Biopsychosocial correlates of psychoactive substance use in professional firefighters

Abstract

Summary Background: Stress and tension associated with events re ghters experience may increase the likelihood of a variety of harmful behaviors. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the magnitude of psychoac-tive substance use in a group of re ghters from the Lodz Fire Department, to investigate associ-ations between psychobiological (anxiety, emotional control) and psychosocial factors (social sup-port, coping with stress) and a tendency to use psychoactive substances. Material/Methods: The participants recruited were 168 male professional re ghters from the Lodz Fire Department who participated daily in re and rescue operations in response to local threats. The research pro-tocol comprised 6 evaluation scales, including sociodemographic and risk behavior questionnaires, Spielberger’s STAI, Courtauld Emotional Control Scale, Nieland Social Support Questionnaire, and Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations. Results: Among the risk behaviors studied, the tested remen most often reported drinking alcohol and smoking tobacco. Fire ghters reporting alcohol abstinence were characterized by higher control of negative emotions, including control of depression and anger. Alcohol consumption was asso-ciated with higher satisfaction from received social support. Furthermore, avoidance-oriented cop-ing strategies, including distraction, may lead to a higher risk of harmful drinking. The frequency of smoking could be associated with anxiety as a trait, and lower expression of anxiety character-ized sporadic tobacco smokers.