Coping, routine activities, and recovery from acute distress among emergency medical personnel after a mass shooting incident

Emergency medical workers’ distress and recovery patterns after a mass shooting were related to their coping behaviors and routine daily activities. This longitudinal repeated measures study assessed 31 emergency medical workers’ psychological and psychosomatic symptoms self-rated for the weeks before, those just after, and one full month after the shooting. Coping behaviors and time in creative activities were related to increased acute distress; recovery was related to more time in constructive activities. Thinking about the incident was related to higher acute distress but better recovery on several SCL9OR scales. Exercise predicted recovery on Obsessive-Compulsive and Hostility scales. Studies evaluating emergency workers’ reactions to and recovery from critical incidents should use repeated measures designs, should assess short-term recovery, and should distinguish among symptoms.     

Coping, routine activities, and recovery from acute distress among emergency medical personnel after a mass shooting incident

Emergency medical workers’ distress and recovery patterns after a mass shooting were related to their coping behaviors and routine daily activities. This longitudinal repeated measures study assessed 31 emergency medical workers’ psychological and psychosomatic symptoms self-rated for the weeks before, those just after, and one full month after the shooting. Coping behaviors and time in creative activities were related to increased acute distress; recovery was related to more time in constructive activities. Thinking about the incident was related to higher acute distress but better recovery on several SCL9OR scales. Exercise predicted recovery on Obsessive-Compulsive and Hostility scales. Studies evaluating emergency workers’ reactions to and recovery from critical incidents should use repeated measures designs, should assess short-term recovery, and should distinguish among symptoms.     

Daily hassles,their antecedents and outcomes among professional first responders: A systematic literature review

Occupational groups such as firefighters, military officers, paramedics and police officers are exposed to a combination of acute, severe and accumulated everyday stress. Drawing on the daily hassles perspective on stress, the aim was to synthesize existing research on daily hassles in professional first responder settings into a theoretical model. A systematic mixed studies review with an integrated design was undertaken. The selection process resulted in 40 articles meeting the inclusion criteria. The selected papers represented two literature reviews, one qualitative study, eight longitudinal studies and 29 cross‐sectional studies. Five superior categories emerged in the analysis: Individual antecedent and continuously framing factors, Environmental antecedent and continuously framing factors, Appraisal and coping processes, Daily hassles and Outcome. Suggestions for future research are presented.