There is growing awareness in archival communities that working with records that contain evidence of human pain and suffering can result in unsettling emotions for archivists. One important finding of this work, however, is the considerable variability in not only the nature of responses, but also the nature of records that provoke emotional responses. Using in-depth qualitative interviews with 20 archivists from across Canada and one from the United States, and employing grounded theory methodology, this study sought to better understand the nature of emotional responses and factors associated with distress. Archivists described a wide range of reactions including shock, intrusive thoughts, profound senses of anger, sadness and despair, and ultimately at times disrupted functioning in personal and occupational spheres. One factor that has been associated with increasing vulnerability to distress in other occupational groups is empathic engagement, which is understood to have two elements: a vicarious emotional process and a cognitive process. This article explores the impact of personal connections and the nature of empathic engagement between archivists, donors, community researchers, and the records themselves on emotional response.

档案界越来越意识到，处理包含人类痛苦和苦难证据的记录可能会给档案工作者带来不安的情绪。然而，这项工作的一个重要发现是，不仅反应的性质存在相当大的可变性，而且引起情绪反应的记录的性质也存在相当大的差异。通过对来自加拿大各地和美国的 20 名档案管理员进行深入的定性访谈，并采用扎根理论方法，本研究旨在更好地了解情绪反应的性质和与痛苦相关的因素。档案工作者描述了广泛的反应，包括震惊、侵入性想法、强烈的愤怒、悲伤和绝望感，最终有时会破坏个人和职业领域的功能。在其他职业群体中，与增加对痛苦的脆弱性相关的一个因素是移情参与，它被理解为具有两个要素：替代情绪过程和认知过程。本文探讨了个人联系的影响以及档案管理员、捐赠者、社区研究人员和记录本身对情绪反应的共情参与的性质。