(PS14-47) The Impact of World Assumptions on Social Support and PSTD Symptoms in 9-1-1 Telecommunicators

Although they are the first, first responders, 9-1-1 telecommunicators (TCs) are largely excluded from studies on the effects of repeated exposure to duty-related traumatic events. However, research has shown that 9-1-1 TCs experience many of the same negative health outcomes, such as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), as other first responders. In one study, 17.6 to 24.6% of 9-1-1 TCs met criteria for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD; Lilly & Allen, 2015). Research suggests that social support is a protective factor against developing PTSD (Kyron et al., 2021). Similarly, evidence supports an association between PTSD symptoms and world assumptions related to benevolence of the world (BW), benevolence of people (BP), and self-worth (SW; Surgenor et al., 2020). The current study aimed to understand the relationship between social support, world assumptions, and PTSD symptoms in 221 9-1-1 TCs over a one-year longitudinal study. As expected, results showed that social support was positively associated with world assumptions and negatively associated with PTSD symptoms, and PTSD symptoms were negatively related to world assumptions. Simple mediation models using 5,000 bootstrapped confidence intervals revealed that each of BW (b = -.04, SE = .02 β = -.02, 95% CI [-.095, -.001]), BP (b = -.04, SE = .02 β = -.02, 95% CI [-.085, -.001]), and SW (b = -.08, SE = .04, β = -.05, 95% CI [-.156, -.017]) at six months had an indirect effect on the association between baseline social support and PTSD symptoms one year later when controlling for baseline PTSD symptoms. Based on the results of the current study, it may be beneficial to explore how 9-1-1 TCs’ beliefs about other people, themselves, and the world might impact their likelihood of reaching out to others (e.g., peers, friends) for support, as peer support programs have been implemented in many organizations and organizational support for this population may be particularly useful (French et al., 2018). Furthermore, the current study supports current conceptualizations of PTSD, and consequently trauma treatments, that focus on identifying and challenging maladaptive beliefs. Since social support is largely associated with PTSD symptoms through people’s assumptions about the world, other people, and themselves, interventions targeting world assumptions might be particularly advantageous for this population.