Association of Psychological Safety with PTSD Symptoms Among Regional Firefighters in South Korea: Moderating Roles of Occupational Identity and Peer Support.

Firefighters are repeatedly exposed to occupational trauma in high-risk work settings, and PTSD symptoms represent an important occupational and public health concern. This study examined the association between psychological safety and PTSD symptoms among firefighters and tested whether this association is conditioned by occupational identity and peer support within an occupational health framework. A cross-sectional survey was conducted with 314 firefighters in Gyeongsangbuk-do, South Korea. PTSD symptoms were assessed using eight selected items adapted from the PCL-5 representing core symptom domains. Confirmatory factor analysis, correlation analysis, and regression analysis were performed, and moderation analyses were conducted using PROCESS Macro (Model 1). Results indicated that psychological safety was negatively associated with PTSD symptoms. Both occupational identity and peer support significantly conditioned this association. The negative association was consistently observed across all levels of occupational identity, whereas it was significant only at or above the mean level of peer support. These findings suggest that psychological safety may be understood as an organizational resource related to PTSD symptoms in high-risk occupational contexts, while occupational identity and peer support may function as individual and social resources that condition this association. The findings highlight the importance of understanding occupational mental health based on the integrated roles of organizational, individual, and social resources.