Critical incident stress in victoria state emergency service volunteers: Characteristics of critical incidents, common stress responses, and coping methods

Abstract

This study was an exploratory investigation of key elements in Critical Incident Stress in 25 volunteer members of the Victoria State Emergency Service, a service which responds to road accident rescues in Victoria, amongst other emergency activities. The principal findings were as follows: (a) six factors were found to be most characteristic of Critical Incidents (CIs), and those factors reflected three themes, namely knowing or identifying with the victim or their family; large scale incidents; and suprise or novelty of the event; (b) stress responses often did not occur during the CI, those symptoms which did emerge were predominantly cognitive; (c) after a CI, cognitive and physiological responses were most common; (d) avoidance styles of coping (e.g., “keep active” and “switch off”) were more common during a CI, whereas approach styles of coping (e.g., “discussion” and “debriefing”) were more common afterwards; (e) participants reported having learnt how to cope more effectively following a CI, and some reported having changed their attitudes into a more positive outlook on life, and road safety. The implications of the findings for a cognitive model of Critical Incidents and directions for future research are discussed.