Self-Acceptance, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Post-Traumatic Growth, and the Role of Social Support in Chinese Rescue Workers

Previous studies have suggested that the prevalence of mental health problems in rescue workers is relatively high. The current study investigates the relationship between Self-Acceptance, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Post-Traumatic Growth (PTG) in Chinese rescue workers by examining the mediating role of social support. A sample of 297 Chinese medical rescue workers completed self-reported questionnaires, including the Self-Acceptance Questionnaire S-AQ), the Social Acknowledgement Questionnaire (SAQ), the Impact of Events Scale-Revised (IES-R) and the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory (PTGI). A structural equation model (SEM) approach was used. The results indicated that our model fitted the data adequately (chi(2)/df = 2.150, RMSEA = 0.062, TLI = 0.978, CFI = 0.987) and suggested that social support partially mediated the relationship between self-acceptance, PTSD and PTG. The clinical implications and limitations of this research and recommendations for future research are discussed.