Date

1-14-2026

Department

School of Behavioral Sciences

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology (PhD)

Chair

Bethany Mims-Beliles

Keywords

first responders, trauma-informed practices, trauma informed care, peer support programs, professional counseling, trauma-informed training, trauma education, PTSD in first responders, posttraumatic stress, occupational stress, burnout, job satisfaction, emergency responders, police officers, firefighters, EMTs, paramedics, rural first responders, urban first responders, organizational support, mental health interventions, workplace trauma, comparative effectiveness, quantitative study, stress exposure, critical incident stress, occupational trauma

Disciplines

Psychology

Abstract

First responders are the frontline defense of society and consist of people that push back against chaos to keep our communities civilized and in functioning order. This study aimed to ensure that first responders’ mental health is adequate for home life as well as daily job functions, and to assess which Trauma Informed Practices (TIPs) can lead to positive outcomes in reducing first responder’s feelings of burnout, increasing their job satisfaction, and suppressing frequency of PTSD symptoms. TIPs are different intervention techniques that are designed to assist the individual with a variety of emotions such as anxiety, stress, burnout, and PTSD. These can come in the form of formal professional clinical counseling, training and education, or more informal peer support groups. However, TIPs and any potential associations with PTSD, burnout, and job satisfaction are still unknown. This research utilized a cross-sectional quantitative survey design with between-subjects to evaluate these possible findings with two stratifications of years of service and geographical location. The results indicated that training and education usage was associated with high job satisfaction, and professional counseling use was linked to higher PTSD scores. Additionally, late career first responders showed resiliency against PTSD and burnout when compared to early and mid-career first responders respectively. These findings show that TIPs can make a meaningful difference, and experience certainly plays a role to this end. These findings should be utilized by future researchers to build upon longitudinal or qualitative research and potential implications to policymakers and leaders are numerous.

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Psychology Commons

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