Posttraumatic Stress, Alcohol Use, and Alcohol Use Motives in Firefighters: The Role of Sleep Disturbance

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dc.contributor.advisorVujanovic, Anka A.
dc.contributor.committeeMemberGallagher, Matthew W.
dc.contributor.committeeMemberTran, Jana K.
dc.creatorSmith, Lia J.
dc.date.accessioned2018-06-22T21:51:45Z
dc.date.available2018-06-22T21:51:45Z
dc.date.createdMay 2018
dc.date.issued2018-05
dc.date.submittedMay 2018
dc.date.updated2018-06-22T21:51:45Z
dc.description.abstractFirefighters are at an elevated risk for posttraumatic stress symptomatology and alcohol use, with research demonstrating that individuals with posttraumatic stress may be more likely to use alcohol as a coping strategy. A behavioral mechanism of great clinical relevance to these associations is sleep disturbance. Thus, the current study examined associations among posttraumatic stress symptom severity, sleep disturbance, and alcohol use severity and alcohol use motives in a sample of 639 urban firefighters (93.6% male; Mage= 38.5, SD = 8.6). Structural equation modeling was employed to examine the study hypotheses, including: 1) posttraumatic stress symptom severity will predict alcohol use severity and alcohol use coping motives; 2) sleep disturbance will predict alcohol use severity and alcohol use coping motives; and 3) the interactive effect of posttraumatic stress symptom severity and sleep disturbance will predict alcohol use severity and alcohol use coping motives. These effects were not anticipated for other alcohol use motives (i.e., conformity, enhancement, social), and all effects were expected above and beyond the theoretically-relevant covariates of years in the fire department and occupational stress. Results demonstrated that posttraumatic stress symptom severity and sleep disturbance severity were significantly, positively associated with alcohol use severity and alcohol use motives. After accounting for covariates and main effects, the interaction of posttraumatic stress symptom severity and sleep disturbance was a significant predictor of alcohol use severity and alcohol use coping motives, but not other alcohol use motives. Clinical and research implications are discussed.
dc.description.departmentPsychology, Department of
dc.format.digitalOriginborn digital
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdf
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10657/3088
dc.language.isoeng
dc.rightsThe author of this work is the copyright owner. UH Libraries and the Texas Digital Library have their permission to store and provide access to this work. Further transmission, reproduction, or presentation of this work is prohibited except with permission of the author(s).
dc.subjectPost-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
dc.subjectPost-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
dc.subjectAlcohol
dc.subjectCoping motives
dc.subjectSleep
dc.subjectFirefighters
dc.titlePosttraumatic Stress, Alcohol Use, and Alcohol Use Motives in Firefighters: The Role of Sleep Disturbance
dc.type.dcmiText
dc.type.genreThesis
thesis.degree.collegeCollege of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences
thesis.degree.departmentPsychology, Department of
thesis.degree.disciplinePsychology, Clinical
thesis.degree.grantorUniversity of Houston
thesis.degree.levelMasters
thesis.degree.nameMaster of Arts

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