Behaviour of emergency response service personnel under stress conditions

Background. The relevance of the study of the peculiarities of stress-overcoming behaviour of emergency response service employees is conditioned by their important role in society, the need to maintain their mental and physical health.

Purpose. On the basis of theoretical and empirical data to analyse the stress-suppressive behaviour of the employees of emergency response services and to identify its specifics and factors of formation.

Materials and methods. The main research methods were theoretical analysis and empirical experiment. Theoretical method allowed to study and generalise foreign and domestic experience of stress-overcoming behaviour. In the course of empirical research we used the SACS questionnaire ‘Strategies for coping with stressful situations’ (S. Hobfall); questionnaire (J. Rotter); questionnaire ‘Coping strategies’ (R. Lazarus); Gringlass proactive coping questionnaire and R. Kettell 16-factor personality questionnaire. The correlation analysis of the research results was conducted using Student's T-test for independent samples.

Results. The results of the study allow us to state that first responders are exposed to high stress due to risk, emotional load and complex interpersonal relationships. The importance of personality traits for training and psychological support of first responders was established. Overcoming stress requires professional psychological support and training, as well as team dynamics and reflection.