Psychology Commons^™

First Responders' Experience During The Initial Chaos In A Large-Scale Event, Amanda Jo Reese

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

There is little focus on how first responders (e.g., firefighters, police officers, medical staff) experience the initial chaos immediately following a large-scale disaster. Previous research indicated that understanding the initial chaos of disaster response is imperative to keeping first responders safe and healthy. First responders may also reduce the perception of chaos by implementing situational awareness skills. This research study explored (a) how first responders experienced the initial chaos immediately following a large-scale disaster, (b) how first responders experienced their emotions (good or bad) and what, if any, emotions were present, (c) how their emotions affected job performance, and (d) …