Date of Award

8-1-2019

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctorate of Education, Ed.D.

College

College of Education

Department

Education

First Advisor

Nicholas Markette, Ed.D.

Second Advisor

Yvette Ghormley, Ph.D.

Third Advisor

Anne Grey, Ph.D.

Abstract

The psychological well-being of firefighters is an important aspect of fire service, along with the increased awareness of the psychological effects of fire service on firefighters. This study is necessary due to the lack of research exploring how firefighters perceive such influence on their psychological well-being. Understanding leadership’s influence on their psychological well-being is important, since a low level of well-being can lead to depression, anxiety, and suicides. This qualitative, exploratory, case study explores how firefighters in Florida perceive the influence of leader behaviors on their psychological well-being. Data was gathered through a qualitative questionnaire, semi-structured interviews and the Ryff Scales of Psychological Well-Being questionnaire. The results revealed that firefighters are influenced by leadership behaviors. The firefighters who participated in this research perceived positive leadership behaviors to have a positive effect on their psychological well-being, while negative leadership behaviors had a negative effect on the same. This research suggests that the incorporation of emotional intelligence screening as part of the promotional process may be beneficial, along with enhanced training in to strengthen positive leadership attributes.

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