Anxiety and mood (대한불안의학회지)

Korean Academy of Anxiety Disorders (대한불안의학회)
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Effects of Vicarious Trauma on Mental Health in Firefighters

소방 공무원에서 간접 외상이 정신 건강에 미치는 영향

  • Baik, Jun-Hyuck (Department of Psychiatry, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea) ;
  • Jung, Young-Eun (Department of Psychiatry, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea) ;
  • Chae, Jung-Mi (Department of Preventive Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea) ;
  • Myong, Jun-Pyo (Korea Catholic Industrial Medical Center, The Catholic University of Korea) ;
  • Yim, Hyeon-Woo (Department of Preventive Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea) ;
  • Cha, Jeong-Ho (Department of Psychiatry, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea)
  • 백준혁 (가톨릭대학교 의과대학 정신과학교실) ;
  • 정영은 (가톨릭대학교 의과대학 정신과학교실) ;
  • 채정미 (가톨릭대학교 예방의학교실) ;
  • 명준표 (가톨릭대학교 산업의학센터) ;
  • 임현우 (가톨릭대학교 예방의학교실) ;
  • 채정호 (가톨릭대학교 의과대학 정신과학교실)
  • Received : 2010.04.12
  • Accepted : 2010.04.17
  • Published : 2010.04.30
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Abstract

Objectives : Indirect contact with trauma may occur when a person empathically listens to detailed descriptions, exposing the person to intense emotional pain from trauma victims. Although less severe than direct trauma, indirectly traumatized persons may experience the same fear, rage, and despair as direct trauma victims. This phenomenon has been variously termed vicarious trauma, traumatic countertransference, burnout, compassion fatigue, and secondary traumatic stress. Using a psychiatric symptoms questionnaires, this study investigated the effects of indirect exposure to co-worker's trauma on the mental health of firefighters who had not directly experienced traumatic events in the previous year. Methods : We administered self-report questionnaires, such as the Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IESR) and Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test (AUDIT), to firefighters working at two fire stations in a metropolitan city. We analyzed 188 of 232 collected surveys, after excluding falsely entered data (28 cases) and questionnaires by directly-traumatized victims (16 cases). Results : Alcohol consumption and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, as determined by the AUDIT and IES-R, were significantly higher in the indirectly-traumatized group. The ratio of high-risk members scoring higher than 23 in IES-R was larger in the indirectly traumatized group, although this was not statistically significant. Conclusion : Alcohol consumption was significantly higher in the indirectly traumatized group. This group also included more members at high risk for PTSD. Further research, with a larger group of indirectly traumatized firefighters and ongoing investigation of PTSD development and other psychiatric symptoms, is needed.

Keywords

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