Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Coping, routine activities, and recovery from acute distress among emergency medical personnel after a mass shooting incident

  • Published:
Current Psychology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Emergency medical workers’ distress and recovery patterns after a mass shooting were related to their coping behaviors and routine daily activities. This longitudinal repeated measures study assessed 31 emergency medical workers’ psychological and psychosomatic symptoms self-rated for the weeks before, those just after, and one full month after the shooting. Coping behaviors and time in creative activities were related to increased acute distress; recovery was related to more time in constructive activities. Thinking about the incident was related to higher acute distress but better recovery on several SCL9OR scales. Exercise predicted recovery on Obsessive-Compulsive and Hostility scales. Studies evaluating emergency workers’ reactions to and recovery from critical incidents should use repeated measures designs, should assess short-term recovery, and should distinguish among symptoms.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • American College of Sports Medicine. (1991). Guidelines for Exercise Testing and Prescription. Philadelphia: Lea & Febiger.

    Google Scholar 

  • Block, J. (1965). The challenge of response sets: Unconfounding meaning, acquiescence, and social desirability in the MMPI. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brophy, C.J., Norvell, N.K., & Kiluk, D.J. (1988). An examination of the factor structure and convergent and discriminant validity of the SCL9OR in an outpatient clinic population. Journal of Personality Assessment, 52: 334–340.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Creamer, M., Burgess, P., & Pattison, P. (1990). Cognitive processing in post-trauma reactions: Some preliminary findings. Psychological Medicine, 20: 597–604.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Creamer, M., Burgess, P. & Pattison P. (1992). Reaction to trauma: A cognitive processing model. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 101: 452–459.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Derogatis, L.R. (1992). The Symptom Check List-90-Revised: Administration, scoring, and procedures manual-II. Second Edition. Towson, MD: Clinical Psychometric Research.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dinning, W.D., & Evans, R.G. (1977). Discriminant and convergent validity of the SCL-90 in psychiatric patients. Journal of Personality Assessment, 41: 304–310.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Dubbert, P.M. (1992). Exercise in behavioral medicine. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 60: 613–618.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Durham, T.W., McCammon, S.L., & Allison, E.J, Jr. (1985). The psychological impact of disaster on rescue personnel. Annals of Emergency Medicine, 14: 664–668.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Folkman, S., & Lazarus, R.S. (1980). An analysis of coping in a middle-aged community sample. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 21: 219–239.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Folkman, S., & Lazarus, R.S. (1985). If it changes it must be a process: Study of emotion and coping during three stages of a college examination. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 48: 150–170.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Folkman, S., Lazarus, R.S., Dunkel-Schetter, C, DeLongis, A., & Gruen, R.J. (1986). Dynamics of a stressful encounter: Cognitive appraisal, coping, and encounter outcomes. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 50: 992–1003.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Genest, M., Levine, J., Ramsden, V., & Swanson, R. (1990). The impact of providing help: Emergency workers and cardiopulmonary resuscitation attempts. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 3: 305–313.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Green, B.L. (1985). Overview and research recommendations. In National Institute of Mental Health, Role Stressors and supports for emergency workers, pp. 1–20.

  • Horowitz, M.J., Wilner, N., & Alvarez, W. (1979). Impact of Event Scale: A measure of subjective stress. Psychosomatic Medicine, 4: 209–218.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jenkins, S.R. (1996). Social support and debriefing efficacy among emergency medical workers after a mass shooting incident. Journal of Social Behavior and Personality, 11, 477–492.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jenkins, S.R. (In press). Emergency workers’ responses to death. Omega.

  • Jenkins, S.R. (1997). Emergency medical workers’ mass shooting incident stress and psychological recovery. Unpublished manuscript, University of North Texas.

  • Linden, W., Paulhus, D.L., & Dobson, K.S. (1986). Effects of response styles on the report of psychological and somatic distress. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 54: 309–313.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • McCammon, S.L., Durham, T.W., Allison, E.J., & Williamson, J.E. (1988). Emergency workers’ cognitive appraisal and coping with traumatic events. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 1: 353–372.

    Google Scholar 

  • McFarlane, A.C. (1988). The longitudinal course of posttraumatic morbidity: The range of outcomes and their predictors. The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 176: 30–39.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Nolen-Hoeksema, S, & Morrow, J. (1991). A prospective study of depression and posttraumatic stress symptoms after a natural disaster: The 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 61: 115–121.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • North, C. S., Smith, E. M, & Spitznagel, E. L. (1994). Posttraumatic stress disorder in survivors of a mass shooting. American Journal of Psychiatry, 151: 82–88.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Norvell, N., & Belles, D. (1993). Psychological and physical benefits of circuit weight training in law enforcement personnel. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 61: 520–527.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Palmer, C.E. (1983). A note about paramedics’ strategies for dealing with death and dying. Journal of Occupational Psychology, 56: 83–86.

    Google Scholar 

  • Parkes, K.R. (1980). Social desirability, defensiveness and self-report psychiatric inventory scores. Psychological Medicine, 10: 735–742.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Pendleton, M, Stotland, E., Spiers, P., & Kirsch, E. (1989). Stress and strain among police, firefighters, and government workers: A comparative analysis. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 16: 196–210.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Plante, T.G., & Rodin, J. (1990). Physical fitness and enhanced psychological health. Current Psychology: Research and Reviews, 9: 3–24.

    Google Scholar 

  • Powell, B.J., & Penick, E.C. (1983). Psychological distress following a natural disaster: A one-year follow-up of 98 flood victims. Journal of Community Psychology, 11: 269–276.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Suter, S. (1986). Health psychophysiology: Mind-body interactions in Wellness and illness. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Thoits, P.A. (1985). Self-labeling processes in mental illness: The role of emotional deviance. American Journal of Sociology, 91: 221–249.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tinsley, H.E.A., & Eldredge, B.D. (1995). Psychological benefits of leisure participation: A taxonomy of leisure activities based on their need-gratifying properties. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 42: 123–132.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of North Texas, USA

    Sharon Rae Jenkins

Authors
  1. Sharon Rae Jenkins
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Jenkins, S.R. Coping, routine activities, and recovery from acute distress among emergency medical personnel after a mass shooting incident. Curr Psychol 16, 3–19 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-997-1012-1

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-997-1012-1

Key words

Search

Navigation