The Re: Building Families Program: Resilience, Stress, and Family Functioning

Date
2024-09-06
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Abstract

First responders (FRs) are at increased risk for experiencing compromised physical (Suyama et al., 2009), psychological (Carleton et al., 2018a), and emotional well-being (Wilson et al., 2016). While there are various supports available for FRs, research demonstrates that FRs tend to rely on their spouses/partners for support (Carleton et al., 2019a). Spouses/partners have been found to be affected by the stress of their FR partner (Casas & Benuto, 2022); however, there is a lack of validated psychosocial programs available for FR spouses within Canada (Baek, 2020). Given that resources and services for FR spouses/partners are scarce, an objective of this research is to explore the effectiveness of the Re:Building Families (RBF) program. The RBF program seeks to fill a gap in the literature by providing psychoeducation and peer-support to spouses/partners of FRs. The current study analyzed data from 73 FR spouses/partners who participated in the RBF program. Data was collected at pre-program, post-program, and three-month follow-up. Results indicated that FR spouses/partners tend to report moderately high levels of stress, resilience, and general family functioning. ANOVAs revealed that resilience did not differ across time, by service area, or by length of service. However, resilience was found to significantly decrease across time for FR spouses/partners who do not have children when compared to those who do have children. LGM analyses revealed that resilience was not found to change significantly over time; however, general functioning and stress were found to worsen over time. Parallel process analyses indicated that changes in resilience are not associated with changes in general family functioning or stress over time. Results are discussed in terms of bioecological systems theory, family systems theory, and based on the available literature on FR spouses and families. The current study addresses a gap in the literature by providing preliminary findings on the effectiveness of a psychoeducational program for FR spouses and by further exploring resilience, stress, and family functioning in FR spouses. Implications for the development and refinement of future programs are discussed.

Description
Keywords
first responder families, first responder spouses, family, first responders, resilience, stress, family functioning
Citation
Burk, K. R. (2024). The re: building families program: resilience, stress, and family functioning (Master's thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca.