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Psychological Inflexibility and Psychopathology in 9‐1‐1 Telecommunicators
Author(s) -
Lilly Michelle M.,
Allen Christy E.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
journal of traumatic stress
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.259
H-Index - 134
eISSN - 1573-6598
pISSN - 0894-9867
DOI - 10.1002/jts.22004
Subject(s) - psychopathology , neuroticism , anger , psychology , clinical psychology , population , mental health , structural equation modeling , psychological distress , depression (economics) , distress , path analysis (statistics) , anxiety , psychiatry , medicine , personality , social psychology , statistics , mathematics , environmental health , economics , macroeconomics
Mental health in 9‐1‐1 telecommunicators has been understudied in comparison to other emergency responders. This study enrolled a sample of telecommunicators from across the United States ( N = 808). As measured by self‐report, the prevalence of current probable posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) was 17.6% to 24.6%; it was 23.9% for probable major depression. Structural equation modeling revealed a significant direct effect of psychological inflexibility on psychopathology (path coefficient = .32) when considered among duty‐related distress and dissociation, neuroticism, anger, and emotion dysregulation. The results provided further evidence of the adverse psychological effects of duty‐related trauma exposure, including exposure that is vicarious in nature. The results indicate a need for prevention and intervention in this population, with psychological inflexibility as a potential target in these efforts.