Strickland Clare, Kloess Juliane A, Larkin Michael
Centre for Applied Psychology, School of Psychology, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, United Kingdom.
Department of Clinical Psychology, School of Health in Social Science, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom.
Front Psychol. 2023 Jun 2;14:1142106. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1142106. eCollection 2023.
Digital forensics analysts are a specialist group of police officers who are involved in investigating cases of online child sexual exploitation and abuse (CSEA), and identifying and classifying child sexual abuse material (CSAM) according to levels of severity, respectively. The existing literature that has examined this phenomenon suggests that this group of police officers are at greater risk of psychological harm as a result of being exposed to CSAM, and that working with this type of material has the potential to significantly affect their mental health and wellbeing.
The study presented here used Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) to explore digital forensics analysts' personal experiences of working in this role, and with CSAM, on a daily basis, as well as how they feel this has impacted on them, and how they manage this. Seven digital forensics analysts from a specialist unit in the UK took part in semi-structured, in-person interviews.
Three themes were identified, namely: (i) Once you know you cannot unknow, (ii) Constant struggle to decompress, and (iii) The ups and downs of working as a digital forensics analyst. Participants talked about the difficulty of escaping the reality of the sheer prevalence of CSEA, and that working as a digital forensics analyst ultimately takes a toll on one's mental health and wellbeing.
As a result of undertaking this work on a daily basis, participants reported experiencing symptoms comparable to compassion fatigue, secondary traumatic stress, and burnout, and reflected about the long-term or irreversible psychological effect that working in this role may have. Findings are discussed in relation to theoretical and practical implications, as well as directions for future research.
数字取证分析师是一组专业警官，他们参与调查在线儿童性剥削和虐待（CSEA）案件，并分别根据严重程度对儿童性虐待材料（CSAM）进行识别和分类。现有研究这一现象的文献表明，由于接触CSAM，这组警官面临更大的心理伤害风险，处理这类材料有可能对他们的心理健康和幸福产生重大影响。
本文介绍的研究采用解释现象学分析（IPA）方法，以探究数字取证分析师日常担任这一角色并处理CSAM的个人经历，以及他们感觉这对自己产生了怎样的影响，以及他们如何应对。来自英国一个专业部门的七名数字取证分析师参与了半结构化的面对面访谈。
确定了三个主题，即：（i）一旦知晓便无法忘却，（ii）持续解压的挣扎，以及（iii）数字取证分析师工作的起起落落。参与者谈到难以逃避CSEA普遍存在的现实，担任数字取证分析师最终会对一个人的心理健康和幸福造成损害。
由于每天从事这项工作，参与者报告出现了与同情疲劳、继发性创伤应激和职业倦怠相当的症状，并反思了担任这一角色可能产生的长期或不可逆转的心理影响。结合理论和实际意义以及未来研究方向对研究结果进行了讨论。
