Personality Traits and Professional Quality of Life in Volunteer Ski Patrollers

Introduction Ski patrollers, as outdoor emergency first responders, face unique occupational trauma exposure that impacts their professional quality of life. Despite these exposures, this population has been largely understudied in trauma research. Personality traits have been associated with outcomes from occupational trauma exposure in other populations. This study investigates associations between personality traits and outcomes including compassion fatigue and satisfaction in volunteer ski patrollers. Methods Volunteers from a ski patrol in the Pacific Northwest (n = 82) completed a cross-sectional online survey measuring trauma exposure, the 5-factor model personality traits (neuroticism, extraversion, agreeableness, openness, and conscientiousness), and professional quality of life variables of compassion fatigue (comprising burnout and secondary traumatic stress [STS]) and compassion satisfaction. Results Those who reported trauma exposure while patrolling endorsed higher compassion satisfaction and lower burnout. Extraversion, agreeableness, and conscientiousness correlated negatively with burnout and positively with compassion satisfaction. Extraversion and conscientiousness negatively correlated with STS, while neuroticism positively correlated with burnout and STS but negatively correlated with compassion satisfaction. Conclusions Our findings highlight the association between personality traits and professional quality of life outcomes. Organizations could use this data to design tailored interventions to support ski patrollers in managing occupational trauma exposure. Individuals high in neuroticism endorsed more negative outcomes and could potentially benefit most from preventative measures and intervention compared to those high in extraversion, agreeableness, and conscientiousness.