#70: Traumatic Stress Within First Responders — Presentation Detail — Celebration of Scholars

Instructions

Student presentations must have a faculty sponsor.

Abstracts must include a title and a description of the research, scholarship, or creative work. The description should be 150-225 words in length and constructed in a format or style appropriate for the presenter’s discipline.

The following points should be addressed within the selected format or style for the abstract:

A clear statement of the problem or question you pursued, or the scholarly goal or creative theme achieved in your work.
A brief comment about the significance or uniqueness of the work.
A clear description of the methods used to achieve the purpose or goals for the work.
A statement of the conclusions, results, outcomes, or recommendations, or if the work is still in progress, the results you expect to report at the event.

Presenter photographs should be head and shoulder shots comparable to passport photos.

Additional Information

More information is available at carthage.edu/celebration-scholars/. The following are members of the Research, Scholarship, and Creativity Committee who are eager to listen to ideas and answer questions:

Jun Wang
Kim Instenes
John Kirk
Nora Nickels
Andrew Pustina
James Ripley

#70: Traumatic Stress Within First Responders

Name: Samantha Bednarz
Major: Public Services
Hometown: Gurnee, IL
Faculty Sponsor: Andrew (Tony) Pustina
Other Sponsors: Allen, Cynthia
Type of research: Senior thesis

Abstract

Traumatic Stress Within First Responders

Samantha Bednarz, Andrew Pustina, Cynthia Allen

Most first responders respond to cases/calls that could be considered traumatizing to the average person; however first responders are supposed to be adequately trained and slowly desensitized to different traumatic situations, they may encounter. Nevertheless, first responders are human beings, and each person has a different response to traumatic events. Trauma is a disordered psychological or behavioral state resulting from severe mental or emotional stress or physical injury. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) develops characteristic symptoms following exposure to one or more traumatic events. Secondary traumatic stress disorder (STSD) involves the transfer of trauma symptoms from those who have been traumatized to those who have close and extended contact with trauma victims. This study aims to investigate which types of first responders experience more PTSD or STSD. The study will be in the form of a survey. Along with demographics, and the nature of calls/cases, there will be questions/prompts from a PTSD and a Secondary Trauma Questionnaire. Data collection is ongoing and results will be clearer for Celebration of Scholars. The current hypothesis is that emergency medical technicians, paramedics, and athletic trainers will have more secondary trauma than other first responders. Another hypothesis is police officers, firefighters, and military members will have more PTSD, than other first responders. References: Merriam-Webster. (n.d.). Trauma. In Merriam-Webster.com dictionary. Retrieved March 28, 2022, from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/trauma Weathers, F. W., Litz, B. T., Keane, T. M., Palmieri, P. A., Marx, B. P., & Schnurr, P. P. (2013). The PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5) – Standard [Measurement instrument]. Motta, R. W., Kefer, J. M., Hertz, M. D., & Hafeez, S. (1999). (rep.). Initial Evaluation of the Secondary Trauma Questionnaire (pp. 997–1002). Psychological Reports.