Exposure to Traumatic Incidents and Prevalence of Posttraumatic Stress Symptomatology in Urban Firefighters in Two Countries

Urban firefighters are at risk for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) due in part to their exposure to duty-related trauma. This study compared duty-related trauma exposures and the prevalences of posttraumatic stress in U.S. and Canadian firefighters. Both samples reported relatively numerous and...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of occupational health psychology 1999-04, Vol.4 (2), p.131-141
Main Authors: Corneil, Wayne, Beaton, Randal, Murphy, Shirley, Johnson, Clark, Pike, Ken
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Allied Health Personnel - psychology
Canada - epidemiology
Cross Cultural Differences
Emotional Trauma
Employee Performance Appraisal
Epidemiology
Female
Fire Fighters
Fires
Human
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Occupational Diseases - classification
Occupational Diseases - diagnosis
Occupational Diseases - epidemiology
Occupational Stress
Occupations - statistics & numerical data
Odds Ratio
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
Psychiatric Status Rating Scales
Psychiatric Symptoms
Sampling Studies
Sex Distribution
Social Support
Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic - classification
Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic - diagnosis
Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic - epidemiology
United States - epidemiology
Urban Environments
Urban Health - statistics & numerical data
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Summary:Urban firefighters are at risk for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) due in part to their exposure to duty-related trauma. This study compared duty-related trauma exposures and the prevalences of posttraumatic stress in U.S. and Canadian firefighters. Both samples reported relatively numerous and frequent posttrauma symptoms, and the rates of self-reported PTSD prevalence did not differ significantly. However, analysis of departmental records for respondents' previous year on duty revealed significant differences in both frequencies and categories of traumatic incident exposures. Some of the vulnerability and moderating risk factors associated with PTSD caseness differed between the U.S. and Canadian samples. Potential explanations for the observed differences in risk factors for PTSD in these 2 firefighter samples are considered.
ISSN:1076-8998
1939-1307
DOI:10.1037/1076-8998.4.2.131