Psychosocial predictors of mental health outcomes in different groups of emergency responders: implications for tailored support systems.
Journal of psychiatric research · 2026-07-05 · Observational study
Abstract
This study provides important insights into the mental health challenges faced by emergency service workers (ESWs), including paramedics, firefighters, and emergency medical dispatchers (EMDs). Participants included 686 trainee paramedics, firefighters, and EMDs recruited from three Australian emergency service organisations. The findings revealed that resilience, social support, and belongingness were significant predictors of depression, anxiety, stress, and somatic symptoms across the overall sample, as well as within the paramedic and EMD subgroups. Higher resilience consistently correlated with fewer mental health symptoms (e.g., depression: β = -.28, p < .001; anxiety: β = -.28, p < .001; stress: β = -.27, p < .001). While social support predicted depression (β = -.19, p < .001), it did not significantly predict anxiety or stress. The firefighters showed little predictive power for mental health outcomes, likely due to lower symptom levels. EMDs showed a unique pattern, with trauma exposure (β = .22, p < .001) and social support (β = -.24, p = .013) emerging as predictors of somatic symptoms. This highlights the unique stressors EMDs face, such as vicarious trauma. The results emphasize the importance of targeted mental health programs that build resilience, foster belongingness, and offer trauma-informed support for different ESW subgroups.
Tags
Clinician perspective · Dispatchers & call takers · Paramedics & EMTs