**Author details**

the events investigated occurred several years ago, and the rescuers who intervened at that time are now at different police stations throughout Italy. However, we managed to interview all police officers who intervened as first rescuers who are now retired; all participants understood the implications of their contributions in terms of the academic training of cadets. This collective participation should be more appreciated in consideration of the "virility" culture [66], which prevents officers from expressing their emotions and feelings. This culture can force police officers into the role of superheroes, an idea that is supported by both the citizens and the police officers themselves. "Virility" can be considered a defensive mechanism strategy and may have an important role in protecting police officers from a high level of anxiety that could prevent them from doing their job. The embodiment of the "virility" culture does not allow displays of weakness and traumatic reactions. To offset risk, police officers can become risk takers. Police officers are generally perceived by citizens as superheroes and they, in line with this image, attempt to not fail such expectations by displaying "weaknesses" such as traumatic reactions or the long-term effects of trauma. For this reason, they generally never show any effects of the trauma exposure and tend to mini-

160 A Multidimensional Approach to Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - from Theory to Practice

The participation of policemen in this study is a signal that knowledge and scientific results are changing the minds and culture in the direction of more effective attitudes toward the

The present study shows that emotion-coping strategies and some positive emotional and mental personality traits appear to play an important role as a protective factor for the development of post-traumatic stress disorder, as well as for the post-traumatic growth.

Moreover, it explores the possibility to use a modified cognitive interview to allow veteran police officers to share their experiences with cadets during academic training to help them avoid being overwhelmed from unexpected emotions and job-related experience. In spite of its limitations (the small number of participants for traumatic event and lack of statistical power for some analyses), the results seem to suggest the importance to use systematic measurements of coping strategies adopted as well as debriefing in the immediate aftermath (for small and large emergencies) and over the course of the following years (for large

The authors wish to thank the study participants. This work was supported by the ANIA

mize their distress.

**6. Conclusion**

emergencies).

Foundation.

**Acknowledgements**

prevention and promotion of health.

Anna Maria Giannini1 , Laura Piccardi2,3\*, Pierluigi Cordellieri1 , Francesca Baralla1 , Roberto Sgalla4 , Umberto Guidoni5 , Emanuela Tizzani4 and Sandro Vedovi5

\*Address all correspondence to: laura.piccardi@cc.univaq.it

1 Psychology Department, University Sapienza of Rome, Italy

2 Department of Life, Health and Environmental Sciences, L'Aquila University, L'Aquila, Italy

3 Neuropsychology Unit, IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy

4 Ministry of Interior, Department of Public Security, Rome, Italy

5 ANIA Foundation, Rome, Italy
