Intermediary role of experiential avoidance in neurosis and posttraumatic stress response in firefighters / 中国职业医学

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: To explore the mediating effect of experiential avoidance on neurosis and posttraumatic stress response in firefighters. METHODS: A cluster random sampling method was used to select 275 male firefighters from 26 Fire Alarm squadrons in a province of China.The Neuroticism subscale of Eysenck Personality Questionnaire Short Scale, the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire-Second Edition, and the Impact of Event Scale were used to investigate the relationship of neurosis, experiential avoidance and posttraumatic stress response. RESULTS: The median score of neurosis, experiential avoidance and posttraumatic stress response was 5, 21 and 15, respectively. Both neurosis and experiential avoidance were positively correlated with posttraumatic stress syndromes(Spearman correlation coefficient were 0.45 and 0.45, P<0.01). The total effect of neurosis on posttraumatic stress response in firefighters was 0.57. The intermediary role of experiential avoidance on neurosis and posttraumatic stress response was 0.19, accounting for 33.33% of the total effect. CONCLUSION: Experiential avoidance plays a partial positive mediating role between neurosis and posttraumatic stress response in firefighters.