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Volume 19
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Hypothesis

Investigating Strategies of Emotion Regulation As Mediators of Occupational Stressors and Mental Health Outcomes in First Responders

by
Sowmya Kshtriya
1,*,
Jacqueline Lawrence
1,
Holly M. Kobezak
2,
Paula J. Popok
3 and
Sarah Lowe
4
1
Department of Psychology, Montclair State University, Montclair, NJ 07043, USA
2
Department of Psychology, Binghamton University, Binghamton, NY 13902, USA
3
Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02114, USA
4
Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, CT 06510, USA
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(12), 7009; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19127009
Submission received: 21 April 2022 / Revised: 26 May 2022 / Accepted: 2 June 2022 / Published: 8 June 2022
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Resilience and Well-Being of Professionals Working in Complex Environments)
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Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate whether two emotion regulation strategies, expressive suppression or cognitive reappraisal, mediated the development of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), major depression (MD), and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) in first responders (FR) who experienced occupational stressors, using cross-sectional data. An aggregate of 895 first responders (M = 37.32, SD = 12.09, 59.2% male, 91.3% Caucasian) who were recruited through professional organizations and social media sites across North and South American states participated in an online Qualtrics survey. Bivariate correlation analyses demonstrated that occupational stressors were positively correlated with expressive suppression and each mental health outcome but were not significantly correlated with cognitive reappraisal. Mediation analyses demonstrated expressive suppression as a significant mediator between occupational stressors and PTSD, MD, and GAD symptoms, but not cognitive reappraisal. Even though these findings are in purview of a cross-sectional research design, they suggest the importance of practices that bolster first responders’ ability to use more effective and adaptive emotion regulation strategies such as emotion expression, effective communication, and cognitive reappraisal that might help enhance psychological resilience.
Keywords: first responders; emotion regulation; expressive suppression; cognitive reappraisal first responders; emotion regulation; expressive suppression; cognitive reappraisal

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MDPI and ACS Style

Kshtriya, S.; Lawrence, J.; Kobezak, H.M.; Popok, P.J.; Lowe, S. Investigating Strategies of Emotion Regulation As Mediators of Occupational Stressors and Mental Health Outcomes in First Responders. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19, 7009. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19127009

AMA Style

Kshtriya S, Lawrence J, Kobezak HM, Popok PJ, Lowe S. Investigating Strategies of Emotion Regulation As Mediators of Occupational Stressors and Mental Health Outcomes in First Responders. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2022; 19(12):7009. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19127009

Chicago/Turabian Style

Kshtriya, Sowmya, Jacqueline Lawrence, Holly M. Kobezak, Paula J. Popok, and Sarah Lowe. 2022. "Investigating Strategies of Emotion Regulation As Mediators of Occupational Stressors and Mental Health Outcomes in First Responders" International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 19, no. 12: 7009. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19127009

APA Style

Kshtriya, S., Lawrence, J., Kobezak, H. M., Popok, P. J., & Lowe, S. (2022). Investigating Strategies of Emotion Regulation As Mediators of Occupational Stressors and Mental Health Outcomes in First Responders. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(12), 7009. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19127009

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