AAFS 2026
What is a Deep Dive Session?
The Deep Dive Sessions are designed to showcase content and topics not typically included in the oral scientific session or poster session categories but are still of strong interest and importance to the forensic and greater professional communities. These sessions are designed to be highly engaging and interactive with the attendees, focusing on professional development topics, technology use cases, and other content aimed at furthering personal and professional skills and knowledge.
Thursday, February 12
4:00 pm – 5:00 pmMaria Ludovica Lo Bianco, BASc
Mercatorum University
Palermo, Sicilia, ItalyAntonina Argo, PhD
University of Palermo
Palermo, Sicilia, ItalyStefania Zerbo, PhD
University of Palermo
Palermo, Sicilia, ItalyGinevra Malta, PhD
University of Palermo
Palermo, Sicilia, ItalyThis study investigates vicarious trauma (VT) among forensic practitioners who are routinely exposed to traumatic material through post-mortem work and case reconstructions. VT is understood as a cognitive and emotional response to indirect trauma, distinct from burnout or compassion fatigue, and involves shifts in worldview and meaning-making.
A comparative cross-sectional study was conducted with 24 forensic practitioners and 17 controls not exposed to trauma. Participants completed four validated scales assessing:
- Emotional symptoms (depression, anxiety, intrusion)
- Cognitive belief changes
- Defensive and coping strategies
- Resilience and protective factors
Results:
- Forensic practitioners showed moderate emotional distress and greater use of defense mechanisms compared to controls.
- Resilience scores were higher in controls.
- VT appeared as cognitive restructuring rather than clinical psychopathology.
- Interestingly, some controls displayed similar or higher distress, suggesting that personal psychosocial vulnerabilities also influence VT-like effects.
VT among forensic professionals primarily affects cognitive and emotional processing, fostering emotional detachment as an adaptive response. While not clinically severe, it reflects altered meaning-making and coping shaped by repeated trauma exposure.
The findings affirm cognitive models of VT, underscoring the need for organizational support, structured supervision, and preventive interventions to protect forensic practitioners' mental health and maintain professional effectiveness.
Thursday, February 12
4:00 pm – 5:00 pmDonia Slack, PhD
Nova Southeastern University
Holly Springs, NCThis study investigated vicarious trauma (VT), burnout, and their impact on work ability among 585 forensic science practitioners using validated scales (TABS, OLBI, CES, WAI). The majority of participants were female (77.1%) with 4–20 years of experience across disciplines like DNA analysis, toxicology, and crime scene investigation.
Key Findings:
- Prevalence of VT: 83% of participants experienced moderate to extremely high VT, significantly above the general population, with traumatic case exposure positively correlated with VT (r = 0.09, p < 0.05).
- Burnout: 27.9% had moderate burnout; 34.5% showed moderate exhaustion. Interestingly, higher case exposure correlated with lower disengagement and exhaustion (r = -0.09), suggesting serious cases increase engagement.
- Work ability: VT negatively affected perceived work ability (r = -0.35), predicting 12% of variance. Paradoxically, burnout positively correlated with work ability (r = 0.47), predicting 22% of variance, indicating burned-out practitioners may still feel competent.
Implications:
- Forensic scientists regularly encounter traumatic material, which enhances engagement but also induces VT that can reduce effectiveness and increase illness-related absences.
- Findings emphasize the need for mental health interventions, workload management, and organizational support to sustain workforce resilience while maintaining engagement.
The study underscores the importance of balancing exposure-driven engagement with strategies to mitigate VT, ensuring reliable forensic performance and justice outcomes.
Friday, February 13
2:30 pm – 3:30 pmJustin Z. Goldstein, PhD
NYC Office of Chief Medical Examiner
New York City, NYHelen S. Alesbury, MA
NYC Office of Chief Medical Examiner
New York City, NYThis study examined vicarious trauma (VT) and wellness among medical examiner personnel over a four-year period (2019–2023) at the New York City Office of Chief Medical Examiner (NYC OCME), with a focus on mass fatality events and the COVID-19 response.
Methods:
- Four anonymous online surveys collected quantitative and qualitative data from all staff, including lab personnel, mortuary, administration, medicolegal investigations, and forensic pathology/anthropology.
- Surveys assessed stress, support, happiness, satisfaction, pride, investment, comfort, burnout, overtime hours, and included open-ended qualitative responses.
- Quantitative data analyzed with SPSS; qualitative responses analyzed using NVivo 15.
Results:
- 487 responses collected.
- Burnout increased from 2019–2021, then decreased 2021–2023, coinciding with reduced weekly overtime hours.
- Stress and self-perceived support remained stable over time.
- Qualitative analysis showed a shift in language and sentiment after 2019, with strong correlations in 2020–2023 responses (r = 0.72–0.78) compared to weaker correlations in 2019 (r = 0.44–0.50), reflecting impacts of COVID-19 response on staff experiences.
Conclusions:
- Practitioner wellbeing changed in relation to mass fatality and pandemic response, highlighting both stress and burnout dynamics.
- Qualitative data provided valuable insights into staff experiences and sentiment shifts.
- Findings inform the development of wellness resources and infrastructure to support medical examiner personnel during high-demand periods.
This study underscores the importance of longitudinal monitoring and combined quantitative-qualitative approaches to understand and mitigate VT in forensic professionals.