Posttraumatic Stress and Somatic Symptoms in Firefighters: A Mediation Analysis of the Impact of Potentially Traumatic Events

Firefighters are considered a high-risk group for developing stress-related psychopathologies, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), due to repeated exposure to potentially traumatic events (PTE). Studies have indicated that PTE is also associated with the development of Somatic Symptom Dis...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Societies (Basel, Switzerland) Switzerland), 2023-09, Vol.13 (9), p.206
Main Authors: Becker, Joana Proença, Paixão, Rui, Correia-Santos, Patrícia, Quartilho, Manuel João
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Anxiety
Diagnosis
Emotions
Fire departments
Fire fighters
Firefighters
Forest & brush fires
Forest fires
Gender
Health aspects
Impact analysis
Likert scale
mediation analysis
Medical examination
Mental depression
Mental disorders
Mental health
Post traumatic stress disorder
Psychological aspects
Psychological manifestations of general diseases
Psychological stress
Psychological symptoms
Psychopathology
PTSD
Questionnaires
Risk groups
Sociodemographics
somatic symptoms
Somatoform disorders
stress-related disorders
Symptoms
Systematic review
Trauma
Working conditions
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Summary:Firefighters are considered a high-risk group for developing stress-related psychopathologies, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), due to repeated exposure to potentially traumatic events (PTE). Studies have indicated that PTE is also associated with the development of Somatic Symptom Disorder (SSD). However, the occurrence of this condition among firefighters is an underexplored topic. This study aimed to assess the relationships between PTE and PTSD symptoms, and the relationship between PTE and SSD symptoms. Furthermore, we aimed to assess the role of SSD in the relationship between PTE and PTSD within Portuguese firefighters who battled the 2017 violent forest fires. To this end, a sample of 116 firefighters (75% male) completed self-report measures of posttraumatic symptoms, somatic symptoms, and other psychopathological symptoms. Contrary to several literature, in the present study, neither PTSD nor SSD symptoms seem to be correlated with any sociodemographic characteristics. However, the exposure to PTE is positively correlated with both PTSD and SSD symptoms. Furthermore, SSD seems to act as a mediator in the relationship between PTE and PTSD.
ISSN:2075-4698
2075-4698
DOI:10.3390/soc13090206