J Korean Acad Psychiatr Ment Health Nurs.  2017 Jun;26(2):124-133. 10.12934/jkpmhn.2017.26.2.124.

Posttraumatic Growth and Related Factors in Firefighters

• Kwak M
• Bae J

• KMID: 2385698
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.12934/jkpmhn.2017.26.2.124

Abstract

PURPOSE
The purposes of this study were to investigate the posttraumatic growth, a positive mental and psychological change and related factors experienced by firefighters, in order to prevent PTSD and to for use as basic data for mental health promotion.
METHODS
This study was a descriptive research study with 186 firefighters working in two fire stations in Busan Metropolitan City. It was conducted from August 1 to 31, 2015. There were 5 research tools in the structured survey, including IES-R-K, Resilience Scale, FACES-III, OCQ, and K-PTGI. Collected data were analyzed with t-test, ANOVA, Pearson correlation coefficients and multiple linear regression analysis using SPSS/WIN 18.0.
RESULTS
The related factors affecting posttraumatic growth in firefighers were family cohesion (β=.15, p=.044), organizational commitment (β=.61, p<.001), gender (β=.16, p=.023) and amount of work experience in the current field (β=.28, p=.001). The explanatory power of these factors for posttraumatic growth was 43.1%.
CONCLUSION
The results indicate a need to develop and distribute intervention programs that focus on strengthening the resilience of individuals, organizational commitment and family cohesion to promote post-traumatic growth, instead of focusing on crisis intervention and follow-up programs after traumatic experiences.

Keyword

Postrraumatic stress disorders; Resilience; Psychological; Family; Organizations

MeSH Terms

Busan
Crisis Intervention
Firefighters*
Fires
Follow-Up Studies
Humans
Linear Models
Mental Health
Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic

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