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Twenty-eight articles are included in this review, which provides the first comprehensive review of the vicarious posttraumatic growth (VPTG) literature. Five domains are presented. First, assessment methods of VPTG are reviewed; seventeen studies assessed VPTG using a measure designed for use with direct trauma survivors, three used a non-validated measure, and the remaining eight used an open-ended question. Second, the level of similarity between reports of direct and vicarious posttraumatic growth is examined. VPTG was found to be highly similar to direct posttraumatic growth; however, subtle differences between the two were also identified along with manifestations of growth unique to VPTG. Third, a range of psychological, cognitive, behavioural, interpersonal, and external factors that have been implicated to facilitate VPTG are presented. Fourth, research exploring the relationship between VPTG and secondary traumatic stress is examined. Three possible explanations are presented: a positive linear association, no association, and a more complex curvilinear relationship. Finally, limitations to the current body of knowledge and areas for future research are explored.

Disaster response work is associated with various psychological outcomes. In post-disaster conditions, social support is generally observed to impact mental health, particularly for survivors. This review was conducted to survey the extent of social support effectiveness on disaster responder groups. Published quantitative social support studies on police, emergency medical responders, rescue and recovery workers, firefighters, and military responders were searched in various academic databases using keyword searches, a reference list search, and a citation search that resulted in 24 studies with 90 effect sizes being included in the final data base. Articles were coded and effect sizes were averaged using the Hedges-Vevea Random Effects model. Nineteen categories of psychological outcomes (for example, anxiety, depression, posttraumatic stress symptoms, and psychological distress) and eight classifications of support were coded. Social support was found to be associated with anxiety, burnout, depression, job control, job satisfaction, psychological distress, turnover intentions, and work engagement, with mean effect sizes from -0.36 to 0.57. Most studies measured perceived social support and negative outcomes.Social support correlated with outcomes in police responders and rescue and recovery workers. This review discusses the breadth of effect of social support, as well as other elements, such as temporal factors, that may affect the effectiveness of social support in disaster responders.

Psychological resilience has been defined as the ability of an individual to recover from a traumatic event or to remain psychologically robust when faced with an adverse event. This study investigated a sample of 176 police officers who were surveyed at commencement of their training in 1998/1999 (Time 1), 12 months later (Time 2), and at the end of 2009 (Time 3). A multidimensional model of psychological resilience (including environment, thoughts, feelings, behaviours, and physical activities) was evaluated in terms of the pathogenic outcomes of posttraumatic stress, psychological distress, and physical health at the three time points. A three part model of psychological resilience (environment, physical behaviours, and cognitions) was used to demonstrate that social support, adaptive health practices, adaptive coping, and optimism were effective when police officers were faced with adversity. The model provides initial understandings of the multidimensional nature of psychological resilience which requires further evaluation.

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