Burdens on emergency responders after a terrorist attack in Berlin

Wesemann, Ulrich; Zimmermann, Peter; Mahnke, Manuel; Butler, Oisín; Polk, Sarah; Willmund, Gerd

doi:10.1093/occmed/kqx172

Cited by 20 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…That is, emergency responders with higher stress burdens may be more likely to seek out crisis interventions. 10 It seems unlikely that the interventions would worsen scores on these 2 scales, which are not specifically susceptible to negative reinforcement of anxiety symptoms. However, a negative effect of crisis interventions cannot be ruled out.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of Crisis Intervention on the Mental Health Status of Emergency Responders Following the Berlin Terrorist Attack in 2016

Wesemann

Mahnke

Polk

et al. 2019

Disaster med. public health prep.

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Objective:The most common crisis intervention used with German rescue workers is Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM). Results regarding its effectiveness are inconsistent. A negative reinforcement of avoidance, due to premature termination of strong emotions during the Critical Incident Stress Debriefing (CISD), may explain this. The effectiveness of the CISD after terror attacks in Germany has not yet been investigated.Methods:All emergency responders deployed at the terror attack on Breitscheidplatz in Berlin were invited to take part in the study; 37 of the N = 55 participants had voluntarily participated in CISD; 18 had not.Results:Participants with CISD showed lower quality of life in psychological health and higher depressive symptomatology. Of these, females had lower quality of life in social relationships, whereas males showed more posttraumatic stress symptoms. Emergency responders from non-governmental organizations had higher phobic anxiety. Emergency medical technicians showed more somatic and depressive symptoms.Conclusion:There is no conclusive explanation for why rescue workers with CISD score worse on certain measures. It is possible that CISD has a harmful influence due to negative reinforcement, or that there was a selection effect. Further research differentiating occupational group, sex, and type of event is necessary.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of Crisis Intervention on the Mental Health Status of Emergency Responders Following the Berlin Terrorist Attack in 2016

Wesemann

Mahnke

Polk

et al. 2019

Disaster med. public health prep.

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“…Initial cross-sectional analyses found occupational and gender differences; notably, female personnel showed higher paranoid ideation. 8 Although the results regarding the occupational groups have been replicated (U. Wesemann, personal communication, 2020), those regarding gender-specific differences in paranoid ideation are still provisional and no conclusive explanation for this difference is given. A meta-analysis showed a robust association between paranoid ideation and violence in the general population, and this association remained stable when controlling for drug misuse or other psychiatric comorbidities.…”

Section: Research Findings After the 2016 Terrorist Attack In Berlinmentioning

confidence: 99%

Long-term effects of the terror attack in Berlin in 2016 on paranoid ideation in female emergency personnel

Wesemann¹,

Mahnke²,

Polk

et al. 2020

BJPsych open

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In a pilot study, female emergency personnel showed increased paranoid ideation following a terror attack. This newly designed confirmatory study aims to replicate these previously found gender-specific results and investigate the progression of effects after 2 years. Participants were exposed and unexposed emergency personnel (n = 120). Exposed female versus exposed male personnel showed higher paranoid ideation at both time points. There was a group × time interaction effect in paranoid ideation: paranoid ideation increased over time in the exposed versus the unexposed female group. The same effect was observed with exposed female emergency personnel showing a significant 2-year post-deployment increase compared with the total group including unexposed female as well as exposed and unexposed male emergency personnel. There is, as yet, no conclusive explanation for this difference. Sexual harassment in a male-dominated profession may be a vulnerability factor. Differentiated preparation and follow-up for emergency responders is recommended moving towards health-related equality.

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“…Так, наибольший уровень дистресса демонстрировали работники женского пола. Среди офицеров полиции отмечался повышенный уровень враждебности (недоброжелательности), а пожарные показывали некоторое снижение уровня качества социального функционирования [38].…”

Section: соболев н а врач-психиатр отделения неотложной психиатричunclassified

Socio-psychological impacts of the modern terrorism

2018

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One of the serious social and psychological aftermaths of the terrorist threat is the formation of various mental disorders in the population of countries been exposed to terrorist attacks. The variety of mental impacts of the terrorist threat aftermath is extremely wide - from frustration and mental responses to some serious mental disorders. Long-term emotional tension, uncertainty, fear of death often lead to a decrease in the social functioning of individuals, and as a result, the whole society. At the same time, specific symptoms occur not only in the early stages of experiencing the terrorist threat, but also, often, progress in the delayed period, mainly in the form of affective disorders, psychosomatic pathology, chronic post-stress changes in the personality. The article reviews and analyzes the nature of the response of society as a whole and its individual groups, the impact of professional and national factors on the perception of the terrorist threat in various countries of the world over the past twenty years.

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Burdens on emergency responders after a terrorist attack in Berlin

Cited by 20 publications

References 7 publications

Impact of Crisis Intervention on the Mental Health Status of Emergency Responders Following the Berlin Terrorist Attack in 2016

Impact of Crisis Intervention on the Mental Health Status of Emergency Responders Following the Berlin Terrorist Attack in 2016

Long-term effects of the terror attack in Berlin in 2016 on paranoid ideation in female emergency personnel

Socio-psychological impacts of the modern terrorism

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