Relationship between Social Support and Posttraumatic Growth for Korean Firefighters
- Hyejin Kim, department of English language and Literature, Gachon University, Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi-do, Korea, Republic of
- Jasmin Jeeyeh Shin, department of Korean language and Literature, Gachon University, Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi-do, Korea, Republic of
- Jeong Ryu, Seokyeong University, Seoul, Korea, Republic of
AbstractFirefighters are exposed to elevated levels of potentially traumatizing events through the course of their work. Such exposure can have lasting negative consequences (e.g., post‐traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)) and/or positive outcomes (e.g., post‐traumatic growth (PTG)). Research had implicated trauma, occupational and personal variables that account for variance in post‐trauma outcomes yet at this stage no research has investigated these factors and their relative influence on both PTSD and PTG in a single study. Based in Calhoun and Tedeschi's model of PTG and previous research, in this study regression models of PTG and PTSD symptoms among 610 firefighters were tested. Results indicated organisational factors predicted symptoms of PTSD, while there was partial support for the hypothesis that coping and social support would be predictors of PTG. Increases in PTG were predicted by experiencing trauma from multiple sources and the use of self‐care coping.