Coping and Post-Traumatic Stress in Male Firefighters

Crystal A. Martin
B.Sc, University of Northern British Columbia, 2005

Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of
The Requirements for the Degree of
Master of Arts
in
Disability Management

The University of Northern British Columbia
April 2009

© Crystal A. Martin, 2009

1*1

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Abstract
The purpose of this study was to determine whether emotional intelligence and proactive
coping had an effect on firefighters' susceptibility to developing post-traumatic stress. This
study compared data from an existing sample of 94 firefighters. Data was split by subscale
for the Impact of Events Scale - Revised questionnaire, and was analyzed using regression.
The results indicated that firefighters higher in emotional intelligence experienced greater
symptoms of avoidance than firefighters lower in emotional intelligence. Additionally, the
data supported the hypothesis that firefighters who were higher in proactive coping would
experience less anxiety. However, results of the study indicated that emotional intelligence
did not influence symptoms of hyperarousal, intrusions, or anxiety, and proactive coping
does not predict avoidance, hyperarousal, or intrusions.

n

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Abstract
Table of Contents

mi

List of Appendixes

IV

List of Tables
Introduction
Chapter One

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

Chapter Two

Stress
Effects of Stress
Stress and Emotion

112
17
21

Chapter Three

Coping
Emotional Intelligence
Proactive Coping

23
25
30

Chapter Four

Hypotheses
Emotional Intelligence
Proactive Coping

32
32
34

Chapter Five

Method
Participants
Procedure
Measures
Treatment of Data

35
35
36
36
37

Chapter Six

Results
Regression Analyses

37
37

Chapter Seven

Discussion
Emotional Intelligence
Proactive Coping
Limitations
Future Research

38
38
42
46
47

1

Bibliography

49

Appendixes

56

Table

67

in

List of Appendixes
Appendix A: Introductory Letter

56

Appendix B: Consent Form

57

Appendix C: Demographic Information Questionnaire

59

Appendix D: Wellness Resources

60

Appendix E: Impact of Events - Revised Scale

61

Appendix F: Symptom Checklist-90 - Revised

63

Appendix G: Proactive Coping Scale

64

Appendix H: Emotional Intelligence Scale

65

IV

List of Tables
Table I: Demographic Descriptive Frequencies

v

67

Coping and Post-Traumatic Stress in Firefighters
Introduction
There is a vast amount of literature investigating how Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
(PTSD) affects firefighters and other emergency service personnel, and whether or not
intervention strategies such as Critical Incident Stress Debriefing (CISD) are effective in
preventing the onset of PTSD symptoms (e.g., Hokanson & Wirth, 2000; Miller, 1999;
Mitchell & Everly, 1995). However, little research has been conducted over the last 35 years
(Nurmi, 1999) that investigates the role that cumulative stress (Moran & Colless, 1995) plays
in the development of PTSD. Even less research has been conducted on coping factors such
as emotional intelligence, proactive coping, and their relationship to PTSD. Consequently,
this study will investigate the various aspects of coping, such as emotional intelligence and
proactive coping, which may affect a firefighter's level of susceptibility to developing PTSD.
In addition, this paper will provide a review of the current literature describing stress, coping,
and the nature, causes, risk factors, and effect of PTSD on firefighters, and the types of
treatment available.
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
It is only within the last 10 years that researchers have started investigating the
possibility of industrial accidents and other work-related incidents as a cause of PTSD
(MacDonald, Colotla, Flamer, & Karlinsky, 2003). The majority of past research has been
narrowly focused on individuals who have experienced specific types of trauma such as
violent sexual assaults, military combat, and catastrophic natural disasters; whereas current
research investigating PTSD has focused on how emergency service personnel such as

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firefighters, police officers and paramedics react to specific types of traumatic events, and the
clinical manifestations of PTSD symptoms (MacDonald et al., 2003).
A traumatic event is an event in which a person has "experienced, witnessed, or was
confronted with an event that involved actual or threatened death or serious injury, or a threat
to the physical integrity of self or others" (DSM-IV-TR, 2000, p. 467) which was vastly
outside the normal realm of human experience (Dougall, Hyman, Hayward, McFeeley, &
Baum, 2001). It is important to note that this definition does not include experiences such as
severe humiliation or disappointment (Brunello et al., 2004).
In current literature, traumatic events are also known as critical incidents (Nurmi,
1999). Unfortunately, there is some confusion as to the exact meaning of critical incident.
According to Everly (1999) "the term critical incident is often confused with the word crisis"
(p. 77) leading some individuals to believe that the critical incident is the crisis response.
However, Everly (1999) suggests that the critical incident is best described as "the stimulus
that sets the stage for the crisis response" (p. 77) rather than the crisis response itself.
Researchers vary in their opinion of when a stressor is severe enough to be an
adequate cause of PTSD by itself, as some researchers believe that vulnerability also plays a
factor in the development of this disorder (Weisasth, 1989). According to Weisaeth (1989),
this disagreement among researchers is fuelled by methodological limitations in past studies
such as the use of retrospective designs, non-representative samples, and a lack of control
groups.
One reason why emergency service workers may be more likely to develop PTSD
than individuals in other professions is because their job is more likely to place them in
situations where they are faced with distressing sounds, smells, or sights (Back, 1992). For

2

example, the occupational duties of firefighters will often require them to enter buildings
with temperatures that exceed 1000°F, little oxygen, limited visibility, and a very real risk
that dangerous gases may combust (Fannin & Dabbs, 2003).
Additionally, there are certain types of incidents that emergency service personnel
find more distressing than others. The events most commonly described by firefighters as
highly distressing include line-of-duty deaths, an accident with multiple casualties, a
seriously injured member of the rescue team, an emergency worker's suicide, incidents
involving the traumatic death or injury of a child, and a victim who is known to the
firefighter (Mitchell & Everly, 1996). As well, media presentations can increase the negative
effect that an incident has on emergency service personnel because they are brief, highly
edited, and only the most violent and graphic aspects of an incident and the reactions it
causes are broadcast to the public (Moran, 1998). Moran and Colless (1995) found that
factors such as bells, shift work, and dealing with other organizations were often cited by
firefighters as causes of stress; however, these factors were seldom considered by firefighters
to be major sources of stress. Instead, like Mitchell and Everly (1996), Moran and Colless
(1995) found that motor vehicle accidents, deaths, fires, incidents involving children, and
burns were considered to be the most stressful aspects of firefighting. Additional stressful
incidents often include factors such as inadequate police protection, attacks by crowds while
providing medical care, an increased number of dispatches, an overwhelming number of
injuries and fatalities (Wee, Mills, & Koehler, 1999), distraught relatives or bystanders,
physically demanding or prolonged incidents, severe injuries such as deformations, and
belief of failed responsibility (Boudreaux & McCabe, 2000). Finally, situations in which the
emergency worker has had to fear for her or his personal safety (Clifford, 1992), witness

3

parental grief, or is blamed for the death or injury of a victim can also contribute to the
development of PTSD (Back, 1992).
In order to be diagnosed with PTSD, the symptoms associated with this disorder must
be present for a minimum of one month. The symptoms include recurring nightmares,
intrusive images, physiological reactivity (i.e., uncontrollable shaking), and heart palpitations
that can be triggered by events, smells, sights, and people that remind the affected individual
of the traumatic event. Individuals suffering from PTSD often report feeling numb, and will
attempt to avoid places, people, thoughts, and other activities that may trigger memories of
the event. Other common symptoms include withdrawal from family members and friends,
and a loss of interest in activities that he or she previously enjoyed. Moreover, these
individuals may become irritable, experience difficulties concentrating, have trouble sleeping,
and be easily startled (DSM-IV-TR, 2000).
The symptoms of PTSD can have a profound effect on one's ability to function
efficiently, not only in her or his personal life, but also at work. However, despite years of
research, it is still unclear exactly how PTSD symptoms and work outcomes are related
(Smith, Schnurr, & Rosenheck, 2005). Past research suggests that the level of impairment
that occurs within the workplace is dependent on the type of traumatic event that was
experienced and whether the event is related to the workplace. If an event occurs within the
work environment or is associated with one's work duties, then it is likely that the
presentation of symptoms at work will be more severe (Bolton et al., 2004). However,
regardless of whether or not a traumatic event occurs at the workplace, the affected
individual's performance at work is likely to be severely diminished. Affected employees
may appear to zone out, forget where they are, lose track of time, and appear unreliable, lazy,

4

unmotivated, and irresponsible (Bolton et al., 2004). Diminished work performance among
firefighters is especially concerning since the profession of firefighting puts firefighters in a
position where their actions can affect not only the lives of the people they are saving, but
also the lives of their coworkers. Firefighting is undoubtedly a dangerous profession, and a
reckless decision, lengthy bout of hesitation, or an ill-timed rescue attempt could place the
lives of those around the affected firefighter in immediate and potentially life-threatening
danger.
Interestingly, despite the dangers firefighters face while on duty, they still tend to
underestimate their chances of being negatively affected (Moran & Colless, 1995). At the
same time, current research suggests that individuals who are under a greater amount of
stress and pressure at work are at a higher risk of developing PTSD, perhaps because these
individuals are more likely to use maladaptive coping methods such as behavioral and mental
disengagement, black humor, and venting of emotions. These maladaptive coping strategies
may increase the individual's stress levels because they do little to actually reduce stress. A
study by Haisch and Meyers (2004) which assessed the relationship between risk for PTSD,
coping, job stress, and work assignment in a law enforcement sample, found that participants
at a higher risk of developing PTSD were more likely to use drugs, alcohol, and denial to
cope with stressful situations.
As well, individuals who have certain personality characteristics may be more
vulnerable to developing PTSD. Haisch and Meyers (2004) found that firefighters who are
introverted, disagreeable, irresponsible, and more neurotic are more likely to develop PTSD.
Moreover, those individuals in Regehr et al.'s (2002) study who were suspicious, hostile,
demanding, controlling, and manipulative were more likely to have taken a mental health

5

stress leave after being exposed to a traumatic event. In contrast, other researchers such as
Moran and Britton (1994) have found that personality variables are not related to the
likelihood of developing PTSD after experiencing a traumatic event. However, Moran and
Britton (1994) suggest that the results of studies investigating the link between personality
and PTSD could be influenced by various methodological factors, especially since the
relationship between personality and PTSD is not straightforward. Obviously more research
is needed regarding the extent to which personality characteristics contribute to one's
susceptibility to developing PTSD (Regehr et al., 2002).
One factor that is thought to increase resilience to PTSD is social support (Haslam &
Mallon, 2003). Corneil et al. (1999) found that those Canadian and American firefighters
who had higher levels of social support from families and coworkers, and lower levels of
work stress were less likely to develop PTSD. Additionally, the social support system
between firefighters is unique because firefighters live with their supervisors and co-workers
for considerable periods of time while on duty, and they can only leave the confines of the
fire station when responding to a call. Therefore, as a result of the vast amount of time that
firefighters spend together, their social network could be compared to a family system. As a
result, work-related social support has been seen as such a strong protective measure against
PTSD that it is considered to be equivalent to the protective measures of family support
(Corneil et al., 1999). Furthermore, firefighters who have stronger support systems tend to
cope with critical incidents better than those firefighters without strong support systems. For
example, firefighters with adequate support networks tend to dream or fantasize less as a
coping mechanism after experiencing a traumatic event, release less epinephrine, experience
lower stress overall, and experience fewer long-term intrusions (Dougall et al., 2001), while

6

stressors from home or work (i.e., marital discord; new baby; increased workload; company
downsizing; etc.) that reduce the individual's support system have been found to increase the
severity of PTSD symptoms (Bolton et al, 2004).
Symptoms of PTSD can be difficult to manage; therefore, a number of different types
of intervention and treatment programs have been developed. The most commonly used form
of intervention is critical incident stress debriefing (CISD). Based on crisis intervention
theory, CISD is a seven stage debriefing process in which either a series of traumatic events
or a singular traumatic event is discussed in a group setting (Mitchell & Everly, 1995). CISD
is meant to be used as a form of early intervention which must be implemented within three
days of the traumatic event. It is suggested that one of the major benefits of CISD is that it
allows individuals to release emotions in a supportive and structured setting (Mitchell &
Everly, 1995). Mitchell and Everly (1995) believe that the purpose of CISD is to facilitate the
recovery of the affected individual by preventing the development of post-traumatic
symptoms. Mitchell and Everly (1995) suggest that post-traumatic symptoms can be
prevented by alleviating the psychological impact of the critical incident, promoting the
return of homeostatic mechanisms to their previous level of optimal functioning, and by
acting as an early screening tool for individuals who may be in need of help after
experiencing a traumatic event.
Interestingly, CISD is an extremely popular form of intervention among firefighters
and other emergency service personnel despite the controversy surrounding its effectiveness.
Some studies have shown that CISD does not significantly reduce traumatic stress reactions
to traumatic events, nor does it improve one's ability to cope with these events (Harris,
Baloglu, & Stacks, 2001). Unfortunately, it is not easy to assess the effectiveness of CISD

7

due to the amount of variability in its aims (Moran, 1998). For example, if one believes that
the goal of CISD is to provide social support and a safe place to vent feelings, CISD appears
to work. However, the results are not as clear cut when the goal is to reduce the symptoms of
PTSD, and therefore the effectiveness of CISD in this light is debatable (Moran, 1998).
Neely and Spitzer (1997) suggest that CISD is not the most effective means of intervention
as it focuses on a single event rather than focusing on the cumulative stress that emergency
workers face. Understandably, due to the contradictory results that researchers have found
regarding the effectiveness of CISD, the efficacy of this program remains under debate (Wee
etal.,1999).
A common form of treatment of PTSD is the prescription of anxiolytic/hypnoticsedative medication, antidepressants, and antipsychotics (MacDonald et al., 2003). These
medications are typically believed to be very beneficial in treating PTSD because they reduce
symptoms such as re-experiencing, hyperarousal, avoidance, depression, and sleep
disturbances (Bolton et al., 2004). However, despite the ability of these medications to
reduce the symptoms of PTSD, these drugs can also have unpleasant side effects that can
negatively impact one's ability to function both at work and at home. For example, these
drugs can affect the patient's ability to safely operate machinery or drive vehicles
(MacDonald et al., 2004). Non-compliance is often high in individuals who are taking these
medications due to their unpleasant side effects. Additionally, these medications do not
provide solutions to the many occupational, social, intrapersonal, and health problems that
often accompany PTSD (Bolton et al., 2004). In order to address the occupational, social,
intrapersonal, and health issues associated with PTSD, a number of psychotherapeutic
treatments such as eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR), exposure

8

therapy, cognitive therapy, anxiety management, and psychodynamic therapy, have been
developed. These psychotherapeutic treatments focus on reducing fear, modifying negative
thought patterns, and increasing anxiety-related coping skills (Bolton et al., 2004).
In EMDR, patients are asked to follow the therapist's finger with their eyes as it is
moved rapidly from side to side in order to elicit rhythmic, bilateral saccadic eye movements,
while simultaneously visualizing the traumatic event (Shapiro, 1989). Preliminary testing of
EMDR by Shapiro (1989) suggested that traumatic memories could be desensitized within a
short period of time with minimal distress to the patient, however, this form of treatment is
considered controversial my many researchers as a number of design flaws such as poor
sample definition, unreliable measures, and non-blinded evaluations, have been noted in past
EMDR studies (Boudewyns & Hyer, 1996). Additionally, it is possible that the positive
effects of EMDR are due to "imaginal exposure during sessions, which in turn may facilitate
naturally occurring in vivo exposure" (Taylor, Thordarson, Maxfield, Fedoroff, Lovell &
Ogrodniczuk, 2003, p. 337).
Exposure therapy repeatedly exposes an individual to anxiety provoking stimuli in an
attempt to diminish her or his anxiety about the stimuli (Bolton et al., 2004). According to
Bolton et al. (2004), exposure therapy has been successful in reducing PTSD symptoms such
as nightmares, intrusive visions, and hyperarousal. Unfortunately, exposure therapy appears
to be less successful in reducing symptoms in individuals who are experiencing guilt or anger
as the primary emotion in response to a traumatic event (Bolton et al., 2004). As a result, this
form of treatment may not be the most beneficial for emergency service personnel who are
experiencing high levels of distress due to circumstances that were beyond their control. For
example, emergency service personnel often report feeling the most distressed when an

9

accident involves children (Haslam & Mallon, 2003). In an event in which a child is severely
injured or killed, it is highly likely that emergency personnel may feel that they should have
tried harder to save the child from harm. As a result, the individual may harbor a high level
of guilt which can hinder his or her ability to cope with the event (Haslam & Mallon, 2003).
A more effective treatment for emergency service personnel may be cognitive therapy
(Bolton et al., 2004). The goal of cognitive therapy is to change the patient's maladaptive
patterns of thinking. Some researchers believe that negative thought patterns create feelings
of guilt, anger, anxiety, depression, and/or shame (Bolton et al., 2004). Cognitive therapy,
when treating individuals with PTSD, typically focuses on one's beliefs about safety and
trust. While research suggests that cognitive therapy is not a successful treatment for PTSD
on its own, research does show that cognitive therapy may be a more effective treatment
when combined with exposure therapy (Bolton et al., 2004).
Finally, the last form of psychotherapy that is often used to treat PTSD is anxiety
management (Bolton et al., 2004). Anxiety management theory suggests that avoidance
behaviors can be reduced by providing firefighters with the skills to manage their anxiety.
Anxiety management treatments include stress inoculation training, biofeedback and
relaxation training, and assertiveness training. Unfortunately, empirical data supporting the
effectiveness of anxiety management treatments is limited, therefore Bolton et al. (2004)
suggest that these methods should not be the only approach used to treat PTSD.
Despite the number of treatments available, research suggests that treatment for
PTSD is still inadequate. One reason why treatments may appear to be ineffective is because
the duration of treatment studies is too short (Brunello et al., 2001). It is possible that the
effects of certain treatments are delayed and therefore will not appear until after the studies

10

have been finished (Brunello et al., 2001). Additionally, MacDonald et al., (2003) suggest
that in some cases psychological treatments may be discontinued prematurely because
current compensation programs encourage the short-term treatment of specific physical
injuries rather than the long-term treatment of complicated psychological ailments such as
PTSD. Brunello et al. (2001) suggest that many PTSD treatments are inadequate because
they often only partially relieve symptoms. Furthermore, although research has not
discovered any long-term side effects of psychotherapy, it is common for patients to
experience an increase in the severity of their symptoms in the initial stages of treatment.
However, an increase in distress is normal during the course of psychotherapy as one of the
core symptoms of PTSD is avoidance of reminders of the traumatic event, and psychotherapy
inevitably requires some discussion of the incident (Bolton et al., 2004). Unfortunately,
PTSD treatment is a "forward cycle of gaining ground and losing ground" as the patient must
learn to cope with her or his symptoms (Fogarty & Beck, 1995, p. 76).
Despite the vast amount of literature detailing the symptoms and treatment of PTSD,
there is still a need for more research. PTSD is a complex disorder that requires more
research in order to effectively treat existing cases and prevent new cases from developing.
Two areas of research that could help clarify how PTSD develops are in the areas of
emotional intelligence and proactive coping strategies. Surprisingly, there is little empirical
research regarding the types of coping strategies used by firefighters and other emergency
service providers (Jenkins, 1997), and how use of these coping strategies may help protect
emergency service providers against developing PTSD.

11

Stress
The term stress has been used since the early 14th century (Lazarus & Folkman,
1984); however, there is a significant amount of disagreement in the literature on how to
accurately define stress, perhaps because researchers often use a definition of stress that fits
their particular research interests (Breznitz & Goldberger, 1993). Selye (1993) defined stress
as the "nonspecific (that is common) result of any demand upon the body, be the effect
mental or somatic" (p. 7). According to Selye (1993), there are a variety of situations that can
cause stress in an individual such as emotional arousal, fatigue, concentration, pain,
humiliation, loss of blood, fear, and sudden success, making it impossible to pinpoint a single
factor as the cause of a stress reaction. McEwen and Mendelson (1993) on the other hand,
define stress as a
term used for certain types of experiences, as well as the body's response to
such experiences. The term generally refers to challenges, real or implied, to
the homeostatic regulatory processes of the organism. Thus, heat and cold, as
well as physical trauma, are direct assaults on homeostasis, whereas fear, joy,
surprise, and other emotions represent internal states that threaten the internal
stability of the body. (p. 101)
According to Lazarus (1999), a key reason for the current popularity of stress
research and theory is the abundant evidence that understanding stress is important for our
social, physiological, and psychological health. One area of stress research that is often
misunderstood concerns the difference between the stressor and the stress response (McEwen
& Mendleson, 1993). It is commonly thought that the word stressor means an environmental
event which may lead to an undesirable outcome such as an illness (McEwen & Mendleson,

12

1993). McEwen and Mendelson (1993) suggest that a more appropriate view of the concept
of a stressor is to think of it as "an event that challenges homeostasis, with a disease outcome
being looked upon as a failure of the normal process of adaptation to the stressor" (p. 101).
The stress response, on the other hand, is responsible for triggering neural and hormonal
events which affect both the brain and the body. The effects that these events have on an
individual's brain and body can be either short-lived or chronic (McEwen & Mendelson,
1993).
According to Cassidy (1999), theories of stress typically fall under one of three
common models: a) the stimulus model; b) the response model and; c) the transactional
model. The stress as a stimulus model assumes that stress occurs in one's environment and
makes demands on that individual (Cassidy, 1999). In other words, stress is imposed upon an
individual when aspects of his or her environment overwhelm the individual through
increased demands. For example, one's work environment can place a high level of stress on
an individual by interfering with her or his time with family. The focus of the stimulus model
is on the causes of stress, commonly known as stressors (Cassidy, 1999).
Some stimulus-based theorists have split stressors into different categories based on
their capacity to create stress (Derogatis & Coons, 1993). These categories consist of a) acute,
time-limited stressors (i.e, crossing paths with an aggressive dog); b) stressor sequences (i.e.,
unemployment, death of a family member); c) chronic intermittent stressors, (i.e, learning to
drive a car; final exams for students) and; d) chronic stressors (i.e., financial strains, an
intimidating manager at work). Simply put, events that lead to psychological suffering, a
change in behavior, or a decrease in performance are classified as stressors (Derogatis &
Coons, 1993).

13

The stress as a response model looks at the consequences of dealing or attempting to
deal with the demands of a stressor. In this approach, stress is an abstract experience
identified by common observable symptoms such as lack of energy, headaches, irritability,
sleeplessness, digestive trouble, etc. (Cassidy, 1999). In other words, the stress response
model focuses on the individual's experience of the stress reaction rather than the stressor
itself (Cassidy, 1999). One of the most influential stress response models is Hans Selye's
(1950, 1970) General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS) (Derogatis & Coons, 1993; Lazarus,
1999).
In his GAS, Selye (e.g., 1950,1956) suggested that physical and psychological
stressors can lead to "diseases of adaptation" via a series of "nonspecific" biological
responses, called the General Adaptation Syndrome (Monat & Lazarus, 1977). The "GAS is
the defensive physiological reaction of the organism which is set in motion by any noxious
stimulus" (Monat & Lazarus, 1977, p. 6).
Selye (1993) divided stress into three phases called a) the alarm reaction; b) the stage
of resistance and; c) the stage of exhaustion. The first stage, alarm reaction, is one's initial
response to a stressor and represents the activation of the body's defense system. During this
stage, "the cells of the adrenal cortex discharge their secretory granules into the bloodstream
and thus become depleted of corticoid-containing lipid storage material" (Selye, 1993, p. 10).
Continuous exposure to the alarm reaction results in a stage of adaptation called the
resistance stage. The resistance stage occurs because the stage of alarm cannot be maintained
over long periods of time without negative consequences (Selye, 1993). This stage is the
body's way of defending itself against stress (Lazarus, 1999). In order to contain damage
done to the body by the stressor, the injured tissues are isolated from the rest of the body via

14

inflammation. By isolating the injured tissues in this manner the body is able to repair them
without further damage being caused to the body. Anti-inflammatory adrenocortical
hormones are then used by the body to facilitate healing by relieving the swelling. An
important fact about this stage is that it "is catabolic in action—that is, it draws on and uses
up bodily resources rather than building or restoring them anabolically" (Lazarus, 1999, p.
44). As a result, continued exposure to the stressor causes bodily resources to become
exhausted and the individual to lose the adaptation that he or she gained during the resistance
stage, therefore entering into the exhaustion stage (Selye, 1993).
In the exhaustion stage the body wears down due to the "constant wear and tear" (p.
10) of being in a highly aroused state for a significant period of time (Selye, 1993). Selye
(1993) states that the body can recover with adequate sleep and rest, however, it is unlikely
that full recovery is possible as stress leaves chemical scars that build up over time and begin
to appear as signs of aging. While the GAS helps us survive stressful situations and
environments, the physiological cost of GAS to one's bodily resources can be lethal (Lazarus,
1999). Continued exposure to the alarm stage can result in death within several days (Selye,
1993) because bodily resources are severely reduced and the individual is no longer able to
sustain itself (Lazarus, 1993).
Finally, the stress as a transaction model combines aspects of both the stimulus and
response models (Cassidy, 1999). Also known as the process model, the stress as a
transaction model focuses on the individual's interaction with his or her environment. This
model attempts to use a more holistic approach to understanding stress, and is a much more
complex model than the stimulus and response models. As a result of the complexity of the
transaction model, it tends to reflect a more realistic picture of stress (Cassidy, 1999).

15

The transaction model considers any potential threat in the environment to be a
stressor (Singer & Davidson, 1986). According to Singer and Davidson (1986), the focus of
this model is the word potential since the transactional model assumes that a stimulus by
itself cannot be a stressor. A stimulus becomes a stressor when it is appraised as being
harmful or threatening. In other words, it is one's interpretation of a physical or physiological
stressor as threatening that produces a stress response (Singer & Davidson, 1986). For
example, imagine two individuals are walking through the park and see a dog on the path
ahead of them. Perhaps one individual was attacked by a vicious dog as a child, and as a
result, has a fear of dogs. To this individual, the dog may be interpreted as aggressive and
dangerous, and therefore its sudden appearance will elicit a stress reaction. If the other person
has never been attacked by a dog and has no reason to be afraid, he or she may interpret the
dog differently. Perhaps this individual will perceive the dog as playful rather than aggressive.
The stimulus is the same for both individuals, but it is defined differently and therefore
causes a different reaction in each person.
Appraisal of a stimulus, therefore, is the key issue in the transactional model. It can
occur repeatedly after introduction to a stressor (Singer & Davidson, 1986). The stressor is
evaluated in terms of its ability to do harm, its novelty, certainty, and predictability.
Additionally, the individual will assess his or her own ability to cope effectively with the
stressor (Singer & Davidson, 1986). According to Singer and Davidson (1986), the
transactional stress model is very important to researchers because it brings together a wide
array of cognitive activities that humans engage in, and allows researchers to comprehend
and easily explain phenomena that may be more difficult to understand with other models.

16

Despite the benefits of the transactional model, there are some problems that are
inherent to the model (Singer & Davidson, 1986). Singer and Davidson (1986) feel that one
issue associated with this model is the fact that individual differences in the frequency, level,
and patterning of stress exposure need to be considered, whereas these measures may not be
necessary in other models (Singer & Davidson, 1986). Additionally, whether a stressor is
perceived to be a threat or a challenge depends on how it is interpreted, and people differ
significantly in their appraisals of stressful circumstances. People also differ in their appraisal
of their own resources and capabilities to deal with a stressor, and unfortunately the
transactional model cannot explain whether these differences are due to experience, practice,
knowledge, or individual differences in self-esteem and self-competence (Singer & Davidson,
1986).
Effects of Stress
Reactions to stressful situations vary in intensity from individual to individual, and no
two people react to the same environmental event (i.e., oppressive leadership, combat,
internment, threat to livelihood, or threat to life) in an identical manner (Appley & Trumbull,
1977). In fact, Appley and Trumbull (1977) suggest that stress reactions differ because each
person is vulnerable to a particular kind of stressor that must reach a set level of intensity
before it leads to stress. However, one common reaction to continued stress is the
development of a somatic illness.
According to Monat and Lazarus (1977), exposure to continued stress can lead to
somatic illness in three ways, all consequences of the body's natural coping strategies. First,
neurohormonal influences can cause the disruption of tissue functioning when the body is
under stress. Stress causes the body to release powerful hormones into the bloodstream,

17

drastically altering bodily processes which can be experienced as a pounding heart, fatigue,
trembling, and sweating. Stress can also lead to somatic illness when the individual adopts
coping strategies that are dangerous to his or her health. Several examples of maladaptive
coping strategies given by Monat and Lazarus (1977) include employing a pressured lifestyle
in order to advance either socially or occupationally, getting insufficient rest, following a
poor diet, or excessive use of alcohol and/or tobacco. Fundamentally harmful lifestyles can
damage body tissue, increasing one's susceptibility to disease. Finally, stress may cause
disease through psychological and/or sociological factors which cause a person to ignore,
misinterpret, or downplay the importance of various symptoms. That is, the person may not
seek medical help for life-threatening symptoms because she or he interprets these symptoms
as being inconsequential (Monat & Lazarus, 1977).
Another important aspect of how stress can affect one's functioning is its ability to
influence one's capacity to make decisions (Janis, 1993). High levels of stress reduce an
individual's ability to effectively problem-solve, especially when decisions are complicated
by "numerous competing values" (p. 57), which can further reduce the individual's problemsolving capabilities (Janis, 1993). Stress can impair an individual's attention and perception,
consequently causing the individual to display various forms of inflexible thinking. As a
result of these cognitive deficiencies, the individual may demonstrate an inability to think of
alternative solutions to a problem, an inability to perceive potential long-term consequences,
an inefficient method of information gathering, inaccurate assessment of expected outcomes,
and use of "oversimplified decision rules that may fail to take into account the full range of
values implicated" (p. 57) by their decision (Janis, 1993). Furthermore, stress has been
shown to impair decision-making most profoundly when the decision involves "imminent

18

threats of physical suffering, bodily injury, or death" (Janis, 1993, p. 57). The negative
effects stress can have on an individual are especially troubling when one considers the
danger that firefighters are in when fighting fires or rescuing victims. A firefighter who is
under an inordinate amount of stress and is demonstrating impaired decision making skills is
liable to endanger not only him or herself and their teammates, but also the victims they are
trying to save.
While stress can have many negative effects on an individual, it is important to note
that stress is a normal part of life (Brown et al., 2003) and will not necessarily lead to
personal deterioration (Haan, 1993). Haan (1993) suggests that society's general perception
of stress is that it is beneficial because it makes people more humble, considerate, resilient,
and that stress may also make people behave more kindly to others. However, if anxiety and
stress overwhelm the individual's coping skills, then stress may lead to personal crisis
(Brown, Shiang, & Bongar, 2003), such as the development of PTSD.
One area of stress research that has been gaining attention over the last 15 years is the
field of occupational stress (Holt, 1993). Workplace stress is a relatively new area in stress
research, but it is a difficult field to study as it is complicated by social controversy, labor
management difficulties, and politics. Researchers may begin their research merely looking
for the facts; however, it is possible that they may soon face pressure from the organization
under study to produce results that support the organization's stance on concerns such as job
hazards (Holt, 1993). As a result of organizational pressure, research investigating
occupational stressors tends to fall under suspicion when it is funded by either the
management or union of an organization (Holt, 1993).

19

The cost of occupational stress is tremendous (Dyck, 2004). For example, employees
who work in occupations with high effort/low reward and high pressure/low control are two
to three times more susceptible to contracting an infection than other employees (Siegrist,
1996). The mental consequences of workplace stress include depression, nervousness,
recklessness, inability to concentrate, impaired decision making abilities, and being easily
distracted. Physically, occupational stress can result in employees who eat poorly, do not
exercise, overuse drugs and alcohol, get inadequate sleep, are more susceptible to infections,
are more likely to be injured on the job, and have a higher incidence of cardiovascular
disease, headaches, anxiety, ulcers, hostility, and hypertension (Siegrist, 1996). Despite the
cost to one's health, few people are willing to admit to having a mental health issue such as
anxiety because they are afraid of being labeled as a "mental patient" and would rather
assume the medical patient role which, presumably, is a more socially accepted role (Holt,
1993).
Examples of occupational stressors include too many responsibilities, time pressure,
little or no influence over day-to-day work, insufficient training, job ambiguity, lack of
rewards such as appreciation, harassment, discrimination, poor communication, and safety
concerns (Siegrist, 1996). Occupational stress can also include exposure to physical stressors
such as high levels of noise potentially causing damage to a worker's middle and inner ear.
Even lower levels of noise which may not be capable of causing physical damage to an
employee's hearing are still considered by researchers to be psychologically distressing (Holt,
1993). Additional sources of occupational stress can include level of dangerousness (i.e., jobs
in which loss of either life or limb is possible), and shift work which can disturb one's

20

circadian rhythms leading to digestive ailments, poor sleep, and bad moods. Shift work can
also disrupt social aspects such as family living and social roles (Holt, 1993).
Stress and Emotion
It is important for researchers to consider the influence that stress has on one's
emotions, and the influence that one's emotions have on her or his stress levels (Lazarus,
1999). Lazarus (1999) argued that the concept of stress by itself is too limited to accurately
portray an individual's struggle to adapt to stressful situations. In order to fully understand
the relationship between stress and how it affects an individual, researchers need more
information. Therefore, Lazarus (1999) suggested that emotion can be used to enrich current
knowledge of humankind's struggle to cope with stress. There are 15 emotions that Lazarus
(1999) believed can reflect how an individual perceives what is occurring during a stressful
situation, and how she or he is coping with it. These 15 emotions include anger, anxiety,
compassion, envy, fright, jealousy, gratitude, guilt, happiness, hope, love, pride, relief,
sadness, and shame. Each emotion provides a different perspective about one's continuing
relationship with his or her environment (Lazarus, 1993; Lazarus, 1999). If researchers
observe an individual frequently expressing one emotion, one can assume that "this person
often is placed in situations that provoke the emotion or that personality factors, such as goals
or beliefs, make that person vulnerable to the particular recurrent emotion" (Lazarus, 1993, p.
23).
Initially, past literature tended to overlook the idea that stress had the ability to
influence one's emotions, and that emotion could also influence one's stress levels (Lazarus,
1999). As a result, Lazarus (1999) argued that stress and emotions were interdependent, and
that researchers were doing a great disservice to the study of stress and emotion by treating

21

them as separate fields. In fact, Lazurus (1999) suggested that there are more similarities
between stress and emotion, such as how these states are "aroused, coped with, and how they
affect psychological well-being, functioning, and somatic health" (p. 36), than there are
differences.
Lazarus (1999) proposed that certain emotions—such as anger, anxiety, envy, fright,
jealousy, shame, guilt, and sadness—arise from stressful circumstances (i.e., harmful,
threatening, or challenging situations) and therefore can be referred to as stress emotions.
Even emotions that are commonly considered to arise from positive circumstances, such as
the realization of important goals, can be linked to threat or harm (Lazarus, 1999). For
example, "relief results from a harmful or threatening situation that has abated or
disappeared; hope, more often than not, stems from a situation in which we must prepare for
the worst while hoping for the better" (Lazarus, 1999, p. 36). Even love, which is typically
considered to be a "highly desirable emotional state, can be exceedingly stressful when it is
unrequited, or if we think our lover is losing interest. When gratitude is grudging, or violates
one's values, the social necessity of showing it may be stressful" (Lazarus, 1999, p. 37).
While researchers are starting to notice the links between stress and emotion, emotion
theorists often overlook another important part of emotion (Lazarus, 1999). Lazarus (1999)
proposed that this overlooked aspect of emotion theory is the concept of coping. In fact,
according to Lazarus (1999), it is more common for coping to be associated with stress than
it is for coping to be linked to emotions. Lazarus (1999) suggested that theories of emotion
either ignore coping or treat it as "separate from the emotion process" (p. 37). Lazarus (1999)
believed that coping is incorrectly thought, by many emotion theorists, "to come into focus
after an emotion has been aroused to regulate it or deal with the conditions provoking it" (p.

22

37). This mistaken belief is unfortunate "because coping is an integral part of the process of
emotional arousal. Judging the significance of what is happening always entails evaluating
what might be done about it, which determines" (p. 37) how one responds emotionally
(Lazarus, 1999).
Coping
Lazarus and Folkman (1984) define coping as "constantly changing cognitive and
behavioral efforts to manage specific external and/or internal demands that are appraised as
taxing or exceeding the resources of the person" (p. 141). One benefit of Lazarus and
Folkman's (1984) definition of coping is that it includes "anything the person does or thinks,
regardless of how well or badly it works" (p. 142), which prevents confusion between the
concepts of coping and outcome (Lazarus & Folkman, 1984). Measuring coping separately
from its outcomes allows researchers to properly evaluate the effectiveness of each coping
strategy (Lazarus, 1999). The outcome of a situation is often considered to be an indication
of whether or not one has coped with a noxious situation. For example, when coping is
confounded with outcome, successfully overcoming a stressful situation is considered to be
indicative of one's ability to cope successfully. On the other hand, if the outcome of a
situation is poor, the individual is considered to have coped badly. However, one must keep
in mind that coping does not equal mastery over stress or the environment. Effective coping
is "what allows the person to tolerate, minimize, accept, or ignore what cannot be mastered"
(Lazarus & Folkman, 1984, p. 140).
Lazarus (1975) (as cited in Monet & Lazarus, 1977) emphasized two major categories
of coping, direct actions and palliative modes. Direct actions are specific behaviors that are
intended to alter one's troubled relationship with her or his physical or social environment.

23

An example of a direct action is the fight or flight response (Monet & Lazarus, 1977) which
prepares an individual to either face a threat (fight) or flee from it (flight) by increasing blood
flow, speeding up the heart, and increasing the availability of glucose to the body
(Frankenhaeuser, 1986).
Palliative modes of coping are actions or thoughts that are intended to alleviate the
emotional impact of stress (Monat & Lazarus, 1977). Palliative methods of coping do not
change the threatening or noxious events, however, these methods of coping do make the
individual feel better. Some examples of palliative modes of coping include denial (a defense
mechanism), or avoiding thinking about a stressful situation (such as an important exam) by
thinking about something less stressful (like a pleasant childhood memory). Other forms of
palliative coping include somatically oriented forms such as biofeedback, relaxation
techniques, or the use of tranquilizers (Monat & Lazarus, 1977).
In the past, palliative modes of coping such as denial have been viewed as negative
and maladaptive, however, at times palliative methods of coping can be positive (Monat &
Lazarus, 1977). For example, denial can initially provide a buffer to prevent an individual
from feeling overwhelmed by a situation in which they have little control such as being
diagnosed with a life threatening disease (i.e., cancer) (Monat & Lazarus, 1977). Palliative
modes of coping can be destructive if they are used when direct action is needed, but it is
important to remember that they may be beneficial in cases where palliative modes of coping
help an individual maintain a sense of hope or wellbeing in situations typically expected to
cause negative psychological outcomes (i.e., depression) (Monat & Lazarus, 1977).
According to Monat and Lazarus (1977), the classification of coping types into either
direct action or palliative modes does not mean that an individual uses one method

24

exclusively. Rather, combinations of the two modes of coping are used based upon one's
personality, the conditions being faced, and the options available to the individual (Monat &
Lazarus, 1977).
Emotional Intelligence
While coping has been well researched in current literature, one notable gap in coping
research is whether emotional intelligence can predict susceptibility to developing PTSD.
Goleman (1998) suggests that it is emotional intelligence that determines one's level of selfawareness, motivation, self-regulation of emotions, empathy, and proficiency in relationships.
Emotional intelligence is the ability to "motivate oneself and persist in the face of
frustrations; to control impulse and delay gratification; to regulate one's moods and keep
distress from swamping the ability to think; to emphasize and to hope" (p. 34). In addition,
emotional intelligence is the ability to accurately appraise and express the emotions of others
and oneself, and the capability to enhance one's life by the effective regulation of emotion
(Mayer, DiPaolo and Salovey, 1990). There are three dimensions of emotional intelligence
that are thought to moderate one's emotional experience: clarity, attention, and intensity
(Gohm, 2003).
Gohm (2003) describes emotional clarity as an ability to accurately label one's
feelings more specifically than either "good" or "bad". The ability to accurately label
emotion reflects a deeper understanding of the emotion itself and therefore increases the
chances that an individual will react to the emotion in a proactive manner. Individuals who
do not have a good understanding of their emotions or have low emotional clarity may be
more likely to react to emotional situations in an unpredictable and maladaptive manner
(Gohm, 2003).

25

Research suggests that those individuals who are able to correctly identify their
physiological reactions are not as severely affected by those reactions as participants who can
not accurately identify their physiological reactions (Gohm, Baumann, & Sniezek, 2001). As
a result, Gohm et al. (2001) predict that those individuals who are able to appropriately
identify an emotional reaction (i.e., have a higher level of emotional intelligence) will be less
negatively affected by exposure to a critical incident. Accordingly, those individuals able to
identify their emotional reactions may spend less time focusing on their emotional reactions
(i.e., are less distracted by his or her emotions) during a stressful event, and therefore may be
better able to focus their attention on problem solving and dealing with the task at hand
(Gohm etal., 2001).
Attention to emotion refers to the ability of an individual to determine the value of an
emotion and to pay attention to its importance (Gohm, 2003). There are two extremes to this
dimension of emotional intelligence. First, those individuals who pay little attention to the
value of emotions and the role that they play in social interactions are likely to be unable to
regulate their mood. At the same time, individuals who pay too much attention to the value of
emotions are also unlikely to be able to effectively regulate their mood because they attach
too much significance to the role that emotions play. A balance between the two extremes is
needed in order for an individual to be able to regulate his or her emotions effectively (Gohm,
2003).
The third aspect of emotional intelligence is called emotional intensity, which
describes the strength of the emotions felt by a particular individual. Gohm (2003) predicted
that individuals who experience intense emotions are more likely to be aware of the effect
that emotions can have and therefore may attempt to dampen the magnitude of their

26

emotional experience. One reason that firefighters might be susceptible to developing PTSD
is because they often need to ignore their emotions during a critical incident in order for them
to be able to get the job done. As a result, the firefighter may not immediately recognize how
strong an impact an event has had on them until after the event is over (D'Andrea & Waters,
2000). At the same time, it is also possible that individuals who feel emotions strongly have
more trouble regulating their moods due to the intense nature of their emotions (Gohm, 2003).
According to Goleman (1995),
"when emotions are too muted they create dullness and distance; when out of control,
too extreme and persistent, they become pathological, as in immobilizing depression,
overwhelming anxiety, raging anger, manic agitation. Indeed, keeping our distressing
emotions in check is the key to emotional well-being; extremes—emotions that wax
too intensely or for too long—undermine our stability." (pg 56)
However, just because a person feels emotions intensely does not mean that her or his
reactions to an emotional stimulus can be easily predicted. One's reactivity is also influenced
by his or her level of emotional clarity and attention to emotion (Gohm, 2003). Additionally,
it is important to remember that just because an individual knows how to regulate their
emotions, it does not mean that they actually will choose to regulate them (Gohm, 2004).
Emotional intelligence is often considered to be a strong predictor of one's ability to
succeed in his or her professional and personal life (Mayer et al., 2004). Mayer et al. (2004)
have argued against the idea that the higher in emotional intelligence an individual is, the
more successful they are likely to become; however, there is evidence that emotional
intelligence can predict some aspects of success such as one's level of academic performance.
Additionally, people high in emotional intelligence are often described more favorably by

27

their peers (Mayer et al., 2004). For example, people rated as high in emotional intelligence
are considered to be better at understanding emotions, require less effort to solve problems,
have higher levels of intelligence in verbal and social abilities, and are drawn to social
occupations like teaching and counseling. Individuals with high levels of emotional
intelligence are also less likely to engage in socially unacceptable behaviors such as drinking
excessively, abusing drugs, or engaging in violent or other "problem" behaviors (Mayer et al.,
2004).
A downside to being higher in emotional intelligence appears to be that individuals
who are more in tune with their emotions and the emotions of others tend to experience a
greater adverse effect from stress (Ciarrochi, Deane, & Anderson, 2002). This finding may
be due to the fact that individuals who are high in emotional perception are more likely to
feel depressed or hopeless when under stress, compared to individuals who are lower in
emotional intelligence (Ciarrochi et al, 2002).
Measuring Emotional Intelligence
The three most recognized measures of emotional intelligence are the MayerSalovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence test (MSCIET) (Mayer, Salovey, & Caruso, 2002),
the Emotional Quotient Inventory (EQ-i) (Bar-On, 1997), and the self-report emotional
intelligence test (SREIT) (Brackett & Mayer, 2003; Schutte et al.,1998).
The MSCIET was designed to measure emotional intelligence by assessing it like one
would assess a mental ability. The MSCIET tests one's ability to perceive emotion by asking
people to rate the amount of emotion being expressed in pictures of faces, landscapes, and
designs. The MSCIET also measures emotional facilitation of thought by asking people to,
for example, judge how different emotions can influence thoughts. Other aspects of

28

emotional intelligence assessed by the MSCIET include understanding of emotions and
emotional management (Bracket & Mayer, 2003).
Unlike the MSCIET, the EQ-i is a self-report test of emotional intelligence. The EQ-i
(Bar-On, 1997) was originally composed of five scales such as a) intrapersonal emotional
quotient, b) interpersonal emotional quotient, c) stress management, d) adaptability, and e)
general mood. Bar-On (2000) revised the EQ-i in 2000, removing the general mood scale and
computing the total EQ-i score by summing the remaining four scales. However, research is
still needed to assess the comparability of the scoring methods between the two versions of
the EQ-i (Brackett & Mayer, 2003).
Like the EQ-i, the SREIT is also a self-report measure of emotional intelligence. The
SREIT started out as a 62 item scale based on the early model of emotional intelligence
proposed by Salovey and Mayer (1990), but a factor analysis of the original scale items
suggested a "one factor solution of 33 items" (Schutte et al., 1998, p. 175). This scale has
been criticized for being multidimensional (Petrides & Furnham, 2000), and for overlapping
with existing personality measures (Brackett & Mayer, 2003) and personality traits such as
openness to experience (Schutte et al., 1998). However, Schutte et al., (1998) argue that the
SREIT's overlap with openness to experience does not make the scale redundant, nor is the
SREIT significantly related to any of the remaining big five personality dimensions (Shutte
etal., 1998).
Unfortunately, research has suggested that the content measured by emotional
intelligence assessments varies widely from test to test. Moreover, there is some debate
among researchers as to whether emotional intelligence measures are actually assessing

29

emotional intelligence, or whether they are simply measuring constructs already measured by
more well-known constructs such as the Big Five personality dimensions (Conte, 2005).
According to Livingstone and Day (2005), the psychometric properties of emotional
intelligence measures still need to be clarified through research. Additionally, since ability
tests such as the MSCIET are weakly related to self-report tests such as the SREIT and the
EQ-i (Brackett & Mayer, 2003), researchers are still debating which scale is a better measure
of emotional intelligence (Livingstone & Day, 2005).
Proactive Coping
Another area of coping that has been largely ignored in traumatic stress research is
the concept of proactive coping. Proactive coping can be defined as "efforts undertaken in
advance of a potentially stressful event to prevent it or to modify it before it occurs"
(Aspinwall & Taylor, 1997, p. 417). Proactive coping is different from coping in three ways.
First, proactive coping requires an individual to acquire skills and resources that are intended
to ensure that he or she is prepared to deal with potential stressors before they occur.
Individuals who are high in proactive coping skills recognize that stress is a part of life and
that it is necessary to be prepared to handle it. Proactive coping does not prepare one for a
specific type of stressor, but rather prepares the individual for stress in general. Second,
proactive coping does not help one cope with existing stressors, and therefore requires
different skills. An example of one of these skills is the ability to predict or recognize
situations that may cause stress in the future (Aspinwall & Taylor, 1997) (i.e., being injured
on the job, which could result in financial difficulties).
Proactive coping helps an individual reduce the impact of a stressful event, and in
some cases, the impact of the stressful event may not even be noticed by the individual

30

(Aspinwall & Taylor, 1997). Additionally, when a stressor is dealt with in its early stages, the
individual's coping skills and resources are likely to be adequate to deal with the event.
Obviously, as a stressor increases in magnitude, there are fewer options available to manage
it. Finally, since proactive copers likely have the ability to prevent stressful events before
they occur, it is possible that the amount of chronic stress experienced by these individuals is
relatively low (Aspinwall & Taylor, 1997).
Unfortunately, there has been little focus on proactive coping in empirical research.
Aspinwall and Taylor (1997) suggest several reasons why proactive coping is underrepresented in current research. First, most studies investigating coping look at an
individual's ability to solve or react to a looming crisis such as an illness or a form of
financial or interpersonal failure, and fail to take into consideration any activities that
occurred prior to the start of the stressful event. Additionally, individuals who use proactive
coping efficiently may be eliminated from studies looking at stress and coping entirely
because they have been able to prevent the stressful event from occurring, or at least reduced
the impact of the event. Also, if a proactive coper is included in a study on stress and coping
it is likely that the results will show that the individual is well-adjusted and successful,
however, it is doubtful that researchers will attribute these good outcomes to the individual's
proactive efforts that were made before the crisis occurred (Aspinwall & Taylor, 1997).
Of course, there are also cons to proactive coping (Aspinwall & Taylor, 1997). For
example, one's initial coping mechanisms can be ineffective because the cause of his or her
stress may be ambiguous. When a stressor is ambiguous, the individual may invest valuable
time and energy into developing a coping strategy for an event that either may never happen
or differs from the predicted event. Consequently, there is a chance that the individual's

31

coping mechanisms may be exhausted before the stressful event occurs (Aspinwall & Taylor,
1997).
Hypotheses
The purpose of this study is to address the current gaps in stress and coping literature
by determining how firefighters' susceptibility to developing post-traumatic stress is affected
by emotional intelligence and proactive coping. For the purposes of this study, post-traumatic
stress was broken down into four constructs: a) avoidance, b) hyperarousal, c) intrusions, and
d) anxiety. Based on current gaps in the literature, the following hypotheses were developed:
Emotional Intelligence
The first hypothesis holds that firefighters higher in emotional intelligence are less likely
to experience symptoms of avoidance. There is some evidence to support the idea that
emotional intelligence helps people feel capable of dealing with difficult events (Gohm et al.,
2005). In support of Gohm et al.'s (2005) theory, Mayer et al. (2004) suggest that solving
emotional problems is easier for individuals who are higher in emotional intelligence,
therefore it is possible that these individuals are more likely to deal with a problem "headon" rather than by avoiding it. Additionally, individuals who are high in emotional
intelligence are likely to have strong social supports (Mayer et al., 2004), and consequently
are more likely to have friends and family that can be confided in.
Hypothesis two proposes that firefighters higher in emotional intelligence are less
likely to experience hyperarousal than those firefighters who are lower in emotional
intelligence. In other words, firefighters higher in emotional intelligence may experience less
hyperarousal if they are able to correctly identify and regulate their emotions, therefore
reducing physiological responses to their emotional reaction. For example, once an

32

individual realizes that they are feeling anxious, he or she can take steps to reduce their
anxiety by going for a walk, employing deep breathing techniques, or listening to relaxing
music. On the other hand, if the individual is unable to identify that they are feeling anxious,
the anxiety may increase over time resulting in observable symptoms such as an exaggerated
startle response. This hypothesis is based on past research that suggests that individuals who
are able to correctly identify their physiological reactions are less severely affected by them
(Gohm et al., 2001), therefore it follows that individuals who are able to correctly identify
their emotional reactions may experience fewer physiological reactions such as hyperarousal,
in response their emotions.
The third hypothesis suggests that firefighters higher in emotional intelligence are
less likely to experience intrusions. This hypothesis is based on Gohm's (2003) theory of
emotional clarity. Specifically, firefighters who are able to accurately label their feelings and
understand their causes will be more likely to deal effectively with the distressing emotions
caused by exposure to a critical incident. When emotions can only be labeled as "good" or
"bad", rather than as "happy" or "sad", it may be more difficult for the individual
experiencing them to find proactive ways to deal with the emotion. Additionally, those
firefighters who are able to accurately label their emotions are less likely to be distracted by
their emotional reactions (Gohm, 2001), and therefore better able to cope with critical
incident stress through proactive coping methods.
The fourth hypothesis holds that firefighters higher in emotional intelligence will
experience less anxiety than firefighters who are lower in emotional intelligence. This
hypothesis is also based on the concept of identification and regulation of one's emotions.
The ability to accurately label one's feelings increases the chance that he or she will respond

33

to them in a proactive manner (Gohm, 2003), such as reaching out to family and friends, and
thereby reducing anxiety levels. Individuals higher in emotional intelligence have been
shown to be more willing to seek help for emotional problems (Ciarrochi & Deane, 2001),
and being willing to accept help from outside sources rather than attempting to deal with the
issue alone is likely to reduce stress levels.
Proactive Coping
Hypothesis five proposes that firefighters higher in proactive coping will experience
fewer symptoms of avoidance. This hypothesis is developed from Aspinwall and Taylor's
(1997) suggestion that proactive copers understand that stress is a part of life, and are
therefore more likely to be prepared to deal with potential stressors before they occur.
Firefighting is a very stressful and dangerous job and it follows that firefighters high in
proactive coping will have invested some energy in determining possible "worst-case"
scenarios (i.e., being seriously injured on the job), and therefore, working to develop
strategies to effectively cope with these potential stressors.
The sixth hypothesis holds that firefighters higher in proactive coping will experience
less hyperarousal than firefighters lower in proactive coping skills. According to Aspinwall
and Taylor (1997), proactive coping can help an individual reduce the impact that a stressful
event can have. For example, a firefighter who sets aside a little bit of money from each
paycheque in case of an emergency, will be under much less stress if he is injured on the job
and cannot work for six weeks. While it is likely that he is still worried about his financial
state and he may need to adjust his spending habits slightly, he will still be able to pay his
bills with the money he has set aside. An individual who has not set aside any money in case
of an emergency, on the other hand, would likely be experiencing a far higher level of

34

anxiety regarding his financial situation, and would therefore be more likely to be
experiencing a heightened state of arousal as a result.
The seventh hypothesis suggests that firefighters higher in proactive coping skills will
be less likely to experience intrusions as they are more likely to have coping skills that are
adequate to deal with the stress of experiencing a critical event (Aspinwall & Taylor, 1997).
For example, proactive copers may ensure that they attend debriefings after a critical incident
callout, or have the telephone numbers to local health professionals on hand in case they need
to debrief. As a result of these simple preparations, the individual is likely to feel more in
control of her or his reactions to a stressful event and therefore will be less likely to
experience intrusions.
Hypothesis eight proposes that firefighters who use proactive coping strategies more
frequently in their day to day life will experience less anxiety than those firefighters who use
less adaptive methods of coping with stress. Aspinwall and Taylor (1997) state that proactive
coping has several important benefits which can help minimize stress, such as lessening the
impact a stressful event may have on an individual and making it easier to deal with the
stressor in its earlier stages (before the stressor gets out of hand). Additionally, when a
stressful event is dealt with in its early stages, it is likely there are more options available to
manage it.
Method
Participants
The data for this study was obtained from a current data set consisting of 94 full-time,
professional, male firefighters. The firefighters were recruited through the local fire
department by a Disability Management graduate student. The firefighters were aged 25

35

through 58 years. All participants were male, primarily Caucasian, and resided in Prince
George, B.C. Table 1 (on page 67) contains the descriptive frequencies of the demographic
information for the firefighters.
Procedure
Data was obtained from a pre-existing data set consisting of 94 full-time career
firefighters.
Measures
Demographic measure.
1. The demographic questionnaire (Appendix C) contained items measuring the
participant's age, occupation, length of employment, highest level of education
completed, martial status, number of children and their ages, current health status, and
ethnicity.
Measures of Mental Health.
1. The Impact of Event Scale-Revised (Appendix E; Horowitz, Wilner, & Alvarez, 1979)
is a 22-item scale that assesses symptoms of PTSD such as avoidance, hyperarousal,
and intrusion. Items are scored on a 5-point scale that ranges from 1 {not at all) to 5
(extremely). The IES-R has a split half reliability of r = 0.86, and the internal
consistency of the avoidance and intrusion subscales, calculated using Cronbach's
alpha, is high (avoidance = .82, intrusion = .78) (Horowitz, Field, & Classen, 1993).
2. The Symptom Checklist-90-Revised © (Appendix F; Derogatis, 1994) is a 90 item
scale that evaluates levels of reported symptoms on nine different scales
(somatization, obsessive-compulsive, interpersonal sensitivity, depression, anxiety,

36

hostility, phobic anxiety, paranoid ideation, and psychoticism). Only the results of the
anxiety scale were used in this study.
Measures of Coping.
1. The Proactive Coping Scale (Appendix G; Greenglass, Schwarzer, & Taubert, 1999)
is a 14-item scale that assesses whether or not one uses proactive coping methods.
Items are scored on a 4-point scale that ranges from 0 {not at all true) to 3
{completely true).
2. The Emotional Intelligence scale (Appendix H; Schutte et al., 1998; a = .90 and testretest reliability = .78) is a 33-item scale that assesses whether the participant has a
high or low level of emotional intelligence. Items are scored on a 5-point scale that
ranges from 1 {strongly disagree) to 5 {strongly agree).
Treatment of Data
In the analyses for this study, a series of regressions was used to investigate each of
the hypotheses listed above. An alpha level of .05 was used in each case.
Results
Regression Analyses
Regressions were computed to determine whether linear relationships existed
between emotional intelligence and symptoms of post-traumatic stress, and for proactive
coping and symptoms of post-traumatic stress. Regressions computed for the firefighters
(N= 94), were found to be significant for the relationship between emotional intelligence and
avoidance, t (90) = -2.3\,p = .023. However, the results indicated that emotional intelligence
did not predict hyperarousal {t (91) = -1.56,/? = .123), intrusions {t = -1.63,p = .118), or
anxiety {t (91) = -1.58, p = .629). The results of this study also indicated that proactive

37

coping did predict anxiety, t (92) = -2.65,/? <.01. However, proactive coping did not predict
hyperarousal (t (92) = -1.15, p = .253), intrusions (t (92) = -.94, p = .350), or avoidance
{t (91) = -1.71,/? = .090).
Discussion
Current literature indicates that firefighters and other emergency service personnel are
more susceptible to developing PTSD because their jobs not only place them in situations
that are potentially life threatening, but also expose them to distressing events such as burn
victims, line of duty deaths, and multiple casualties (Mitchell & Everly, 1995). However,
little research has been conducted investigating how coping factors such as emotional
intelligence and proactive coping may affect the development of PTSD. The purpose of this
study was to determine if emotional intelligence and proactive coping were related to
symptoms of post-traumatic stress such as avoidance, hyperarousal, and intrusions, as well as
general symptoms of anxiety.
Emotional Intelligence
The first hypothesis predicted that symptoms of avoidance were influenced by
emotional intelligence. This hypothesis was supported by the data, however, the results were
significant (p = .023) in a direction opposite to that predicted (r = .237). Firefighters with
higher emotional intelligence experienced greater symptoms of avoidance than firefighters
with lower levels of emotional intelligence. A potential explanation for this result may be
related to the idea of emotional clarity. Individuals higher in emotional intelligence are also
higher in emotional clarity, which helps them accurately identify and label their emotions and
the most likely cause of the emotion in question (Gohm, 2003). Consequently, knowing that
certain thoughts or places related to a traumatic event will trigger feelings of anxiety, the

38

emotionally intelligent individual may attempt to avoid reminders of the event in order to
reduce the amount of anxiety they are feeling.
The second hypothesis was not supported in that emotional intelligence did not
influence the level of hyperarousal experienced by firefighters. In other words, firefighters
who scored higher in emotional intelligence did not experience fewer symptoms of
hyperarousal than firefighters with lower scores of emotional intelligence. One potential
reason for this finding is that perhaps emotional intelligence does not influence one's ability
to determine the cause of physical symptoms of anxiety such as fatigue, trembling or
sweating (Monat & Lazarus, 1977) in the same manner that it helps identify the cause of an
emotion. For example, a firefighter may notice that she or he is feeling unusually keyed up
and restless after responding to a serious car accident. However, if the individual is unaware
that these symptoms can be caused by feelings of anxiety, they may attribute these symptoms
to an incorrect stimulus such as a sudden "intolerance" for caffeine. As a result, despite
having a higher level of emotional intelligence, the individual is no better at regulating
symptoms of hyperarousal than individuals lower in emotional intelligence, because they are
not associating the symptoms (hyperarousal) with an underlying emotion (anxiety).
Hypothesis three predicted that firefighters higher in emotional intelligence would
experience fewer intrusions; however, this hypothesis was not supported by the data. The
results of this study demonstrated that emotional intelligence did not predict intrusions. One
potential explanation for this finding is because intrusions are unintentional recollections of
an event, the sudden, intense memories associated with intrusions may render the skills
associated with higher levels of emotional intelligence, such as mood regulation and the
ability to keep distress from encumbering the ability to think, useless. Whereas one may be

39

able to modify a depressed mood by thinking of positive memories or reframing negative
thoughts in normal circumstances, it's much more difficult to actively reframe or ignore a
vivid memory that is repeatedly "experienced as if the events are occurring again in the
present" (Holmes & Bourne, 2008, p. 555). Furthermore, past research has suggested that
caution needs to be exercised when attempting to regulate the occurrence of intrusions, as
there is some evidence to suggest that thought suppression and distress related to the initial
intrusion may play a role in the continuation of intrusive thoughts (Nixon, Nehmy, &
Seymour, 2007). As a result, it is possible that emotionally intelligent individuals are
choosing strategies such as thought suppression or avoidance to cope with intrusions because
they appear to be logical solutions. Unfortunately, these logical "solutions" may actually be
contributing to the problem, rather than improving it.
The fourth hypothesis, which proposed that firefighters who were higher in emotional
intelligence would experience less anxiety than firefighters with lower levels of emotional
intelligence, was not supported by the data. In other words, emotional intelligence did not
predict anxiety levels in firefighters. These results are consistent with Gohm et al.'s (2005)
study in which emotional intelligence was not related to stress. One aspect that was not
looked at in this study was how personality traits might affect one's use of the skills and
abilities that are typically associated with emotional intelligence. According to Gohm et al.
(2005), emotional intelligence has the potential to help individuals reduce stress; however, it
is unknown which individuals would benefit the most from it. For example, would an
emotionally intelligent individual who is also an extravert be more successful in reducing his
or her anxiety levels than an emotionally intelligent introvert? It is recommended that future

40

research in this area investigate whether personality traits affect the relationship between
emotional intelligence and anxiety.
Overall, the results of this study suggest that emotional intelligence, as measured by
the SREIT (Schutte et al., 1998), does not influence symptoms of post-traumatic stress,
except in the case of symptoms of avoidance. One possible reason for the lack of support for
the prediction that emotional intelligence plays a role in the development of symptoms of
PTSD, may be related to the scale used to measure emotional intelligence in this study. Due
to the research questions being investigated, and the population that this study is based on, a
one factor scale such as the SREIT, may have overlooked important aspects of emotional
intelligence that might have been detected had a different measure been used. For example,
the EQ-I (Bar-On, 2000) uses four scales (intrapersonal emotional quotient, interpersonal
emotional quotient, stress management, and adaptability) to measure emotional intelligence.
As stated previously in this paper, there is considerable debate among researchers
regarding whether emotional intelligence scales actually measure emotional intelligence, or
whether they are simply measuring constructs already encapsulated by more well-known
measures such as the Big Five personality dimensions (Conte, 2005). Researchers have not
determined which scale is a better measure of emotional intelligence (Livingstone & Day,
2005), and perhaps the SREIT did not accurately capture the construct of emotional
intelligence in the firefighter population. Additional research investigating measurement of
emotional intelligence is needed in order to ensure that the current emotional intelligence
scales are, in fact, measuring emotional intelligence, and to help clarify which scale is the
best measure of emotional intelligence.

41

Proactive Coping
Hypothesis five proposed that firefighters higher in proactive coping would be less
likely to experience symptoms of avoidance. The test of this hypothesis was not significant
(p = 0.09), therefore suggesting that proficiency in proactive coping does not affect
symptoms of avoidance. The benefit of proactive coping is that it helps an individual
minimize the effects of stress before a stressful event occurs. In other words, having
resources available ahead of time will help keep stress under control (Aspinwall & Taylor,
1997). However, it is possible that by the time the firefighter starts to experience symptoms
of avoidance, his or her proactive coping skills and resources have already been exhausted.
While there may be less need to avoid reminders of the critical incident when the individual
has constructive ways to help them cope with critical incident stress already in place, once
these resources are depleted symptoms such as avoidance may become more prevalent.
Additionally, it is possible that the support systems and resources in place before a critical
event has been experienced are easily overwhelmed by the individual's reaction to a critical
event, therefore providing less of a protective buffer than originally intended, and leading to
increased stress reactions such as avoidance.
The sixth hypothesis, which predicted that firefighters higher in proactive coping
would experience less hyperarousal than firefighters lower in proactive coping skills, was not
supported by the results of this study. Proactive coping did not predict hyperarousal. One
reason for this outcome may be because it is difficult to prepare for a potential stressor when
one cannot reliably predict how they will react to a particular situation. Proactive coping is
often an educated guess about a possible stressor and the coping strategies that will
counteract it (Aspinwall & Taylor, 1997), and unfortunately, not all traumatic events are
42

created equally. Car accidents are not the same with every crash. There are always variables
that can change—the force of the impact, the number of victims involved, the type of injuries,
the cause of the crash, etc. There are numerous factors that can affect how traumatic an event
can be; therefore, one must constantly be thinking of potential stressors that may occur, and
updating their coping "toolbox". However while the coping toolbox used by firefighters may
be being constantly updated with tools for dealing with the psychological aspects of critical
incident stress, ways of coping with the physiological signs of stress may be getting
accidentally overlooked.
The seventh hypothesis predicted that firefighters higher in proactive coping skills
would experience fewer symptoms of intrusions, however, this hypothesis was not supported
by the data. While proactive coping can help diminish the negative effects of stress, proactive
coping becomes difficult, if not impossible, in chronically stressful environments (Aspinwall
& Taylor, 1997). As a result, continually being exposed to high-stress environments can have
a negative effect not only on one's ability to engage in proactive coping, but it can also
reduce perceptions of control (Aspinwall & Taylor, 1997). As one's ability to successfully
look to the future and anticipate potential stressors is reduced, it becomes more difficult to
effectively keep stress and its symptoms at a manageable level. Furthermore, as one's coping
abilities wane and symptoms of stress increase, he or she may begin to question personal
competence and ability to successfully deal with future critical incidents. Bryant and Guthrie
(2005) found that a major predictor of post-traumatic stress symptoms in firefighters is the
amount of catastrophic thinking, specifically maladaptive self-appraisals, engaged in by the
firefighters prior to exposure to a critical incident. Furthermore, Nixon et al. (2007) suggest
that interfering with the encoding process of a traumatic event (i.e., processing the event in a

43

logical manner so that it is no longer seen as a current threat) can increase the development
of intrusions. Therefore, if firefighters are engaging in an increasing number of maladaptive
self-appraisals as coping resources are depleted, these thoughts may subsequently interfere
with their ability to effectively process and make sense of a traumatic event. As a result,
despite whether an individual is a strong proactive coper or not, continued exposure to the
stress associated with witnessing critical incidents may diminish the firefighter's coping
abilities and increase their vulnerability to negative self appraisals, faulty encoding of
traumatic events, and intrusions. Further research is needed in this area in order to compare
proactive coping and maladaptive appraisals, and their relationship with the encoding of
critical incidents, as this information may help clarify the reasons why proactive coping is
not significantly related to symptoms of intrusion.
Finally, the eighth hypothesis proposed that firefighters who were higher in proactive
coping would experience less anxiety. This hypothesis was supported by the data. Proactive
coping involves the "accumulation of resources and the acquisition of skills" (Aspinwall &
Taylor, 1997, p. 417) to help one prepare, in general, for potential stressors. Though it is
difficult for one to predict how he or she might react to witnessing certain types of trauma,
the data supports the hypothesis that firefighters who demonstrate higher levels of proactive
coping may experience less anxiety as a result of the steps they have taken to help reduce the
strain of traumatic incidents prior to being exposed to them. Furthermore, maintaining an
awareness of the types of traumas that could potentially be seen in the course of duty may
help firefighters mentally prepare themselves for coping with the trauma that is
unequivocally part of their jobs. One example of proactive coping that firefighters may use
might include talking to other firefighters who have experienced critical events in the past;

44

such an encounter would give the individual insight into how others have reacted to past
events and the differences in intensity of the reactions, thus helping her or him to determine
what kinds of resources might be needed to help cope successfully if exposed to a similar
event. Additionally, a willingness to attend debriefmgs, and making sure that contact
numbers for counselors and other health professionals are easily accessible are also examples
of proactive coping strategies that can be performed ahead of time to help reduce the impact
of a critical incident. These simple preparatory steps may give the individual a sense of
control when in the midst of trauma, and while that feeling of control may not reduce the
intensity of their reaction to a critical event, it can help reduce the burden felt by the
individual (Gohm et al., 2005), therefore reducing feelings of anxiety.
Taken as a whole, the results of this study indicate that perhaps proactive coping is
more effective in reducing anxiety, in general, rather than reducing specific physical
symptoms of stress such as avoidance, hyperarousal, and intrusions. Since proactive coping
does not prepare an individual for a specific type of stressor (Aspinwall & Taylor, 1997), it
would seem reasonable to suggest that proactive coping would, therefore, fail to prepare an
individual for specific symptoms of stress as well. Perhaps proactive coping influences
symptoms of stress as a whole, rather than individually. In other words, while proactive
coping may not influence intrusions when looked at separate from hyperarousal and
avoidance, future researchers may find that proactive coping reduces intrusions when looked
at in conjunction with the other symptoms associated with post-traumatic stress.

45

Limitations
There are several limitations to this study that should be noted. First, this study used
self-reports as a method to gather information about emotional intelligence and proactive
coping skills. Despite the fact that that past research has indicated that self report
questionnaires are a reliable form of data collection (Lunsford & Lunsford, 1995), it is still
possible that some participants may have answered questions in a manner intended to make
themselves look more favorable in terms of their social abilities and coping practices.
Additionally, as suggested by Mayer et al. (2004), the participant's perception of his or her
own emotional intelligence or coping skills may be considerably different from their actual
abilities. For example, an individual may think that he or she is able to effectively control
their anger, however, friends, family, or coworkers may describe the individual as hot
tempered.
Second, the generalizability of this study is limited for several reasons. Since the
participants in this study were paid career firefighters, it may not be appropriate to generalize
this study to volunteer firefighters. There are two major differences between career
firefighters and volunteer firefighters that may affect the generalizability of this study. First,
career firefighters experience more callouts than volunteer firefighters, and therefore are
exposed to a higher number of traumatic events in a shorter period of time than volunteer
firefighters. Second, it is likely that there are some differences in the types of callouts career
and volunteer fire departments respond to, especially since the environments in which these
departments are associated with differ (eg., urban verses rural areas).
Additionally, the firefighters involved in this study consisted of only male
participants, as the local fire department did not employ any female firefighters at the time
46

this study was conducted. As a result, this study should not be generalized to female
firefighter populations.
Future Research
In conclusion, the results of this study contribute to the literature on firefighters and
post-traumatic stress by investigating how emotional intelligence and proactive coping may
influence anxiety levels, and affect one's susceptibility to developing symptoms of posttraumatic stress. Specifically, this study found that firefighters higher in emotional
intelligence experienced higher levels of avoidance symptoms, and that higher levels of
proactive coping were related to lower symptoms of anxiety.
Research in the area of coping and post-traumatic stress is important, not only to the
firefighters who are exposed on a daily basis to potentially life-threatening or traumatic
incidents, but to their families and loved ones, and to the victims whose lives depend on the
mental health and quick thinking of those firefighters. In order to continue to benefit the lives
of everyone who is affected by PTSD, research into this complex disorder must continue.
Knowledge gained in this area of research will not only help identify factors, such as coping
strategies and personality characteristics, which may contribute to the development of PTSD,
but it may also help reduce the prevalence of PTSD in emergency service providers, and
expand current treatment options for individuals with PTSD.
PTSD is a complex disorder, and there are many aspects of PTSD and its
development that still need to be investigated. Specifically, it would be valuable for
researchers to examine how personality characteristics and other factors may affect whether
firefighters choose to utilize skills such as mood regulation or to initiate proactive coping
strategies to reduce stress. Additionally, it would be interesting to examine how proactive

47

coping strategies change for firefighters the longer they are on active duty, and if the use of
proactive coping strategies varies within a firefighter across different types of traumatic
incidents. Furthermore, it is important to consider the factors that may cause a person to
forgo proactive coping even though they have the ability to initiate it, so that interventions
aimed at increasing proactive coping skills can be implemented prior to exposure to a critical
incident (i.e., during training). Aspinwall (2005) suggests that perhaps proactive coping is not
initiated when it appears too costly in time, resources, or energy in comparison to the
potential benefits. However, more research is needed to support this theory.
In addition, this study did not evaluate the specific coping strategies used by the
firefighters. Thus, it is important that future research investigates the effect that certain
coping practises can have on the development of PTSD and its symptoms. The results of this
study did indicate that proactive coping plays a role in the reduction of anxiety levels, in
general; however, more information is needed in order to understand whether there are
aspects of proactive coping that can be used to aid in the reduction of specific symptoms of
post-traumatic stress.

48

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55

Appendix A

Introductory Letter:
Dear Sir or Madam:
I am writing to tell you about a research project entitled "An investigation of the rescue
personality" that you may be interested in and to ask if you would consider participating. The
intent of this project is to attempt to describe emergency service workers regarding various
types of personal characteristics. Consequently, your participation may have been requested
as either an emergency service worker or trainee, or alternately as a control participant from
another profession.
Your participation in this phase of this project will involve one 60 minute time period during
which we will ask you to complete several surveys that ask questions about yourself and your
reactions to stress, etc. These questionnaires should not be viewed as a "test". I am simply
interested in overall perceptions or views. All information that you provide is held in strict
confidence. Only the researchers who are involved in this project will ever have access to
your completed surveys, which will be kept in a locked and secure place at the university for
a period of seven years after which time they will be shredded. Your names will be removed
from all questionnaires and replaced with code numbers. Also, please be assured that once
you volunteer to participate, you can still withdraw from the study at any time with no
consequence and any information collected from you will be withdrawn and shredded.
At another time, I may contact you again to participate in the second phase of the project that
will evaluate further aspects of the emergency service experience. I will provide you with full
details about this phase of the study at a later time.
If you would like to participate in this project, please complete and return the attached
informed consent sheet and feel free to keep this information letter for further reference. In
exchange for your participation, I will provide a five dollar donation to the BC Burn Fund or
other charity of your choice. A copy of the final results can be attained, upon completion of
the project, by contacting me directly.
Thank you very much for your time and consideration. I look forward to hearing from you; if
you have any further questions please contact me at wagners@unbc.ca or 250 960-6320. If at
any time, you have concerns about the research project or the researchers, you may contact
the UNBC Office of Research at 250-960-5820.
Sincerely,
Dr. Shannon Wagner
Assistant Professor,
Disability Management Program
250-960-6320

56

Appendix B
Informed Consent:
Researcher Copy
I have read the letter concerning the research project entitled "An investigation of the
rescue personality" being conducted by Dr. Shannon Wagner of the University of
Northern British Columbia. I understand that all information gathered for this project
is to be used for research purposes only and will be considered confidential. I also
understand that permission to participate may be withdrawn at any time.

I will participate:

Yes

No

Signature:

Name:
Address:

Telephone number:

Best times to call:

Charity to which I would like to donate:
BC Burn Fund
Other (please specify)

If you would like more information about this project, please provide your phone number and
I will contact you as soon as possible.
Name:

Phone number:

Best Times to call:

57

Appendix B (cont.)
Informed Consent:

I have read the letter concerning the research project entitled "An investigation of the
rescue personality" being conducted by Dr. Shannon Wagner of the University of
Northern British Columbia. I understand that all information gathered for this project
is to be used for research purposes only and will be considered confidential. I also
understand that permission to participate may be withdrawn at any time.

I will participate:

Yes _____ No

Signature:

Name:
Address:
Telephone number:

Best times to call:

Charity to which I would like to donate:
BC Burn Fund
Other (please specify)

If you would like more information about this project, please provide your phone number and
I will contact you as soon as possible.
Name:

Phone number:

Best Times to call:

58

Appendix C
Demographic Information:
Please complete the following demographic information to the best of your knowledge:
Name:

Gender:

• M

• F

Occupation:
Number of Years in Occupation:
Highest Level of Education:
D Elementary School
• High School
D Some College/University
• Graduated College
• Graduated University
• Post-graduate (e.g., Master's or PhD)
Marital Status:
• Married or common-law
• Separated
• Divorced
D Widowed
Number and Age of Children:
Current Health Status:
• Very good
• Above average
• Average
• Below Average
• Poor
Ethnicity:
• Caucasian
• First Nations
D African-Canadian
• Indo-Canadian
• Asian
• Other

(please specify)

59

Appendix D
Prince George Wellness Resources
Resource

Contact Number

Fire Department Resources (First Choice for Assistance with Referral)
Prince George Fire Department Employee Assistance Program

564-9101

Shannon Wagner
(CIRT MHP)

961-5989

Prince George Regional Hospital

565-2281

(Quick Response Social Worker)
Public Resources
Alcohol and Drug Referral

1-800-663-1441

Anxiety Disorders Group

561-8033

www.bcss.org
Community Response Unit - PGRH

565-2668

Canadian Mental Health Association

564-8644

Depression Support Group

564-8644 (ext 26)

Mental Health Information Line - B.C.
www.cmha-bc.org
Psychological Association Referral Service - B.C.

1-800-661-2121
1-800-730-0522

www.psychologists.bc.ca
Private Resources
Brazzoni & Associates
www.brazzoni.com
Walmsley & Associates Professional Counseling
www.walmsley.ca
Worth Counseling and Assessment

60

614-2261
564-1000
5 63 -73 31

Appendix E
IMPACT OF EVENTS SCALE
Directions: The following is a list of difficulties people sometimes have after stressful life
events. Please read each item, and then indicate how distressing each difficulty has been
for you during the past 7 days with respect to the event (even if the event happened long
ago). How much were you distressed or bothered by these difficulties.
1 = not at all
2 = a little bit
3 = moderately
4 = quite a bit
5 = extremely
1. Any reminder brought back feelings about it.
2. I had trouble staying asleep.
3. Other things kept making me think about it
4. I felt irritable and angry.
5. I avoided letting myself get upset when I thought about it or was reminded of it.
6. I thought about it when I didn't mean to.
7. I felt as if it hadn't happened or wasn't real.
8. I stayed away from reminders about it.
9. Pictures about it popped into my mind.
10.1 was jumpy and easily startled.
11.1 tried not to think about it.
12.1 was aware that I still had a lot of feelings about it, but didn't deal with them.
13. My feelings about it were kind of numb.
14.1 found myself acting or feeling like I was back at that time.
15.1 had trouble falling asleep.
16.1 had waves of strong feelings about it.

61

Appendix E (cont).
17.1 tried to remove it from my memory
18.1 had trouble concentrating.
19. Reminders of it caused me to have physical reactions, such as sweating, trouble
breathing, nausea, or a pounding heart.
20.1 had dreams about it.
21.1 felt watchful and on guard.
22. I tried not to talk about it.

62

Appendix F
Symptom Checklist-90-Revised ©

63

Appendix G
PROACTIVE COPING SCALE
Directions: The following statements deal with reactions you may have to various situations.
Indicate how true each of these statements is depending on how you feel about the situation.
Do this by circling the most appropriate number.
0 = not at all true
1 = moderately disagree
2 = slightly disagree
3 = slightly agree
4 = moderately agree
5= strongly agree
1. I am a take-charge person.
2. I try to let things work out on their own.*
3. After attaining a goal, I look for another more challenging one.
4. I like challenges and beating the odds.
5. I visualize my dreams and try to achieve them.
6. Despite numerous setbacks, I usually succeed in getting what I want.
7. I try to pinpoint what I need to succeed.
8. I always try to find a way to work around obstacles; nothing really stops me.
9. I often see myself failing so I don't get my hopes up too high.*
10. When I apply for a position, I imagine myself filling it.
11.1 turn obstacles into positive experiences.
12. If someone tells me I can't do something you can be sure I will do it.
13. When I experience a problem, I take the initiative in resolving it.
14. When I have a problem, I usually see myself in a no-win situation.*
* reverse score

64

Appendix H
EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE SCALE
Directions: Each of the following items asks you about your emotions or reactions
connected to emotions. After deciding whether the statement is generally true for you, use
the 5-point scale to respond to the statement. Please circle the 1 if you strongly disagree that
this is like you, the 2 if you somewhat disagree that this is like you, the 3 if you neither agree
or disagree that this is like you, the 4 if you somewhat agree that this is like you, and the 5 if
you strongly agree that this is like you. There are no right or wrong answers. Please give the
response that best describes you.

1. I know when to speak about my personal problems to others.
2. When I am faced with obstacles, I remember times I faced similar obstacles and overcame them.
3. I expect that I will do well at most things I try.
4. Other people find it easy to confide in me.
5. I find it hard to understand the non-verbal messages of other people.*
6. Some of the major events of my life have led me to re-evaluate what is important.
7. When my mood changes, I see new possibilities.
8. Emotions are one of the things that make my life worth living.
9. I am aware of my emotions as I experience them.
10.1 expect good things to happen.
11.1 like to share my emotions with others.
12. When I experience a positive emotion, I know to make it last.
13.1 arrange events that others enjoy.
14.1 seek out activities that make me happy.
15.1 am aware of the non-verbal messages that I send to others.
16.1 present myself in a way that makes a good impression on others.

65

Appendix H (cont)
17. When I am in a positive mood, solving problems is easy for me.
18. By looking at their facial expressions, I recognize the emotions people are experiencing.
19.1 know why my emotions change.
20. When I am in a positive mood, I am able to come up with new ideas.
21.1 have control over my emotions.
22.1 easily recognize my emotions as I experience them.
23.1 motivate myself by imagining a good outcome to tasks I take on.
24.1 compliment others when they have done something well.
25.1 am aware of the non-verbal messages that other people send.
26. When another person tells me about an important event in his or her life, I almost feel as though I
have experienced this event myself
27. When I feel a change in emotions, I tend to come up with new ideas.
28. When I am faced with a challenge, I give up because I believe that I will fail.*
29.1 know what other people are feeling just by looking at them.
30.1 help other people feel better when they are down.
31.1 use good moods to help myself keep trying in the face of obstacles.
32.1 can tell how people are feeling by listening to the tone of their voice.
33. It is difficult for me to understand why people feel the way they do.*
* reverse score

66

Table I
Descriptive Frequencies for the Demographics of the Firefighters
Percent Firefighters
Level of Education
High School
Some College/University
Graduated College
Graduated University
Post Graduate

21.3
58.5
12.8
7.4
0.0

Marital Status
Married or Common Law
Separated
Divorced
Single, Never Married
Widowed

86.2
1.1
10.6
1.1
0.0

Number of Children
Zero
One
Two
Three
Four
Five or More

10.6
12.8
42.6
24.5
8.5
1.1

Current Health Status
Poor
Below Average
Average
Above Average

43.6
33.0
21.3
2.1

Ethnicity
Caucasian
First Nations
Asian
Other

97.9
1.1
0.0
1.1

67