Emotional Regulation as a Predictor of Coping Mechanisms among Public Sector Paramedics: The Mediating Role of Self-Efficacy

Paramedics work within stressful processes, emotionally demanding conditions and need to make quick decisions while maintaining solid psychological conditions. Understanding the psychological mechanisms that help people to cope adaptively in these situations is important to occupational health. The present study examined emotional regulation as a predictor of the coping mechanism and tested the mediating capacity of the self-efficacy among the public sectors paramedics of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Pakistan. A cross-sectional correlational research design was used in a sample of 200 paramedics (121 males, 79 females). Participants completed the Emotional Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ), General Self-Efficacy Scale (GSE), Coping Strategies Scale (CSS) and Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10). Pearson correlation and regression-based analyses of mediation were performed with the use of statistical package software (SPSS-26). Results showed that emotional regulation was found to have a positive relationship with self-efficacy (r = .42, p < .01) and coping mechanisms (r = .47, p < .01). Self-efficacy was also positively correlated with coping mechanisms (r=.55 p< .01). Regression analyses showed that the level of emotional regulation was a significant predictor of coping (R2 = .38, p