The purpose of this study was to explore several personal and work-related variables associated with posttraumatic growth (PTG) levels in professional firefighters employed in a large fire district in south Florida. First, the researcher identified common factors in professional firefighting research that were associated with PTG in firefighters (independent variables: perceived supervisor support, occupational stress, coping style, and sense of belongingness). Second, the researcher determined if there was a significant relationship between these independent variables and the dependent variable (PTG). Then the researcher examined whether demographic variables identified from the literature moderated PTG in professional firefighters, such as: number of years of service, trauma history, and military history prior to joining the fire service. The sample consisted of 63 firefighters in a large Fire District in south Florida. The sample size was small and underpowered, and the response rate was low due to the concurrent eruption of the COVID-19 pandemic during the data collection period. Descriptive statistics (means, standard deviations, internal consistency, range, and bivariate correlations) and multiple regression with hierarchical entry were used to test the six proposed hypotheses. The results indicated that perceived supervisor support had a statistically significant relationship with PTG levels in the sample (p = .027). Two of the controlling variables, prior trauma and military history, showed contradictory effects than was indicated in prior research. The present study’s sample reported lower incidences of prior trauma and military history prior to joining the fire service. Clinical implications, ideas for future research, practice, and policy were discussed. / Includes bibliography. / Dissertation (PhD)--Florida Atlantic University, 2021. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fau.edu/oai:fau.digital.flvc.org:fau_78706 |
| Contributors | Benfield, Diane (author), Florida Atlantic University (Degree grantor), School of Social Work, College of Social Work and Criminal Justice |
| Publisher | Florida Atlantic University |
| Source Sets | Florida Atlantic University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis or Dissertation, Text |
| Format | 142 p., application/pdf |
| Rights | Copyright © is held by the author with permission granted to Florida Atlantic University to digitize, archive and distribute this item for non-profit research and educational purposes. Any reuse of this item in excess of fair use or other copyright exemptions requires permission of the copyright holder., http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ |
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