Citation

Stanley IH, Boffa JW, Smith LJ, Tran JK, Schmidt NB, Joiner TE, Vujanovic AA. Psychiatry Res. 2018; 266: 90-96.

Affiliation

Department of Psychology, University of Houston, 3695 Cullen Boulevard, Houston, TX 77204, USA. Electronic address: aavujano@central.uh.edu.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2018, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.psychres.2018.05.058

PMID

29857292

Abstract

Past research indicates that firefighters are at increased risk for suicide. Firefighter-specific occupational stress may contribute to elevated suicidality. Among a large sample of firefighters, this study examined if occupational stress is associated with multiple indicators of suicide risk, and whether distress tolerance, the perceived and/or actual ability to endure negative emotional or physical states, attenuates these associations. A total of 831 firefighters participated (mean [SD] age = 38.37y[8.53y]; 94.5% male; 75.2% White). The Sources of Occupational Stress-14 (SOOS-14), Distress Tolerance Scale (DTS), and Suicidal Behaviors Questionnaire-Revised (SBQ-R) were utilized to examine firefighter-specific occupational stress, distress tolerance, and suicidality, respectively. Consistent with predictions, occupational stress interacted with distress tolerance, such that the effects of occupational stress on suicide risk, broadly, as well as lifetime suicide threats and current suicidal intent, specifically, were attenuated at high levels of distress tolerance. Distress tolerance may buffer the effects of occupational stress on suicidality among firefighters. Pending replication, findings suggest that distress tolerance may be a viable target for suicide prevention initiatives within the fire service.

Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Language: en

Keywords

Distress tolerance; Firefighters; Occupational stress; Suicidality