The role of Filipino masculine ideology on the adaptive coping, psychological well-being and vicarious trauma of first responders

ABSTRACT

The exposure of first responders to emergencies and disaster puts them at high risk of experiencing vicarious trauma. First responders are typically male and literature suggests that a negative connotation of masculinity creates a stigma that leads to low help-seeking behaviour and poorer psychological outcomes. This study examines Filipino dimensions of masculinity namely perceived cognitive ability, sense of community, and assertive dominance and how these dimensions predict adaptive coping and its outcomes. Surveys of 135 male first responders reveal that perceived cognitive ability and sense of community positively predict adaptive coping. Results also support the hypothesis that adaptive coping mediates the relationship of perceived cognitive ability, and sense of community positively with psychological well-being. However, there was no relationship between assertive dominance and adaptive coping. Rather, assertive dominance predicted vicarious trauma. The results contribute to the literature by showing that masculinity ideologies have both positive and negative relationships with mental health. This has implications on how emergency organizations can help support first responders.

KEYWORDS:

• Masculinity
• adaptive coping
• first responders
• well-being
• vicarious trauma

Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank Philippine Red Cross (Dagupan Chapter, Marikina Chapter, Mandaluyong Chapter, and Quezon City Chapter), the Quezon City District Bureau of Fire Protection, Marikina Rescue, the Iloilo Provincial Hospital, The Medical City Iloilo, Iloilo Mission Hospital, Iloilo Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office, Dagupan Doctors Villaflor Memorial Hospital, Gen. Miguel Malvar Medical Foundation, and the Ateneo Risk Management Unit for their assistance in data collection. The study was conducted with ethical clearance from the Ateneo de Manila University Research Ethics Office.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.