Coping style and perceived social support among firefighters

Firefighters work in an occupation that repeatedly exposes them to disasters and accidents. This exploratory investigation examined how firefighters' perceived social support and supervisor's ratings of their job performance correlate with their reported patterns of coping. Social support is recognized as a helpful element among civilian populations for avoiding Posttraumatic Stress Disorder following exposure to traumatic incidents. Lazarus and Folkman (1984) described coping as cognitive and behavioral efforts to manage internal and external stressors. The results provide evidence of a relationship between firefighter coping styles and different levels and kinds of social support. Lower levels of social support indicated greater use of Planful Problem-solving. Results indicated greater use of Planful Problem solving, Positive Reappraisal, and Self-controlling among all firefighters, in contrast to the less often used Accepting Responsibility and Escape-Avoidance styles of coping. Positive performance evaluations were correlated with less use of Escape-Avoidance coping. Results provide information about firefighter coping styles which may be useful in mental health programing in this population.