Counseling & Welfare Center for Youth, Dangjin City Youth Foundation, Dangjin-si, South Korea.
Graduate School of Education, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, South Korea.
Eur J Psychotraumatol. 2024;15(1):2387477. doi: 10.1080/20008066.2024.2387477. Epub 2024 Aug 14.
Firefighters, in the course of their professional responsibilities, confront an array of stressors contingent upon the distinctive characteristics of their duties. This study investigated the longitudinal impact of trauma incidents during duty on firefighters using latent transition analysis. Data from 346 firefighters in South Korea who had experienced trauma events while on duty were utilized. Initially, latent groups were identified based on the relationship between post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and post-traumatic growth (PTG). Groups were labelled based on the analysis of differences in PTSD, mental health, and growth-related factors among classified groups. Subsequently, transition probabilities and patterns from Time 1 to Time 2 were examined, followed by an investigation into variances based on demographic factors (gender, age) and occupational factors (work experience, shift pattern) using variance analysis and multinomial logistic regression analysis. First, at Time 2, a five-group model was classified into 'Growth,' 'Resilience or Numbness,' 'Struggle,' 'Partial Struggle,' and 'PTSD' groups. Second, upon examining the transition patterns between latent groups, four patterns emerged: 'continued distress,' 'growth,' 'adaptation,' and 'escalated distress.' Third, the 'Struggle' group showed a 0% probability of transitioning to the 'Growth' group, whereas it displayed the highest probability among the groups transitioning to the 'PTSD' group. Fourth, latent transition analysis results showed a strong tendency for the 'Growth' group and 'Resilience or Numbness' group to remain in the same category. Fifth, age was found to be a significant factor affecting the transition of latent groups. This research represents the inaugural attempt to longitudinally investigate the interplay between PTSD and PTG among firefighters.
消防员在履行其职业职责时，会面临一系列压力源，这些压力源取决于其职责的独特特征。本研究使用潜在转变分析调查了消防员在值班期间经历创伤事件对他们的纵向影响。研究数据来自韩国的 346 名消防员，他们在值班时经历过创伤事件。最初，根据创伤后应激障碍（PTSD）和创伤后成长（PTG）之间的关系，确定潜在的群体。根据分类群体之间 PTSD、心理健康和成长相关因素的差异分析，对群体进行了标记。随后，检查了从时间 1 到时间 2 的转移概率和模式，然后使用方差分析和多项逻辑回归分析，根据人口统计学因素（性别、年龄）和职业因素（工作经验、轮班模式）调查方差。首先，在时间 2 时，将五组模型分为“成长”、“韧性或麻木”、“挣扎”、“部分挣扎”和“创伤后应激障碍”组。其次，在检查潜在群体之间的转变模式时，出现了四种模式：“持续困扰”、“成长”、“适应”和“恶化困扰”。第三，“挣扎”组向“成长”组转变的概率为 0%，而向“创伤后应激障碍”组转变的概率在所有组中最高。第四，潜在转变分析结果表明，“成长”组和“韧性或麻木”组有强烈的倾向保持在同一类别。第五，年龄是影响潜在群体转变的一个重要因素。这项研究代表了首次对消防员 PTSD 和 PTG 之间的相互作用进行纵向研究。
