WAQP Week 7 Assignment 2

Rubric Standard | Complete > Does the prospectus contain all the required elements? Refer to the annotated outline to see the required parts of the Dissertation Prospectus document.

Note. Please complete following the directions provided, using the stem sentences, and referring to the examples in the appendix.

Title

Exploring Lived Experiences of Adult Children of Firefighters and EMTs: A Phenomenological Study in Texas

Supporting Literature

The first step in developing your prospectus is to search the literature related to the general area you want to investigate (see social problem below). In your review of recent, empirical literature, what keywords did you search and in what databases?

The keywords and databases searched included First responders or firefighters or paramedics, family relationships, mental health services, mental health, mental health stigma, secondary trauma, vicarious trauma, therapy, counseling, family or caregiver, high-risk professions, psychological well-being, parent-child relationship + high-risk professions + vicarious trauma, adult children + first responders, first responders + their families. Databases searched: The Walden University library, Scopus, Directory of open access journals, APA Psych info, APA Psych articles, Complementary index, Supplemental index, Emerald insight, Science direct, Sage publications.

Provide at least 10 brief summaries of recent, scholarly (peer-reviewed) articles that support/justify a current and relevant problem in your discipline or professional field. Source(s) supporting your framework should be included. Include the complete, APA reference entry, followed by (a) an in-text citation; (b) what was studied; (c) what was found; and (d) why this research is important in relation to your study. This evidence provides the justification for your research problem.

Baker, L. D., Ponder, W. N., Carbajal, J., Galusha, J. M., Hidalgo, J. E., & Price, M. (2023). Mapping PTSD, depression, and anxiety: A network analysis of co-occurring symptoms in treatment-seeking first responders.  Journal of Psychiatric Research,  168, 176–183. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychires.2023.10.038

(a) Baker et al. (2024); (b) found that first responders experience traumatic situations on a regular basis and current research shows that this has a high likelihood of affecting their mental health. (c) The researchers collected data through self-report measures looking for the interrelatedness of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, depression, and general anxiety disorder symptoms and found six different combinations of how these symptoms can emerge and affect the first responders’ daily functioning. (d) This article is important to my research as a sample of treatment-seeking first responders, highlighting the lived experiences of family members.

Cox, M., Norris, D., Cramm, H., Richmond, R., & Anderson, G. S. (2022). Public safety personnel family resilience: A narrative review. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(9), 5224. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19095224

(a) Cox et al., (2022), (b) conducted a narrative review of the available research and literature on families of first responders’, how first responders’ jobs affect their family, and the first responder family’s overall resilience. (c) A lack of research on public safety personnel families made this narrative review a first step in understanding the effect that nonstandard work schedules dangerous work environments have on the families of public safety personnel or emergency responders. (d)This narrative study is important to my research as it brings together a pool of data for this unique population that covers a 40 year span of research and reports findings affecting children of emergency responders ranging from sadness and anger due to not understanding the demands of their parents job, to fear and worry for their parent when they are on duty/shift.

Fix, R. L., Papazoglou, K., Padilla, K. E., and Blumberg, D. M. (2024). Factors promoting and inhibiting use of wellness resources among police: A mixed methods study.  Police Quarterly,  27(4), 407–437. https://doi.org/10.1177/10986111231223905

(a) Fix et al. (2024); (b) investigated the established mental health programs and the use of those programs available to one metropolitan police department. (c) The researchers reported a strong stigma towards the use of mental health services that included departmental mistrust and fear of lack of confidentiality. Another aspect the researchers discussed is health care coverage for mental health services as well as support services utilized by family members. (d) This article is crucial to my research, indicating that stigma, fear, and accessibility impact first responders' lives. It also shows positive outcomes when services are used by first responders and their families.

Helfers, R. C., Scott, D. M., and Reynolds, P. D. (2021). Being a blue blood: A phenomenological study on the lived experiences of police officers’ children.  Police Quarterly,  24(2), 233-261–261. https://doi.org/10.1177/1098611120964954

(a) Helfers et al., (2021) (b) looked at the stressors children of police officers potentially face as their police officer parent works to protect the community. (c) The children of the police officers interviewed reported positive aspects of having a police officer parent, but that police parents were likely to be overprotective, freedom was restricted, and older children faced backlash from their peers for having a police officer parent. (d) This study is important to my research as it further supports the discussion that children of first responders experience life differently than children of non-first responders.

Lawn, S., Waddell, E., Rikkers, W., Roberts, L., Beks, T., Lawrence, D., Rioseco, P., Sharp, T., Wadham, B., Daraganova, G., and Van Hooff, M. (2022). Families’ experiences of supporting Australian veterans and emergency service first responders (ESFRs) to seek help for mental health problems.  Health & Social Care in the Community,  30(6), e4522–e4534. https://doi.org/10.1111/hsc.13856

(a)Lawn et al., (2022) (b)sought to understand how the distress and moral injury experienced by first responders is transferred vicariously to their family members. In this study the participant pool of family members does include adult children of first responders. (c)The researchers capture the plea from families to implement practices that have a more family-focused approach and address the barriers that families face when attempting to seek mental health services for their emergency responder family member. (d) This article is important to my research as it aims to bring to light the need for the family unit of emergency responders to be considered in the “life-course trajectory” of their first responder and the probable trauma that first responder will experience.

May, K., Van Hooff, M., Doherty, M., and Carter, D. (2023). Experiences of parental PTSD for children aged 9–17 in military and emergency first responder families. Journal of Child & Family Studies, 32(12), 3816–3834. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-023-02669-y

(a) May et al. (2023); (b) looked at a population of children aged 9-17 who have a military or emergency first responder parent diagnosed with PTSD to see if they experience higher levels of stress compared to children with civilian parents with a diagnosis of PTSD. (c) The researchers found there was little difference between the two different child populations overall. Comparatively the children shared their experiences with respect, care and protection towards their parents with PTSD. The research conducted found that behaviors exhibited by the children were consistent with the current literature on secondary trauma and intergenerational transmission of symptoms. (d) This study is important to my research as it focuses on a population that is difficult to study, and the effect the parents with PTSD have on their children.

O’Hara, K. L., Wolchik, S. A., Sandler, I. N., West, S. G., Reis, H. T., Collins, L. M., Lyon, A. R., & Cummings, E. M. (2023). Preventing mental health problems in children after high conflict parental separation/divorce study: An optimization randomized controlled trial protocol.  Mental Health & Prevention,  32. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mhp.2023.200301

O’Toole, M., Mulhall, C., and Eppich, W. (2022). Breaking down barriers to help-seeking: Preparing first responders' families for psychological first aid. European Journal of Psychotraumatology, 13(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/20008198.2022.2065430

(a) O’Toole et al. (2022) (b) discussed the fact that people in first responder positions experience higher levels of trauma and suggested that family members be utilized and a first line of social support to recognize when their first responder is not doing well. (c) The researchers used the terms spouses and “family members” but did not specify who the family members were and suggested both groups be given psychoeducation training as it was inconsistent, and they were an underutilized resource for supporting first responders. (d)This research is important to my topic as it further outlines the psychological issues first responders experience and that family members are the closest to them and are more likely to notice or experience a change in their first responders’ behavior.

Sharp, M. L., Solomon, N., Harrison, V., Gribble, R., Cramm, H., and Pike, G. (2022). The mental health and wellbeing of spouses, partners, and children of emergency responders: A systematic review. PLOS ONE, 17(6), e0269659. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0269659

(a) Sharp et al. (2022); (b) focused on the mental health and well-being of family members of emergency responders. The pool of participants included spouses, partners and children on emergency responders (c) and what emerged regarding the children of the emergency responders was not only that the emergency responders’ experiences influence the children, but the other parent’s mental wellbeing from supporting the emergency responder also had an effect on children’s wellbeing. (d)This study is important to my research as it not only looks at the effects of parental wellbeing and the wellbeing of the child, but it also looks at positive aspects of being the family member of an emergency responder.

Traynor, A., Doyle, B., Eppich, W., Tjin, A., Mulhall, C., and O’Toole, M. (2024). “This is it…this is our normal” - the voices of family members and first responders experiencing duty-related trauma in Ireland.  Comprehensive Psychiatry,  133. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.comppsych.2024.152499

(a) Traynor et al. (2024); (b) aimed to explore the lived experiences of first responders and their family members in Ireland. (c) This study included friends and family members, to include the children of first responders as participants. Researchers found a common thread among first responder family members having an understanding that the role they chose as a family member, or the role they have as a family member comes with inherent consequences. As their first responder copes with or struggles with what they experience on the job impacts the family members’ daily life in minor to severe ways all the while largely remaining an unheard population. (d)This study is important to my research as it shows that the family and friend dynamic is different (or outside the norm of society) than non-first responder relationships and captures the lived experiences of those friends and families, including children of first responders.

Valdez, C. R., Chavez, T., & Woulfe, J. (2013). Emerging adults lived experience of formative family stress: The family's lasting influence. Qualitative Health Research, 23(8), 1089-1102. https://doi.org/10.1177/1049732313494271

(a) Valdez et al. (2013); (b) looked at the lived experience of formative family stress and the lasting influence it had on emerging adults. (c) Researchers found a common thread amongst a handful of different family stress experiences that emerging adults’ social, academic, career, and relationships were all affected in similar ways. (d) This is important to my research as it helps lay the foundation for the connection between high familial stress and the enduring impact has on children into their adult years.

Rubric Standard | Justified > Is evidence presented that this problem is significant to the discipline and/or professional field? The prospectus should provide relevant statistics and evidence, documentable discrepancies, and other scholarly facts that point to the significance and urgency of the problem.

Problem

What was the social problem that prompted you to search the literature to find out more? Write in complete sentences using a scholarly tone.

The situation or issue that prompted me to search the literature is First responders are routinely exposed to traumatic events as a core aspect of their professional roles, with a substantial body of research indicating a strong correlation between such exposure and adverse mental health outcomes. While the psychological toll on first responders themselves has received growing attention, the potential impact on their family members, particularly their children, remains considerably less understood. The families of first responders face unique challenges, including the chronic stress of worrying about their loved one's safety, exposure to changes in the first responder's emotional well-being or behavior, and the potential for indirect trauma exposure through family dynamics. Despite evidence suggesting that trauma can have ripple effects within family systems, there remains a significant gap in understanding how parental occupational trauma exposure may affect the psychological well-being of first responders' children, including whether these family members may experience vicarious or secondary trauma as a result of their parent's profession. The core risk if this remains unexamined: If trauma is presupposed, the study risks confirming a narrative rather than examining a phenomenon — which undermines both the scientific contribution and the practical utility of the findings.

Now that you have read and summarized some of the recent literature to understand your problem, and given what other researchers are exploring, what meaningful gap have you identified that your study will address? (What have others not yet explored about this problem that you will contribute with your study?)

Although researchers have investigated this issue, the topic has not been explored in this way: Existing research gives us a glimpse into impacts on children raised in households with first responder parents compared to those in non-first responder occupations; however, gaps remain. Children of first responders are not commonly discussed as an at-risk population, but they are indirectly exposed to occupational hazards through proximity that literature has not sufficiently addressed specific to secondary or vicarious trauma. Intensifying this gap, existing research has not sufficiently examined first responder family dynamics through an intergenerational lens, despite strong theoretical support that trauma can ripple through family systems via emotional contagion, and behavioral modeling. Texas, given its scale, population density, and the extent of its rural-urban variability, represents a critical yet understudied context in which these dynamics may manifest in distinctive ways. Without region-specific investigation, interventions risk lacking ecological validity including rural-urban variation in work conditions, cultural attitudes toward mental health, and the availability of support services. This study addresses these gaps by examining adult children's interpretation within the specific sociocultural context of Texas, advancing family systems and secondary trauma research while avoiding the assumption of trauma and instead allows participants' own narratives to define the phenomenon being studied.

Based on all of the above information (social problem, literature review, gap), in one sentence, what is your research problem ?

The specific research problem that will be addressed through this study is The lived experiences of adult children of first responders in Texas, particularly regarding potential vicarious or secondary trauma from parental occupational exposure, remain inadequately understood.

Rubric Standard | Meaningful > Has a meaningful problem and gap in the research literature been identified? In other words, is addressing this problem the logical next step, given the previous exploratory and confirmatory research (or lack thereof) on this topic? It is not acceptable to simply replicate previous research for a Ph.D. degree.

Rubric Standard | Original > Does this project have potential to make an original contribution? The problem must be an authentic "puzzle" that needs solving, not merely a topic that the researcher finds interesting. Addressing the problem should result in an original contribution to the field or discipline.

Purpose

To address your stated research problem, what is the purpose of your study? Will you describe, compare, explore, examine, etc.? Complete the purpose sentence below and be sure to clarify your variables/concepts of interest.

The purpose of this Qualitative study is to explore how adult children of firefighters and EMTs in Texas interpret and make meaning of their lived experiences related to parental occupational stress and trauma exposure. This study explores the lived experiences of adult children of first responders and examines how these experiences may be related to the unique demands of first responder roles, including exposure to trauma, irregular work schedules, and occupational stress. By gathering the perspectives of adult children, this research seeks to describe the personal and intergenerational dimensions of having a parent in a high-risk profession.

Framework (Conceptual or Theoretical)

What theory(ies) and/or concept(s) support (frame) your study and who are the original authors? Provide an in-text citation with your response, and the complete APA reference entry with summary in the Supporting Literature section.

The theories and/or concepts that ground this study include Social Learning Theory - Social Learning Theory (Bandura, 1977) proposes that children may adopt emotional reactions, behaviors, or attitudes modeled by their parents.

Bandura, A. (1977).  Social learning theory. Prentice-Hall. https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1979-05015-000

How do these theories and/or concepts relate to your research problem, purpose, and the nature of your study?

The logical connections between the framework presented and the nature of my study include Social Learning Theory (Bandura, 1977) informs questions about observational learning, including what attitudes, emotional responses, or stress management strategies participants may have observed in their parents and whether they recognize similar patterns in their own lives. This framework also guides inquiry into specific behaviors, attitudes, or responses to stress that participants attribute to parental modeling. Social Learning Theory offers a framework for identifying themes related to observational learning, vicarious reinforcement, and the adoption of modeled behaviors. Participant reflections on their own attitudes, emotional regulation, or responses to stress can be analyzed for evidence of learned patterns, whether adaptive or maladaptive, that originated from observing their first responder parent. While the research method of phenomenology explores lived experience, Social Learning Theory provides a lens for interpreting how observed behaviors may shape those experiences.

Rubric Standard | Grounded > Is the problem framed to enable the researcher to either build upon or counter the previously published findings on the topic? For most fields, grounding involves articulating the problem within the context of a theoretical base or conceptual framework. Although many approaches can ground a study in the scientific literature, the essential requirement is that the problem is framed such that the new findings will have implications for the previous findings.

Research Question(s) and Hypotheses (if applicable)

List the question(s) that you plan to use to address the research problem. Your question(s) must align with your study purpose and include the variables and/or concepts and how they will be examined.

RQ: How do adult children of firefighters and EMTs describe and interpret their lived experiences, including their perceptions of emotional responses, behaviors, and attitudes observed in their parents?

Nature of the Study

What systematic approach/method and research design do you plan to use to address your research question(s)?

To address the research questions in this Qualitative study, the specific research design will include The phenomenological approach which focuses on the experiences themselves and how those experiences shape consciousness (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). The phenomenological approach is the most effective approach to use when a researcher is looking to capture the experiences of human situations (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). Semi-structured in-depth interviews and the responses captured from the interviews will be analyzed and interpreted using the Saldana (2015) coding manual.

For your planned research design, what type of data will you need and what data collection instruments will provide it?

For my planned research design, I will need interview at least 10-15 adult children of first responders, specifically firefighters and EMT’s, who served in Texas. I will be using a semi-structured in-depth interview process to collect the responses. The inclusion criteria are that the role dynamic is that the Firefighter or EMT was in the role of parent or direct caregiver and the participant was the child, either biological or non-biological. All other relationship combinations will be excluded.

What data sources and analysis do you plan to use to answer your research question(s)?

I will be conducting semi-structured in-depth interviews and will then analyze and interpret the data using the Saldana (2015) coding manual. To preserve and honor the lived experiences NVivo coding and emotional coding will be used for the first cycle of coding with pattern coding as the second cycle coding method.

What limitations, challenges, and/or barriers might you need to address while conducting this study (e.g., access to participants, access to data, requirements for storing data, separation of roles or other ethical considerations, instrumentation fees, etc.)?

Recruiting adult children of firefighters and EMTs may present challenges due to the sensitive nature of the research topic. Potential participants may have concerns about the study's purpose, how their experiences will be represented, or whether the research assumes negative outcomes related to their upbringing. The visibility of firefighter and EMT professions within communities, combined with the occupational culture that often emphasizes strength and resilience, may create additional barriers to participation. Some individuals may be reluctant to discuss family experiences that could be perceived as critical of their parents’ profession or may feel protective of their parents’ reputation. These concerns could limit the pool of willing participants or result in self-selection bias, where only those with particularly positive or negative experiences choose to participate, potentially excluding those with more nuanced or neutral perspectives.

Rubric Standard | Feasible > Can a systematic method of inquiry be used to address the problem; and does the approach have the potential to address the problem while considering potential risks and burdens placed on research participants? The tentative methodology demonstrates that the researcher has considered the options for inquiry and has selected an approach that has potential to address the problem.

Significance

How will your study address the meaningful, discipline-specific issue that you identified and therefore contribute to your field, discipline, professional practice, etc. contributing to positive social change?

This study is significant in that It contributes to the area of research on vicarious and secondary trauma in a population that appears to be underrepresented in the research, which is adult children of first responders and EMT’s in the state of Texas.

This research has the potential to benefit multiple stakeholder groups. Adult children of first responders may gain validation and understanding of their experiences, as well as increased awareness of how their upbringing may have been related to their development. Current first responders who are parents may benefit from insights that inform how they navigate family relationships and communicate with their children about occupational stress. Mental health professionals working with first responder families will gain knowledge to develop more targeted assessment and intervention strategies that address intergenerational impacts of occupational trauma exposure. Organizations and agencies that employ first responders may use findings to enhance family support programs, employee assistance initiatives, and wellness resources that extend beyond the individual responder to include family members. Policymakers and program developers in Texas may identify gaps in current support systems and allocate resources more effectively to address the needs of first responder families. Finally, the broader field of trauma psychology will benefit from enhanced understanding of vicarious and secondary trauma transmission within family systems, particularly in the context of chronic occupational trauma exposure.

Rubric Standard | Impact > Does this project have potential to affect positive social change? As described in the Significance section, the anticipated findings have potential to support the mission of Walden University to promote positive social change.

Rubric Standard | Objective > Is the topic approached in an objective manner? The framing of the problem should not reveal bias or present a foregone conclusion. Even if the researcher has a strong opinion on the expected findings, the researcher must maximize scholarly objectivity by framing the problem in the context of a systematic inquiry that permits multiple possible conclusions.

Partner Site Masking Self-Check

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