20.500.12556/RUL-190885 “To act normally in most abnormal circumstances” affective, cognitive and behavioural dimensions of coping among first responders First responders (FRs) routinely work in highly stressful and potentially traumatic environments, yet relatively little is known about how they experience and manage crisis situations across different dimensions of coping. Drawing on 31 in-depth interviews with healthcare workers, police officers, and military personnel in Slovenia, this study examines coping through an analytical framework that distinguishes affective, cognitive, and behavioural dimensions of response. The findings show that coping extends beyond specific adaptive or maladaptive strategies and involves emotional reactions, cognitive appraisals, behavioural practices, organisational resources, and social relationships. At the affective level, participants described fear, uncertainty, shock, adrenaline-driven responses, and longer-term consequences such as fatigue and burnout. The cognitive dimension involved meaning-making, situational appraisal, professional identity, and negotiating societal expectations, while behavioural coping centred on maintaining operational functioning and facilitating recovery through peer support, family relationships, physical activity, and other coping practices. The study demonstrates that coping among FRs is a multidimensional process embedded within organisational and social contexts, highlighting the importance of moving beyond individual coping strategies when designing interventions to strengthen resilience and psychological wellbeing. first responders crisis situations coping afective dimensions cognitive dimensions behavioural dimensions qualitative research prvi posredovalci krizne situacije spoprijemanje afektivne razsežnosti kognitivne razsežnosti vedenjske razsežnosti kvalitativno raziskovanje true false true Angleški jezik Slovenski jezik Slovenija; Članek v reviji 2026-11-06 09:57:07 2026-11-06 09:57:15 2026-11-07 04:23:18 0000-00-00 00:00:00 2026 0 0 17 str. iss. 4 Vol. 16 Oct. 2026 0000-00-00 Zaloznikova Objavljeno NiDoloceno 0000-00-00 0000-00-00 0000-00-00 303.442.23:[614.88-051:159.94/.95](497.4) 2158-2440 10.1177/21582440261501759 303956995 Zivoder_et_al_SageOpen.pdf Zivoder_et_al_SageOpen.pdf 1 975FA17921A4F0F6BDAAD403A4412205 61053233802891329b1701b3b0d2dec7f335e95d6a17d433f11a2f0d9bd69ac1 7428cb9a-d9c0-11f1-aea2-0050569b8976 https://repozitorij.uni-lj.si/Dokument.php?lang=slv&id=252658 https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/21582440261501759 0 9426b206-d9c0-11f1-aea2-0050569b8976 https://repozitorij.uni-lj.si/Dokument.php?lang=slv&id=252660 Fakulteta za družbene vede 0 0 0