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Sources of Occupational Stress Among Firefighter/EMTs and Firefighter/Paramedics and Correlations with Job-related Outcomes

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 June 2012

Randal D. Beaton  and
Shirley A. Murphy
Randal D. Beaton*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychosocial Nursing, University of Washington, Seattle, Wash.
Shirley A. Murphy
Affiliation:
Department of Psychosocial Nursing, University of Washington, Seattle, Wash.
*
Department of Psychosocial Nursing, SC-76, School of Nursing, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195USA
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Abstract

Introduction/Objective:

This paper reports the results of an initial effort to develop and test measure of the various sources of job-related stress in firefighter and paramedic emergenc service workers.

Methods:

A 57-item paper and pencil measure of occupational stressor in firefighter/Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) and firefighter/paramedics was developed and administered by anonymous mail survey.

Results:

More than 2,000 (50% rate of return) emergency service workers comple and returned the surveys. The responses of 1,730 firefighter/EMTs and 253 firefighter/paramedics were very similar in terms of the degree to which job stressors were bothersome. A factor analysis of replies yielded 14 statistically independent “Occupational Stressor” factors which together accounted for 66.3% of the instrument's variance. These Sources of Occupational Stress (SOOS) factor scale scores essentially did not correlate with a measure the social desirability test-taking bias. Finall SOOS factors were identified that correlated with job satisfaction and work-related morale of the respondents. Conflict with administration was the job stressor factor that most strongly correlated with reports of low job satisfaction and poor work morale in both study groups.

Conclusion:

The findings suggest that firefighter and paramedic job stress is very complicated and multi-faceted. Based on this preliminary investigation, the SOOS instrument appears to have adequate reliability and concurrent validity.

Keywords

administrationbiasconflictemergency medical technicians (EMT)job stressmoraleoccupationoccupational stressparamedicsatisfactionstressstressorstest-taking
Type
Administrator
Information
Prehospital and Disaster Medicine , Volume 8 , Issue 2 , June 1993 , pp. 140 - 150
Copyright
Copyright © World Association for Disaster and Emergency Medicine 1993

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