The relationship between dispositional empathy, psychological distress, and posttraumatic stress responses among Japanese uniformed disaster workers: a cross-sectional study

Background Disaster workers suffer from psychological distress not only through the direct experience of traumatic situations but also through the indirect process of aiding disaster victims. This distress, called secondary traumatic stress, is linked to dispositional empathy, which is the tendency for individuals to imagine and experience the feelings and experiences of others. However, the association between secondary traumatic stress and dispositional empathy remains understudied. Methods To examine the relationship between dispositional empathy and mental health among disaster workers, we collected data from 227 Japan Ground Self-Defense Force personnel who engaged in international disaster relief activities in the Philippines following Typhoon Yolanda in 2013. The Impact of Event Scale-Revised and the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale were used to evaluate posttraumatic stress responses (PTSR) and general psychological distress (GPD), respectively. Dispositional empathy was evaluated through the Interpersonal Reactivity Index, which consists of four subscales: Perspective Taking, Fantasy, Empathic Concern, and Personal Distress. Hierarchial linear regression analyses were performed to identify the variables related to PTSR and GPD. Results High PTSR was significantly associated with high Fantasy (identification tendency, β = 0.21, p < .01), high Personal Distress (the self-oriented emotional disposition of empathy, β = 0.18, p < .05), and no experience of disaster relief activities (β = 0.15, p < .05). High GPD was associated with high Personal Distress (β = 0.28, p < .001), marital status (married, β = 0.22, p < .01), being female (β = 0.18, p < .01), medical unit (β = 0.18, p < .05), and no experience of disaster relief activities (β = 0.13, p < .05). Conclusions Among Japanese uniformed disaster workers, high PTSR was associated with two subtypes of dispositional empathy: the self-oriented emotional disposition of empathy and high identification tendency, whereas high GPD was associated with high identification tendency. Educational interventions that aim to mitigate these tendencies might be able to relieve the psychological distress of disaster workers.