implications for School Counselors and Counselor Education The results of the present study contribute to scholarship regarding PSC wellness, highlighting potential identity-related and personal historical predictors of positive and negative job-related outcomes that can impact PSCs and their work with students. These results are noteworthy for practicing school counselors, as well as counselor education programs dedicated to the continued health and longevity of the school counseling profession. Given that our sample was split in half, with PSCs self-reporting above and below the threshold for ACEs, we acknowledge that this may be reflective of those presently working in the field. This split presents two distinct profiles for PSCs, those who have ACEs scores above the threshold of four or more, and those who had ACEs scores of three or fewer. Regardless of profile, any increase in ACEs score puts a PSC at risk for being more susceptible to burnout. In monitoring their wellness, PSCs can reflect on how these risk factors could subsequently impact their professional functioning. Similarly, counselor educators can build reflective practices into their programs to increase pre-service school counselors’ self-awareness regarding their wellness. PSCs-in-training need to be made aware of the effects of ACEs, not only due to the effects on students, but also the effects they may have on their own professional well-being. Counselor educators and supervisors may advise PSCs-in-training to seek counseling to process their ACEs prior to entering the field fully after graduation. There are several evidence-based counseling modalities that aid in
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