Author(s)

Angelika Wolman^1*, Jean-Marie Stève^2,3, Marion Samor⁴, Evelyne Bouteyre⁵, Themistoklis Apostolidis⁶, Abdessadek El Ahmadi^1*

¹Aix-Marseille University, CNRS, LNSC UMR7260, Marseille, France.
²Service Départemental d’Incendie et de Secours (SDIS 06), Nice, France.
³Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Officiers de Sapeurs-Pompiers (ENSOSP), Aix-en-Provence, France.
⁴Service Départemental d’Incendie et de Secours (SDIS 11), Carcassonne, France.
⁵Aix-Marseille University, LPCPP, Aix-en-Provence, France.
⁶Aix-Marseille University, LPS, Aix-en-Provence, France.

To date, few studies have investigated the impact of organizational factors such as organizational status or the rank of firefighters on the development of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) following a terrorist attack. To fill this gap in the scientific literature, this field study aimed to investigate the consequences of terrorist attacks on firefighters’ psychological health in terms of PTSD. Data were collected in France following two terrorist attacks. PTSD was assessed with the PCL-S (DSM-IV) 3 to 6 months after the events. Confirmatory factor analyses (CFAs) with existing PTSD models were inconclusive, leading us to find a two-factor model via an exploratory factor analysis (EFA). A cluster analysis showed different symptom profiles that were influenced by the exposure level. Elements for a structural model explaining PTSD symptoms are proposed and suggest a central role of the exposure level. Firefighters I/II represented an at-risk sub-population, suggesting that PTSD was mainly experienced among those who performed tasks not common to their occupation.

PTSD, Firefighters, Terrorist Attack, Rank, SEM

Wolman, A. , Stève, J. , Samor, M. , Bouteyre, E. , Apostolidis, T. and El Ahmadi, A. (2020) Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Mediated by Exposure Level in French Civil Firefighters Following a Terrorist Attack: Some Hypotheses towards a Structural Model. World Journal of Neuroscience, 10, 121-134. doi: 10.4236/wjns.2020.103014.