Perceived social support is a known factor in preventing job burnout in many professions. However, the influence of coping strategies on perceived social support and job burnout remains unclear. The current study investigated firefighters using data from a two-wave study to fill this gap in knowledge. Chinese firefighters (N = 340) participated in the study for 3-months. Results indicated that perceived social support at baseline predicted job burnout at the 3-month follow-up through coping strategies. We concluded that perceived social support acts through positive coping strategies to reduce job burnout in Chinese firefighters.
Keywords: coping strategies; firefighters; job burnout; longitudinal design; perceived social support.