LIFE SCENARIOS AFTER STRESS – AN ANALYSIS OF STRESS EXPERIENCE IN THE STATE FIRE SERVICE

This study aimed to analyse how professional firefighters of the State Fire Service in Poland experienceand cope with stress, and to identify factors that facilitate or hinder their psychological adaptationafter exposure to traumatic events. The research problem focused on answering the question: Whatcoping strategies can be observed among State Fire Service officers, and which factors influence theeffectiveness of their psychological adaptation following traumatic incidents? The study employeda mixed-methods approach, including a review of relevant scientific literature and availableinstitutional reports, as well as a survey of firefighters. The Mini-COPE inventory, adapted to thePolish context by Juczyński and Ogińska-Bulik, was used to assess the coping strategies applied bythe participants. The findings contribute to a deeper understanding of firefighters’ psychologicalfunctioning in situations of chronic and acute stress and highlight the importance of targetedpreventive measures and support systems within operational services.