The impact of cumulative trauma and self-regulation on posttraumatic stress symptoms, depression, and suicidal ideation in a sample of New Zealand firefighters : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Clinical Psychology at Massey University, Wellington, New Zealand

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dc.confidentialEmbargo : Noen_US
dc.contributor.advisorde Terte, Ian
dc.contributor.authorBertram, Jeannette
dc.date.accessioned2023-08-21T00:12:35Z
dc.date.accessioned2023-09-08T02:45:57Z
dc.date.available2023-08-21T00:12:35Z
dc.date.available2023-09-08T02:45:57Z
dc.date.issued2023
dc.description.abstractThis thesis presents a research study that aimed to explore the levels of psychological distress in a sample of New Zealand (NZ) firefighters. While there is a growing body of literature that recognizes the importance of first responders’ psychological distress, there is still a paucity of research, especially on firefighters and in particular firefighters in NZ. A thorough search of literature did not reveal any quantitative research on NZ firefighters and factors contributing to and alleviating psychological distress. This study aimed to build on previous international findings and examine the presence of posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS), depression, and suicidal ideation (SI) in a sample of NZ firefighters, as well as investigate the impact of potentially traumatic events (PTEs) and self-regulation on this presence. First, a scoping review was undertaken of the existing evidence of the precursors to SI in firefighters. A questionnaire was developed incorporating these factors. Then, data was collected from 220 NZ firefighters through an online survey. As predicted, PTSS, depression, and SI were found to be significantly higher in NZ firefighters than in the general population. While career firefighters were found to be exposed to significantly higher cumulative trauma exposure than volunteer firefighters, no significant differences were found in the levels of psychological distress between the two groups. PTSS and depression showed a significantly positive relationship with SI. Multiple significant positive correlations were found between psychological distress and demographic and occupational characteristics. Lastly, better self-regulation skills were found to be associated with less psychological distress and moderated the relationship between cumulative trauma exposure and psychological distress.en_US
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10179/20058
dc.publisherMassey Universityen_US
dc.rightsThe Authoren_US
dc.subjectFire fightersen
dc.subjectMental healthen
dc.subjectJob stressen
dc.subjectPost-traumatic stress disorderen
dc.subjectDepression, Mentalen
dc.subjectSuicidal behavioren
dc.subjectNew Zealanden
dc.subject.anzsrc520302 Clinical psychologyen
dc.subject.anzsrc520104 Industrial and organisational psychology (incl. human factors)en
dc.titleThe impact of cumulative trauma and self-regulation on posttraumatic stress symptoms, depression, and suicidal ideation in a sample of New Zealand firefighters : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Clinical Psychology at Massey University, Wellington, New Zealanden_US
dc.typeThesisen_US
massey.contributor.authorBertram, Jeannetteen_US
thesis.degree.disciplineClinical Psychologyen_US
thesis.degree.grantorMassey Universityen_US
thesis.degree.levelDoctoralen_US
thesis.degree.nameDoctorate of Clinical Psychology (DClinPsych)en_US
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