Resource Tag: FIRE FIGHTERS

Background: Recent findings indicate that firefighters may be at increased risk for death by suicide; however, there has been only limited suicide prevention work in fire service to date. Aim: The objective of this program evaluation project was to develop and evaluate a web-based Safety Planning Intervention (SPI) training course for firefighter peer support specialists. Method: Peer support specialists who […]

Introduction: First responders, including law enforcement officers (LEOs), firefighters, emergency medical services (EMS) clinicians, and public safety telecommunicators, face unique occupational stressors and may be at elevated risk for suicide. This study characterized suicides among first responders and identifies potential opportunities for additional data collection. Methods: Using suicides identified from the three most recent years of National […]

Background: Relatively little is known regarding the relationship between attitudes toward suicide, suicide attempt (SA) history, and future suicidal behaviors. Aims: Utilizing a sample of firefighters, this study compared attitudes toward suicide between individuals with/without a career SA history and evaluated whether certain attitudes toward suicide are associated with a greater self-reported likelihood of making a future SA. Method: US […]

Aim This study explored the extent to which emotion regulation dimensions statistically mediate the association between sleep disturbance and suicide risk among firefighters. Method Participants were 865 firefighters working for a fire department in an urban area in the southern U.S. Bootstrapping was used to test the indirect effects of sleep disturbance on suicide risk […]

Background and Objectives Much of the research surrounding firefighter health has concerned the hazards intuitively associated with the occupation, such as physical, thermal, and chemical risks. However, an additional aspect of their work environment, psychosocial stressors, has begun to attract a growing level of attention. Work-related psychosocial stress may best be described as mental and […]

Background: Canadian public safety personnel (PSP; e.g., correctional workers, dispatchers, firefighters, paramedics, police officers) are exposed to potentially traumatic events as a function of their work. Such exposures contribute to the risk of developing clinically significant symptoms related to mental disorders. The current study was designed to provide estimates of mental disorder symptom frequencies and […]

Firefighters demonstrate high rates of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and alcohol use disorder (AUD). Research has yet to compare how these diagnoses and their co-occurrence relate to firefighter mental health. This study evaluated trauma load, PTSD, alcohol use, depression, sleep, suicide risk, anger, and occupational stress across four discrete groups of firefighters (N = 660): (1) trauma-exposed […]

Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the United States and is a significant public health problem. Suicide has also become a major concern among career American firefighters with rates for suicidal ideation and attempts in firefighters two to three times higher than rates in the general population. Firefighter suicide and mental health […]

Introduction: The purpose of this study was to investigate the interpersonal theory of suicide in firefighters in Tehran. This research was based on an interpersonal suicide theory in understanding whether two variables of thwarted belonging and burdensomeness play an important role in suicidal thoughts of firefighters or not. Method: The present study was a quantitative and correlational […]

Suicide is a significant concern among fire service due to high rates of suicide behaviors. The aim of this study was to describe suicides among firefighters using national suicide death data. Data from the National Violent Death Reporting System for 722 firefighters and 192,430 non-firefighters were analyzed to compare sociodemographics and risk factors between firefighter […]

Objective Suicide among firefighters is a critical mental health concern that remains under studied. The interpersonal–psychological theory of suicidal behavior (IPTS) states that, to engage in lethal suicidal behaviors, an individual must possess thwarted belongingness, perceived burdensomeness, and fearlessness about death (IPTS factors). Social cognitive theory may assist IPTS in explaining suicidal behavior. Method Participants […]

BACKGROUND: Women protective service workers die by suicide at a higher rate than women workers in other occupational groups. However, no study has examined rates and correlates of suicidal thoughts and behaviors among women firefighters, despite the potential for these data to inform suicide screening, prevention, and intervention initiatives. The purpose of this study is […]

focus on sectors of the workforce, such as firefighters, who experience occupational hazards that may confer risk for suicide. Elevated levels of posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS), which show robust relationships with both suicidal ideation (SI) and suicide attempts, are common among firefighters. However, no study to date has investigated the relationship between PTSS and suicidality among […]

Research indicates that physical and sexual abuse are associated with increased suicide risk; however, these associations have not been investigated among firefighters—an occupational group that has been shown to be at elevated suicide risk. This study examined whether physical and sexual abuse histories are associated with (a) career suicide ideation, plans, and attempts; and (b) […]

This cross-sectional study investigated the association between harassment, career suicidality, and psychiatric symptoms among women firefighters. Women firefighters (n = 290) completed self-report measures of experiences with harassment on the job, career suicidality, and various psychiatric symptoms. Logistic regression analyses and one-way analyses of variance were used to address study aims. Of the sample, 21.7% reported having experienced sexual harassment and 20.3% reported having been […]

Background Firefighter and Emergency Medical Services (EMS) personnel experience higher rates of lifetime suicidal ideation and attempts than the general population and other protective service professions. Several correlates of suicidality (alcohol use, depression, posttraumatic stress) have been identified in the literature as applicable to firefighter/EMS populations; however, few studies to date have examined the specific […]

Background Firefighters experience high-risk occupational hazards that may confer increased risk for suicide; however, prevalence rates of suicidal thoughts and behaviors among firefighters are unknown. The purpose of this study is to describe the career prevalence of suicide ideation, plans, attempts, and non-suicidal self-injury among firefighters, in addition to sociodemographic, physical health, and occupational correlates. […]

Background Women protective service workers die by suicide at a higher rate than women workers in other occupational groups. However, no study has examined rates and correlates of suicidal thoughts and behaviors among women firefighters, despite the potential for these data to inform suicide screening, prevention, and intervention initiatives. The purpose of this study is […]

Firefighters report high rates of suicidality and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This investigation explored the moderating role of distress tolerance (DT) in the association between PTSD symptomatology and suicidality in firefighters. Covariates included trauma load, depressive symptom severity, gender, race, age, and education. The sample was comprised of 765 (94.0% male; Mage = 38.8, SD = 8.6) trauma-exposed firefighters who […]

Objective Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms are associated with increased suicide risk. Anxiety sensitivity (AS)—the fear of anxiety-related sensations—is both a vulnerability factor for and consequence of PTSD symptoms. AS also predicts suicide risk. To our knowledge, no study has examined whether AS concerns account for the association between PTSD symptoms and suicide risk. Method […]

This research was supported by a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Award (EMW2012FP00243) to Dr. Gulliver entitled “Developing Standard Operating Procedures for Suicide in Fire Service.” Dr. Kimbrel was supported by a Career Development Award (IK2 CX000525) from the Clinical Science Research and Development Service of the Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA) Office of Research […]

This study aimed to characterize rates and correlates of mental health service use, as well as barriers to care, among a sample of firefighters reporting a history of suicide ideation, plans, or attempts during their firefighting careers. Methods: Participants (N=483) completed a Web-based survey assessing history of suicidal thoughts and behaviors, prior mental health service […]

First responders, police officers, firefighters, emergency medical technicians (EMTs), and paramedics, experience significant job-related stressors and exposures that may confer increased risk for mental health morbidities (e.g., posttraumatic stress disorder PTSD, suicidal thoughts and behaviors) and hastened mortality (e.g., death by suicide). Inherent in these occupations, however, are also factors (e.g., camaraderie, pre-enlistment screening) that […]