Jaime Senabre
University of Alicante, Spain
Title: Modulating effect of hardiness in the development of emotional trauma in firefighters trapped in forest fire
Biography
Biography: Jaime Senabre
Abstract
Some authors have pointed out that the individuals with resistant
personality deal with stressful situations in an active and committed way,
perceiving them as less threatening (Moreno, B. et al., 2006). Also, we
know that stress acts as a mediator in the predisposition, precipitation or
exacerbation of the disease (Godoy-Izquierdo and Godoy, J.F., 2002).
Emergency services professionals are often confronted with numerous
critical incidents that are likely to break into their lives and cause them
to suffer, often because of their surprising nature. The traumatic
experience is pointed out as one of the most revealing sources of deep
discomfort (Senabre, J. 2017).
The aim of this study is to determine if the resistant personality or
hardiness plays a role as a modulator of the stress experience and, more
specifically, the development of posttraumatic stress. To this end, we
evaluated a sample of firefighters, who were surprised by the fire in an
entrapment situation during the extinction of a forest fire in the province
of Alicante (Spain) and that had a fatal outcome for some of the
emergency device personnel.
The results indicate that 37.5% of the sample developed posttraumatic
stress disorder (PTSD) at the clinical level after the month of the incident
and 25% some type of posttraumatic symptomatology (PTSD
subsyndrome); the remaining 37.5% were not emotionally affected by
that stress experience. On the other hand, the dispersion analysis shows
a tendency to the appearance of PTSD as the hardiness decreases
(figure 1). These results support the idea that resistant personality can
play a modulating role in the development of emotional trauma. The
dimensions of the construct, "implication" and "challenge", seem to have
a greater role in this stress modulating process, being the influence of
"control" more contained.
In the discussion, emphasis is placed on the need for specialized
evaluation and follow up after the experience of a critical incident of
these characteristics, as well as the design of training actions aimed at
the development of knowledge, skills, abilities and psychological skills in
professionals belonging to the different emergency services, and more
specifically, firefighters.
Key notes: emotional trauma, resistant personality, forest fire,
firefighter, critical incident.
Image
Figure1. Posttraumatic Symptomatology vs Hardiness. (Senabre, J.)
Recent Publications
1. Senabre, J. (2018). Forest fires from the perspective of
environmental psychology. In Climate Change, 2018, 4(13), 58-68.
ISSN: 2394–8558. EISSN: 2394–8566
2. Senabre, J. (2017). Efecto modulador de la personalidad resistente
en el desarrollo del trauma emocional en bomberos atrapados en
un incendio forestal. En Actas del I Congreso Prevencionar. Edición:
Fourmarketing 360. ISBN: 978-84-697-6373-5.
3. Senabre, J. (2017). El proceso de segunda victimización en
profesionales afectados por incendio forestal. En Actas del 7º
Congreso Forestal Español. Edita: Sociedad Española de Ciencias
Forestales. ISBN: 978-84-941695-2-6
4. Senabre, J. (2017). Wildland fires, climate change and society. In J
Earth Sci Clim Change, 2017, Volume 8, Issue 10 (Suppl). DOI:
10.4172/2157-7617-C1-036. ISSN: 2157-7617
5. Senabre, J. (2016). Incendios forestales en la sociedad del riesgo. Ed.
PREVINFO Soluciones. S.L.U. Alicante. ISNB: 978-84-617-5671-1.
6. Senabre, J. (2016). Wildland fires and climate change. In J Earth Sci
Clim Change, 2016 Volume 7, Issue 5 (Suppl). ISSN: 2157-7617 JESCC.
http://dx.doi.org/10.4172/2157-7617.C1.025