A broad range of psychosocial characteristics have been investigated relative to CHD and related risk factors; however, occupational stress is one of three domains that dominates the literature (Everson-Rose & Lewis, 2005). The high prevalence of PTSD and other psychiatric impairments in firefighters indicates that they often fail to cope with primary and secondary stress in their work (Wagner, Heinrichs & Ehlert, 1998). Firefighter training Academy cadets are exposed to many of the same stressors they will encounter in the fire service. Better understanding of the impact of the Academy experience on cadets could facilitate utilization of the Academy as a prime environment for stress management training. The purpose of this research was to determine levels of self-perceived emotional distress experienced by firefighter cadets during an Academy. Research problem: What are the effects of the firefighter Academy experience on self-perceived emotional distress of cadets? Null hypothesis: The Academy experience has no affect on the self-perceived emotional distress of cadets. Research hypothesis: The Academy experience affects self-perceived emotional distress of cadets; cadets will report feelings of distress during an Academy. The sample consisted of 33 cadets from two academies in a fire department in the Southwest US. This inferential study utilized the General Well-Being Schedule (GWB) (Dupuy, 1978) to measure the self-perceived emotional distress of cadets relative to the Academy experience. The survey was administered at the beginning (baseline), mid-point, and end of the academy to determine if significant difference existed between at least two of the three mean scores (baseline, mid-academy, and end-of-academy), using one-way repeated measures of analysis of variance (ANOVA). SPSS was utilized to analyze the GWB scores. Interviews with Academy training cadre were used to collect qualitative data regarding the academy environment and activities; this data was used to interpret and contextualize the quantitative data. Preliminary quantitative analysis of the GWB scores of cadets revealed that while the mid-academy scores (M=72.54) were lower, indicating higher level of self-perceived emotional distress, than the baseline scores (M=75.19), this difference was not significant (F=11.542; p=0.2886). However, preliminary analysis did reveal significant difference between baseline and end-of-academy scores (F=11.542; p=0.0066), as well as between mid-academy and end-of-academy scores (F=11.542; p<0.0001), with the lowest level of self-perceived emotional distress reported towards the end of the firefighter academy (M=84.792). Overall, preliminary analysis of the GWB scores indicated that the firefighter academy experience does have an effect the self-perceived emotional distress of firefighter cadets.Keyword(s): disease prevention/wellness, research, worksite