Stress and coping strategies among firefighters and recruits

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Author(s)
Chamberlin, Michael JA
Green, Heather J
Griffith University Author(s)
Year published
2010
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
This study compared psychological distress and coping strategies for three different permanent firefighter groups in South-East Queensland, Australia: recruits (n=42), on-shift firefighters (n=51), and firefighters who had recently attended one of 13 fatal incidents (n=52). Older firefighters reported more general distress but no increase in post-traumatic stress symptoms. Coping strategies tended to be associated with higher distress and post-traumatic stress, but once this general tendency was taken into account, seeking instrumental support was associated with lower post-traumatic stress symptoms. Results support previous ...
View more >This study compared psychological distress and coping strategies for three different permanent firefighter groups in South-East Queensland, Australia: recruits (n=42), on-shift firefighters (n=51), and firefighters who had recently attended one of 13 fatal incidents (n=52). Older firefighters reported more general distress but no increase in post-traumatic stress symptoms. Coping strategies tended to be associated with higher distress and post-traumatic stress, but once this general tendency was taken into account, seeking instrumental support was associated with lower post-traumatic stress symptoms. Results support previous findings that cumulative exposure and events outside work contribute to distress in firefighters.
View less >
View more >This study compared psychological distress and coping strategies for three different permanent firefighter groups in South-East Queensland, Australia: recruits (n=42), on-shift firefighters (n=51), and firefighters who had recently attended one of 13 fatal incidents (n=52). Older firefighters reported more general distress but no increase in post-traumatic stress symptoms. Coping strategies tended to be associated with higher distress and post-traumatic stress, but once this general tendency was taken into account, seeking instrumental support was associated with lower post-traumatic stress symptoms. Results support previous findings that cumulative exposure and events outside work contribute to distress in firefighters.
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Journal Title
Journal of Loss & Trauma
Volume
15
Issue
6
Copyright Statement
© 2010 Routledge. This is the author-manuscript version of this paper. Reproduced in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher. Please refer to the journal website for access to the definitive, published version.
Subject
Industrial and organisational psychology (incl. human factors)