The Effect of Mental Skills Training on Firefighter Performance under Stress

Abstract

Firefighters must make time-pressured, critical decisions under physically, mentally, and emotionally demanding conditions, but most lack tools and techniques to mitigate the effects of stress on performance.This study investigated the effect of a firefighter-specific mental skills training curriculum in a population of recruits at an urban fire department training academy. Participants who received the mental skills training hada statistically significant decrease in the magnitude of their physiological stress response. The findings of this study are consistent with previous research on the techniques presented and suggest that they would be a valuable addition to firefighter training curricula. Fire departments should incorporate mental skills training into their teaching methods to improve the ability of their firefighters to operate effectively in high-stress environments.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Sep 01, 2023
Accession Number
AD1224762

Entities

People

  • Oleg Pelekhaty

Organizations

  • Naval Postgraduate School

Tags

Readers

  • Emergency Management and Homeland Security.
  • Instructional Design and Training Evaluation.
  • Psychological Intervention/Treatment for Stress, Anxiety, PTSD, and Related Emotional and Cognitive Health Symptoms.