Occupational Stressors, Stress Responses, and Alcohol Consumption Among Professional Firefighters: A Prospective, Longitudinal Analysis

Details

• Personal Author:
  Beaton RD ; Johnson LC ; Murphy SA ; Pike KC
• Description:
  This dual-site longitudinal prospective study monitored and measured change in self-reported occupational stressors, emotional trauma, symptoms of stress, and alcohol consumption in urban firefighters. Study participants were 188 firefighters employed by two urban fire departments. The results showed that of 19 occupational stressors examined, only 5 (26%) changed significantly over time, and of those 5, only two-job skill concerns and concerns regarding reduction in force and benefits-decreased, reflecting less bothersome subjective ratings. Of the 12 measures of posttraumatic and other symptoms of stress, 9 (75%) increased significantly over time and none decreased significantly, whereas alcohol consumption was stable over time. Job stressors, trauma caseness, and stress response symptoms at baseline were strongly and significantly associated with the same measures at the two-year follow-up. The implications of the findings for prevention and remediation of stress disorders in fire service personnel are considered. It can be concluded that the stressful nature of urban firefighting is significantly associated with negative health outcomes, including the potential over reliance on alcohol use. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Emergencies Emergency Responders Firefighters Fires Hazardous Substances Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Risk Assessment Risk Factors Safety
• Keywords:
  Emergency Responders Emergency Response Fire Fighters Fire Fighting Fire Hazards Hazardous Materials Humans Injuries Occupational Exposure Occupational Hazards Paramedical Services Risk Factors Sampling Stress Traumatic Injuries

  More +
• ISSN:
  1072-5245
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  OSHA Region 10 ; Washington
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  179-196
• Volume:
  6
• Issue:
  3
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20024543
• Citation:
  Int J Stress Manag 1999 Aug; 6(3):179-196
• Contact Point Address:
  Shirley Murphy, Department of Psychosocial and Community Health, Box 357263, School of Nursing, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195-7263
• Email:
  samurphy@u.washington.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1999
• Performing Organization:
  University of Washington, School of Nursing, Seattle, Washington
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  19940930
• Source Full Name:
  International Journal of Stress Management
• End Date:
  19990929
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:b27656f37cfb77b63aa4ea8a10b616c6121b819e455b210b82d248f9a33036f09157653cc3a3191ca907efaeafb53b9cbee5827dc62b8d5c547b1d33d0d7a641
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/196304/cdc_196304_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.36 MB ]