An investigation of the rescue personality in firefighter recruits.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the predispositional nature of the rescue personality' and the mental health of firefighter recruits. This study compared responses to a written set of personality and mental health measures between firefighter recruits and community controls - individually matched based on age, gender, ethnicity, education, and marital status. Data analysis involved statistical one-way analyses of variance in complement with epidemiological paired odds ratio calculations. The results indicated that firefighter recruits are less open to experience, less Type A, and less likely to report posttraumatic stress symptomatology characteristic of PTSD than controls. Recruits do not differ from controls in regards to any subscale of the SCL-90-R, neuroticism, extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, sensation seeking, proactive coping, emotional intelligence, or satisfaction with life. Based on these findings, there is insufficient evidence to support the rescue personality' as a predispositional factor to joining the firefighting service. --Leaf ii.