Distress Tolerance Among Firefighters: Examining Main and Interactive Effects of Resilience and Mindful Attention

Abstract

Background

Firefighting is an intrinsically stressful occupation, and firefighters are routinely confronted with potentially traumatic experiences. Abilities to tolerate distress and to recover from stressful experiences (i.e., resilience) are pertinent to firefighting. Various facets of distress tolerance (DT), defined as the ability to withstand negative emotional and/or physical states, are thus of relevance to fire culture. Emotional distress tolerance (EDT) is the perceived ability to tolerate negative emotional states; distress intolerance (DI) is the perceived inability to tolerate such states; and distress overtolerance (DO) is the tendency to persist through distress despite negative consequences. Resilience may be related to DT among firefighters. Mindful attention, defined as present-focused awareness, may attenuate or moderate that association.

Methods

The present investigation examined the association of resilience and mindful attention with three distinct DT constructs, including perceived EDT, DI, and DO, among a sample of firefighters (N = 106; 93.4% male; 84.9% White; M_age = 42.6, SD = 1.1).

Results

The associations between resilience and (1) EDT; (2) DI; and (3) DO varied across levels of mindful attention. Findings were significant above and beyond the effects of theoretically-relevant covariates.

Conclusions

The present study extends prior research on risk and resilience variables among firefighters. By focusing on psychological mechanisms that are clinically malleable, this work has the potential to inform specialized interventions for firefighter mental wellness.