Anxiety Mood.  2018 Apr;14(1):1-6. 10.24986/anxmod.2018.14.1.1.

Exposure Frequency of Job Related Trauma Types and PTSD Symptoms of Firefighters: The Moderating Effect of Anger Rumination

• Jo I
• Sung G
• Lee K

• KMID: 2429349
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.24986/anxmod.2018.14.1.1

Abstract

OBJECTIVE
This study aimed at investigating the relationship between exposure frequency of job related trauma types and the PTSD symptoms severity of firefighters, in relation to the moderating effect that anger rumination plays in the association between those of them.
METHODS
We examined data from 116 firefighters from Gyeonggi-do. The following instruments were applied: the Life Events Checklist (LEC), the Korean version of the Anger Rumination Scale (K-ARS) and the Primary Care PTSD screen (PC-PTSD).
RESULTS
A higher exposure frequency of job related trauma types was associated with severe PTSD symptoms; we discovered, however, that anger rumination exacerbated their relationship.
CONCLUSION
This study showed that anger rumination is one of the variables to exacerbate PTSD symptoms in firefighters. Therefore, the study emphasizes the need to consider the level of anger rumination when running a program to predict or mitigate PTSD symptoms in firefighters.

Keyword

Firefighters; Trauma; Anger rumination; PTSD

MeSH Terms

Anger*
Checklist
Firefighters*
Gyeonggi-do
Humans
Primary Health Care
Running
Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic*