A New Approach: Using Biometric Technology to Explore the Physiological Stress of Working in Child Welfare

Job stress among child welfare professionals affects their mental and physical health and is associated with negative outcomes. Researchers have used self-report measures to document the stress experienced by those in the child welfare field, and this is the first study to use biometric technology across 72 h to identify physiological indicators of stress, recovery, and sleep in frontline child welfare workers in mostly rural areas (n = 32). A stress profile of the participants is presented on their heart rates, mean time-stressed, percent of time stressed, mean time relaxed, percent of time relaxed, mean sleep time, mean RMSSD in sleep, and body mass index (BMI). Variables were also examined by length of employment with the agency. Results indicate participants averaged nearly 16 h of physiological stress per day and were unable to spend much time in relaxation or recovery from stress. Stress appeared ubiquitous and possibly difficult to manage.