Resilience as a Personality Trait and Stress Coping Styles: A Cross-Sectional Analysis of a Paramedic Student Cohort

<b>Background</b>/<b>Objectives</b>: Resilience, defined as the ability to adapt and cope effectively with stress, plays a crucial role in preparing candidates for the paramedic profession. This study aimed to assess the resilience intensity as a personality trait and identify stress-coping styles among paramedic candidates. <b>Methods</b>: A cross-sectional cohort study was conducted across multiple Polish universities offering bachelor's degree programs in emergency medical services. The study included 138 participants (56 females, 82 males, aged 18-51). Data collection involved demographic surveys and standardized tools, including the Polish version of the Resilience Scale (SPP-25), the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS), and the Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations (CISS). <b>Results</b>: The study revealed a positive correlation between resilience and age (<i>p</i> = 0.002). Males exhibited significantly higher resilience compared to females (<i>p</i> = 0.0004). While both genders demonstrated average life satisfaction (SWLS), men scored significantly higher (<i>p</i> = 0.0082). Task-oriented coping strategies were predominant among all participants, but females scored higher in emotion-oriented coping (<i>p</i> = 0.0003). Resilience was positively correlated with task-oriented coping (0.4872) and negatively correlated with emotion-oriented coping (-0.4727). <b>Conclusions</b>: These findings emphasize the importance of resilience in paramedic training and selection, as it significantly influences stress management and professional performance in high-pressure situations.