Citation

Leykin D, Lahad M, Bonneh N. Psychiatry J. 2013; 2013: 274121.

Affiliation

The Community Stress Prevention Centre, 11016 Kiryat Shmona, Israel ; Department of Psychology, Tel Hai Academic College, 12210 Kiryat Shmona, Israel.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2013, Hindawi Publishing)

DOI

10.1155/2013/274121

PMID

24286064

PMCID

PMC3839653

Abstract

Wildfire disasters are potentially traumatic events which directly and indirectly affect both citizens and first responders. The study of posttraumatic growth is scarcely found in the context of firefighters and only few studies have addressed this construct. In the current study, posttraumatic symptoms and posttraumatic growth were investigated among Israeli firefighters (N = 65), approximately one month after the Carmel Fire Disaster. Eight firefighters (12.3%) were found to be above the cut-off score for probable PTSD, with intrusion symptoms as the most frequent finding compared to avoidance and hyper-arousal symptoms. Posttraumatic growth (PTG) was evident to a small but considerable degree; noticeable changes were found regarding personal strength and appreciation of life. Results also revealed significant linear and quadratic relationships between PTSD and PTG. Results are discussed in light of past research on psychological responses among firefighters and first responders.

Language: en