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Updated: Jun 3, 2026

Social Threat-Safety Test Uncovers Psychosocial Stress-Related Phenotypes
Published on: December 15, 2023
Resilience among first responders
Luca Pietrantoni1, Gabriele Prati
1Department of Science of Education, University of Bologna, Italy. luca.pietrantoni@unibo.it
Background:
Emergency rescue personnel can be considered a "high risk" occupational group in that they could experience a broad range of health and mental health consequences as a result of work-related exposures to critical incidents.
Objectives:
This study examined the resilience factors that protect mental health among first responders.
Methods:
Nine hundred and sixty-one first responders filled out an on-line questionnaire, containing measure of sense of community, collective efficacy, self-efficacy and work-related mental health outcomes (compassion fatigue, burnout and compassion satisfaction).
Results:
First responders reported high level of compassion satisfaction and low level of burnout and compassion fatigue. Compassion fatigue was predicted by self-efficacy, burnout was predicted by self-efficacy, collective efficacy and sense of community, compassion satisfaction was predicted by self-efficacy and sense of community.
Conclusions:
Resilience following critical events is common among first responders. Self-efficacy, collective efficacy and sense of community could be considered resilience factors that preserve first responders' work-related mental health.
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