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Cited by 56Posttraumatic Stress Disorder ResearchSubstance Abuse Treatment and OutcomesSleep and related disorders

Posttraumatic stress, alcohol use, and alcohol use reasons in firefighters: The role of sleep disturbance

Smith, Lia J., Gallagher, Matthew W., Tran, Jana K., Vujanovic, Anka A.·2018·Comprehensive Psychiatry
DOI 10.1016/j.comppsych.2018.09.001
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Abstract

Background Firefighters are at elevated risk for posttraumatic stress and alcohol use, with research indicating that individuals with posttraumatic stress are likely to use alcohol as a coping strategy. A behavioral mechanism of clinical relevance to these associations is sleep disturbance. Thus, it was hypothesized that higher posttraumatic stress and sleep disturbance would be associated with higher alcohol use and alcohol use coping reasons; and sleep disturbance would moderate the association between posttraumatic stress and alcohol use and alcohol use coping reasons.Procedure Participants included 639 urban career firefighters (93.6% male; 77.9% White; Mage = 38.5). Covariates included fire department years and occupational stress. Structural equation models were tested.Results Posttraumatic stress severity was significantly, positively associated with alcohol use severity and alcohol use coping reasons. Similarly, sleep disturbance severity was significantly, positively associated with alcohol use severity and alcohol use coping reasons. After accounting for covariates and main effects, the interaction of PTSD severity and sleep disturbance was significantly associated with alcohol use severity, with the model accounting for 23.6% of variance, and alcohol use coping reasons, with the model accounting for 37.6% of variance. As predicted, the interaction of posttraumatic stress severity and sleep disturbance was not significantly associated with alcohol use enhancement, conformity, or social reasons.Conclusion These findings indicate that posttraumatic stress severity is related to heightened alcohol use severity and alcohol use coping reasons, and this association is markedly stronger when firefighters' levels of sleep disturbance are heightened. Clinical and research implications are to be discussed.

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  • In the same sample, there is a significant positive correlation between PTSD severity and alcohol use severity and alcohol use for coping reasons, which was even stronger when sleep disturbances were high.

    “In addition, there was a significant positive correlation between PTSD severity and alcohol use severity and alcohol use for coping reasons which was even stronger when sleep disturbances were high in the firefighters.”

    From The Cyclical Battle of Insomnia and Mental Health Impairment in Firefighters: A Narrative Review (2024) · cites this paper as [99]

  • In 639 urban career firefighters, there is a significant positive correlation between sleep disturbance severity and alcohol use severity as well as alcohol use for coping reasons.

    “Smith et al. [99] assessed sleep, mental health, and alcohol use in 639 urban career firefighters and found a significant positive correlation between sleep disturbance severity and alcohol use severity as well as alcohol use for coping reasons.”

    From The Cyclical Battle of Insomnia and Mental Health Impairment in Firefighters: A Narrative Review (2024) · cites this paper as [99]

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Authors
Smith, L. J., Gallagher, M. W., Tran, J. K., & Vujanovic, A. A.
Affiliations
University of Houston (US)
Corresponding author
Vujanovic, Anka A.
ORCID
Venue
Comprehensive Psychiatry
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2018-11
Volume
87
Pages
64-71
ISSN
0010-440X (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1016/j.comppsych.2018.09.001
OpenAlex
W2890296652
Cited by
56
References
92
Citations by year
2026: 6 · 2025: 8 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 9 · 2021: 11 · 2020: 7 · 2019: 6
FWCI
7.06
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Licence
www.elsevier.com/tdm/userlicense/1.0/ (tdm)
Locations
  • Comprehensive Psychiatry (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Research
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Epidemiology › Substance Abuse Treatment and Outcomes
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Sleep and related disorders
Keywords
post-traumatic stress, alcohol consumption, sleep disorders, firefighters, occupational stress, PTSD symptom severity, moderation, social drinking
MeSH terms
Adaptation, Psychological, Adult, Alcohol Drinking, Female, Humans, Male, Occupational Diseases, Sleep Wake Disorders, Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic, Urban Population, Firefighters

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