CONDITIONED TO GRIEVE OR DEAD INSIDE: LINE OF DUTY DEATHS AND MENTAL RESILIENCE
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Authors
Rice, Timothy W.
Subjects
death
ritual
tradition
grief
grieving
mourning
resilience
mental resilience
funeral
community
culture
social
social identity
death-related occupations
DR
emergency medical service
EMS
ritual
tradition
grief
grieving
mourning
resilience
mental resilience
funeral
community
culture
social
social identity
death-related occupations
DR
emergency medical service
EMS
Advisors
Brannan, David W.
Halladay, Carolyn C.
Date of Issue
2022-12
Date
Publisher
Monterey, CA; Naval Postgraduate School
Language
Abstract
In the course of a firefighting career, firefighters attend line-of-duty funerals for other firefighters, law enforcement officers, emergency medical service (EMS) professionals, and perhaps members of the armed forces from within their community, in addition to funerals of friends and family members. The basic purpose of a funeral in society allows the family and friends to say goodbye to a loved one. The fire service does a lot more. The fire service communal response and normalization of death rituals are something that few, if any, other death-related (DR) occupations do as effectively. This thesis considers the importance of death rituals from a historical perspective. It then examines mental resilience by comparing culture, community, and social identity in the fire service with other DR occupations. Current research on death and trauma in the professional workplace is limited and there is an absence of research connecting consistent participation in death rituals through funeral attendance with mental resilience when encountering death, in particular a line-of-duty death. Policy recommendations include instituting programs that normalize funeral attendance, and additional areas of research include studying those who have had early positive experiences with death and dying and their mental resiliency today.
Type
Thesis
Description
Series/Report No
Department
National Security Affairs (CHDS)
Organization
Identifiers
NPS Report Number
Sponsors
Funding
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Citation
Distribution Statement
Approved for public release. Distribution is unlimited.
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Copyright is reserved by the copyright owner.