Psychological Inflexibility and Psychopathology in 9‐1‐1 Telecommunicators

Abstract

Mental health in 9-1-1 telecommunicators has been understudied in comparison to other emergency responders. This study enrolled a sample of telecommunicators from across the United States (N = 808). As measured by self-report, the prevalence of current probable posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) was 17.6% to 24.6%; it was 23.9% for probable major depression. Structural equation modeling revealed a significant direct effect of psychological inflexibility on psychopathology (path coefficient = .32) when considered among duty-related distress and dissociation, neuroticism, anger, and emotion dysregulation. The results provided further evidence of the adverse psychological effects of duty-related trauma exposure, including exposure that is vicarious in nature. The results indicate a need for prevention and intervention in this population, with psychological inflexibility as a potential target in these efforts.

Pain Catastrophizing Mediates the Effect of Psychological Inflexibility on Pain Intensity and Upper Extremity Physical Function in Patients with Upper Extremity Illness

“…Our study also confirms prior research on the relationship of psychological inflexibility to both depression and anxiety, of depression and anxiety to pain intensity, and of anxiety to upper extremity physical function . However, neither depression nor anxiety were supported as mediators when entered together with pain catastrophizing in the mediation models, suggesting that only pain catastrophizing carries the effect of psychological inflexibility on pain and upper extremity physical function in patients with musculoskeletal pain.…”

“…Psychological inflexibility, defined as the inability to take value‐based actions in the presence of unwanted thoughts, feelings, or bodily symptoms, is associated with negative health outcomes including depression and anxiety . The purpose of the current study was to determine the association between the general construct of psychological inflexibility and pain intensity and upper extremity physical function in patients with musculoskeletal illness in an orthopedics surgical practice.…”

“…An emerging body of research supports the relationship of the general psychological inflexibility construct to negative health outcomes in various populations . Among pain populations, the general psychological inflexibility is associated with disability, anxiety, and quality of life in adolescents with juvenile idiopathic arthritis and plays a central role in the improvement in disability and life satisfaction following ACT for patients with chronic pain after whiplash .…”

The role of incongruence between the perceived functioning by patients and clinicians in the detection of psychological distress among functional and motor digestive disorders

“…Psychological flexibility has been defined as a present-mindedness approach to situation-response, accepting and adapting own behaviors based on personally held values [40]. In contrast, psychological inflexibility is marked by disabling avoidance and ruminative thoughts, which interfere with personal self-direction [41]. Previous research has evidenced how psychological factors such as inflexibility, hypervigilance, attentional bias and pain catastrophizing increase abdominal pain sensations and worsen the prognosis of these patients [42].…”

Destress 9-1-1—an online mindfulness-based intervention in reducing stress among emergency medical dispatchers: a randomised controlled trial

“…As stress levels were measured only pre and post intervention, changes in stress in response to specific modules cannot be determined in this study and should be investigated in future research. As a first responder worker population at elevated risk of adverse psychological outcomes, such as post-traumatic stress disorder and depression, 34 examination of whether 9-1-1 Destress can deter the onset or progression of clinical phenomena is warranted. Prior research has also shown that MBIs can improve overall functioning in other areas important for EMDs.…”