Arizona Chief Fire Officers' Opinions Regarding Firefighter Behavioral Health Problems: Causes and Help Approaches

Nixon, Kane G (2021) Arizona Chief Fire Officers' Opinions Regarding Firefighter Behavioral Health Problems: Causes and Help Approaches. Doctoral thesis, Northern Arizona University.

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Abstract

This research study evaluated the opinions of Arizona chief fire officers regarding the causes and help approaches of firefighters’ behavioral health problems caused by post-traumatic stress secondary to the duties of being a first responder. These behavioral health problems include post-traumatic stress, anxiety, depression, substance abuse, and suicide. This research study utilized a modified research instrument called the Opinions Regarding Firefighter Behavioral Health Problems Questionnaire and online survey research to collect data. The researcher conducted a Spearman ρ test to determine if relationships exist between the questionnaire subscale scores and chief fire officers’ career factors which are based on their knowledge, motivational factors, and organizational factors including their fire department budget size, college degree earned, total years of fire department employment, and fire department firefighter roster size. Three significant relationships resulted from this study. First, there was a positive relationship between chief fire officers’ organic subscale scores and the career factor of their total years of fire department employment. The results indicated that as chief fire officers’ years of employment increases, the chief fire officers’ opinion of firefighter behavioral health problems intensifies into the organic psychological subscale. Second, there is a positive relationship between chief fire officers’ cognitive subscale scores and the career factor of their department roster size. The results indicated that as the chief fire officers’ fire department roster size increases, the chief fire officers’ opinion of firefighter behavioral health problems intensifies into the cognitive psychological subscale. Finally, there was a negative relationship between chief fire officers’ social/economic subscale scores and the career factor of their college degree. The results indicated as the chief fire officers’ level of college degree completion increases, the chief fire officers’ opinion of firefighter behavioral health problems decreases in the social/economic psychological subscale. The researcher created the Lay Social Cognitive Attribution Theory Model to evaluate the process of opinion formation. Through the results of this research study, the fire service now has additional information to refer to regarding the influencing career factors and the Arizona chief fire officers’ opinions related to firefighter behavioral health problems.

Item Type:	Thesis (Doctoral)
Publisher’s Statement:	© Copyright is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the Cline Library, Northern Arizona University. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author.
Keywords:	Behavioral; Chief; Firefighter; Health; Leadership; Officer; Stress; Mental health
Subjects:	B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology
MeSH Subjects:	F Psychiatry and Psychology > F03 Mental Disorders
NAU Depositing Author Academic Status:	Student
Department/Unit:	Graduate College > Theses and Dissertations College of Education > Educational Leadership
Date Deposited:	03 Feb 2022 19:50
Last Modified:	03 Feb 2022 19:50
URI:	https://openknowledge.nau.edu/id/eprint/5649

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