Premium
Fear of emotion as a moderator between PTSD and firefighter social interactions
Author(s) -
Farnsworth Jacob K.,
Sewell Kenneth W.
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
journal of traumatic stress
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.259
H-Index - 134
eISSN - 1573-6598
pISSN - 0894-9867
DOI - 10.1002/jts.20657
Subject(s) - moderation , psychology , distress , clinical psychology , posttraumatic stress , interpersonal communication , social support , anxiety disorder , psychiatry , anxiety , psychotherapist , social psychology
Abstract Despite high levels of exposure to stress, questions remain regarding how social interactions and beliefs about emotion interact to influence posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in firefighters. United States urban firefighters ( N = 225) completed the Interpersonal Support Evaluation List, the Unsupportive Social Interactions Inventory, the Affective Control Scale, and the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist. Each independent variable predicted PTSD beyond variance accounted for by demographic variables. Additionally, fear of emotion emerged as the strongest individual predictor of PTSD and a moderator of the relation between social interactions and PTSD symptoms. These findings emphasize the importance of beliefs about emotion both in how these beliefs might influence the expression of PTSD symptoms, and in how the social networks of trauma survivors might buffer distress.