Individuals employed in first responder professions are at risk for the development of psychiatric symptoms. Two of these professions,
firefighting and military service, demonstrate a strong overlap of employees. Prior research has demonstrated increased prevalence rates of
psychiatric symptoms, including suicide-related behaviors among firefighters. Subpopulations within this occupation provide an opportunity to
inform tailored prevention and intervention tactics. One such subpopulation are firefighters with military service history (concurrent and
prior). The current study looks to investigate psychiatric symptom differences between firefighters with and without military service
history. We hypothesized an additive effect of military service, such that firefighters with a history of military service will be at
increased risk for various psychiatric symptoms compared to their civilian-only counterparts. In addition, potential theoretically-based
explanatory constructs will be used to investigate mechanisms of significant relationships between military service and psychiatric outcomes.
Results did not support an additive effect of military service history within the firefighting profession, as firefighters with military
service history were not more likely to endorse various psychiatric symptoms. Military service history was found to be significantly related
to career NSSI, such that firefighters with a history of military service were 2.52 times more likely to report a career history of NSSI.
Emotion dysregulation did not explain this relationship. Further investigation into the type of military service history suggests
firefighters who are also reservists in the armed forces are at particular risk for suicide-related behaviors. Compared to civilian-only
firefighters, firefighters with a history of active duty service and national guard service also demonstrated increased risk for
suicide-related behaviors. The present study’s results indicate the type of military service, rather than military service in general, is
particularly relevant for suicide-related behaviors within a firefighter population. Future directions for further investigation into this
unique population are discussed. / A Thesis submitted to the Department of Psychology in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree
of Master of Science. / Fall Semester 2017. / October 23, 2017. / Firefighters, Military, Psychiatric Symptoms, Risk, Suicide / Includes bibliographical references. / Thomas E. Joiner, Professor Directing Thesis; Colleen Ganley, Committee Member; Joseph Franklin,
Committee Member.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_604966 |
| Contributors | Gai, Anna R. (author), Joiner, Thomas (professor directing thesis), Ganley, Colleen M. (committee member), Franklin, Joseph (committee member), Florida State University (degree granting institution), College of Arts and Sciences (degree granting college), Department of Psychology (degree granting departmentdgg) |
| Publisher | Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Language | English, English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, text, master thesis |
| Format | 1 online resource (50 pages), computer, application/pdf |
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