Mental health after a critical incident: the role of parental status and prior training in firefighters.

INTRODUCTION

In this brief research report, we postulated that operations involving children can increase stress for first responders. Here, a traffic accident in which a mother and her child were fatally wounded was investigated. We postulated that firefighters with children and firefighters without pre-training experience would experience greater psychological impact when responding to this incident.

METHODS

All firefighters who responded to the incident could participate voluntarily. Participants (n = 49) were categorized by parental status (n = 24 parents; n = 25 non-parents) and pre-deployment training (yes: n = 25; no: n = 22) and analyzed using a factorial design including deployment exposure. The design permitted examination of family-related factors and preparatory training effects. Alongside sociodemographic data, the following data were collected: quality of life (WHOQOL-BREF), anger (STAXI-2), post-traumatic stress disorder (PCL-5) and daytime sleepiness (ESS).

RESULTS

Firefighters with children reported lower environmental quality of life (F(1,45) = 4.27, p = .045) and physical quality of life (F(1,45) = 4.11, p = .049). Significant interaction effects between parental status and deployment exposure were observed for temperament (F(1,44) = 5.83, p = .020). Pre-deployment training was associated with lower temperament (F(1,40) = 9.26, p = .004) and anger expression-out (F(1,41) = 11.99, p = .001). Deployment exposure alone showed no independent effects.

CONCLUSION

The psychological consequences of critical events appear to be influenced more by individual characteristics and preparation than by exposure alone. Targeted preparatory training can reduce anger-related reactions, particularly among firefighters directly involved in operations.