Exploring the Occupational Lifestyle Experiences of the Families of Public Safety Personnel.
Rachel Richmond, Rosemary Ricciardelli, Rachel Dekel and 6 others
PMID 38538910WHAT IT FOUND
Families of police, firefighters, and paramedics described constant worry, emotional distance, and schedule sacrifices.
They felt unsupported by employers despite being crucial to the worker's readiness. Peer support from other PSP families was valued most, while organizational help was often absent or stigmatized.
Key findings
01Families described hypervigilance and emotional withdrawal in their PSP loved ones, leading to feelings of isolation and marital strain.
02Single-serving families reported secondary traumatic stress symptoms from hearing work details, while dual-serving families found open communication with their partner helpful.
03Families requested organizational support for themselves, noting that existing resources were either unknown or unusable due to stigma and confidentiality concerns.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they found
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What it does not show
The review is limited to published qualitative studies, which may not capture the full scope of family experiences. There is a significant gap in data for families of correctional workers and public safety communicators. Most participants were female spouses, limiting generalizability to other family structures or genders. The review does not capture experiences during or after the COVID-19 pandemic. Life course differences (e.g., early career vs. retirement) were noted but not analyzed due to insufficient data.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest. The research was supported by non-U.S. government funding.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume these findings apply to all public safety families or all family members. The data is heavily skewed toward female spouses of police, firefighters, and paramedics in North America. Correctional workers and communicators were not represented, and the impact of the pandemic was not included.