Factors Affecting Perceived Stress in Pre-hospital Emergency Medical Services

Abstract

This study investigated the factors related to the perception of stress in EMT’s and paramedics. 144 EMTs and paramedics from urban “third service” EMS providers in Texas completed a questionnaire that included several demographic questions, Speilberger’s (1995) state-trait personality inventory (STPI), Sarason’s (1983) social support questionnaire, and Schwarzer’s (2000) general perceived self-efficacy scale. Six of the eight SPTI measures served as a measure of perceived stress. They were state and trait anxiety, state and trait anger, and state and trait depression. Education was negatively correlated with state anxiety (r=-0.274, p=0.001), state anger (r=-0.217, p=0.009), state depression (r=-0.231, p=0.006), and trait anxiety (r=-0.2058, p=0.014). Since years of education was related to stress and somewhat related to self-efficacy (r=0.17, p=0.042) a partial correlation procedure (controlled for years of education) was performed for self-efficacy (GPSES) and the stress variables. Self-efficacy was negatively correlated with state anxiety (r=-0.312, p=0.0001), state anger (r=-0.194, p=0.021), state depression (r=-0.339, p=0.0001), trait anxiety (r=-0.436, p=0.0001), and trait depression (r=-0.3762, p=0.0001). An analysis of variance was conducted to compare the means of the perceived stress variables for three job function groups (attendant basic or intermediate, attendant paramedic, and in-charge paramedic). Higher perceived stress was reported by both the attendant basic-intermediates and the in-charge paramedics (p