Network analysis of posttraumatic stress disorder in a treatment-seeking sample of US firefighters and emergency medical technicians

Emily Beattie; Katharine Thomas; Warren N. Ponder; Eric C. Meyer; Nathan A. Kimbrel; Claire Cammarata; Elizabeth Coe; Michelle L. Pennington; Angelo Sacco; Brian Nee; Frank Leto; William Ostiguy; R. Andrew Yockey; Jose Carbajal; Donna L. Schuman; Suzy B. Gulliver

doi:10.1016/j.jad.2023.08.068

Network analysis of posttraumatic stress disorder in a treatment-seeking sample of US firefighters and emergency medical technicians

Emily Beattie
, Katharine Thomas
, Warren N. Ponder
, Eric C. Meyer
, Nathan A. Kimbrel
, Claire Cammarata
, Elizabeth Coe
, Michelle L. Pennington
, Angelo Sacco
, Brian Nee
, Frank Leto
, William Ostiguy
, R. Andrew Yockey
, Jose Carbajal
, Donna L. Schuman
, Suzy B. Gulliver

School of Social Work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

BACKGROUND: First responders, like firefighters and EMTs, face high stress due to regular exposure to traumatic events. To provide effective treatment, understanding the relationship between PTSD symptoms is essential.

METHOD: A study with 342 treatment-seeking firefighters/EMTs was done using a partial correlation network analysis of an eight-factor model. A Bayesian directed acyclic graph was utilized to estimate the causal relationships between symptom clusters.

RESULTS: About 37% of the participants showed probable PTSD signs. The strongest connections were between internal and external re-experiencing. The Bayesian graph indicated that internal re-experiencing might predict other PTSD symptoms such as external re-experiencing, negative feelings, dysphoric arousal, and avoidance.

LIMITATIONS: The study's participants were seeking treatment, so the results might not be applicable to all firefighters/EMTs.

CONCLUSIONS: The findings reinforce previous research highlighting the significant role of re-experiencing in PTSD development and persistence. Further studies should explore non-treatment-seeking first responders and consider firefighters and EMTs separately.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	686-693
Number of pages	8
Journal	Journal of Affective Disorders
Volume	340
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2023.08.068
State	Published - Nov 1 2023

ASJC Scopus Subject Areas

Clinical Psychology
Psychiatry and Mental health

Keywords

Emergency medical service
Emergency medical technicians
Firefighters
First responder
Network analysis
Posttraumatic stress

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10.1016/j.jad.2023.08.068

Cite this

Beattie, E., Thomas, K., Ponder, W. N., Meyer, E. C., Kimbrel, N. A., Cammarata, C., Coe, E., Pennington, M. L., Sacco, A., Nee, B., Leto, F., Ostiguy, W., Yockey, R. A., Carbajal, J., Schuman, D. L., & Gulliver, S. B. (2023). Network analysis of posttraumatic stress disorder in a treatment-seeking sample of US firefighters and emergency medical technicians. Journal of Affective Disorders, 340, 686-693. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2023.08.068

Beattie, E, Thomas, K, Ponder, WN, Meyer, EC, Kimbrel, NA, Cammarata, C, Coe, E, Pennington, ML, Sacco, A, Nee, B, Leto, F, Ostiguy, W, Yockey, RA, Carbajal, J, Schuman, DL & Gulliver, SB 2023, 'Network analysis of posttraumatic stress disorder in a treatment-seeking sample of US firefighters and emergency medical technicians', Journal of Affective Disorders, vol. 340, pp. 686-693. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2023.08.068

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title = "Network analysis of posttraumatic stress disorder in a treatment-seeking sample of US firefighters and emergency medical technicians",

abstract = "BACKGROUND: First responders, like firefighters and EMTs, face high stress due to regular exposure to traumatic events. To provide effective treatment, understanding the relationship between PTSD symptoms is essential. METHOD: A study with 342 treatment-seeking firefighters/EMTs was done using a partial correlation network analysis of an eight-factor model. A Bayesian directed acyclic graph was utilized to estimate the causal relationships between symptom clusters. RESULTS: About 37\% of the participants showed probable PTSD signs. The strongest connections were between internal and external re-experiencing. The Bayesian graph indicated that internal re-experiencing might predict other PTSD symptoms such as external re-experiencing, negative feelings, dysphoric arousal, and avoidance. LIMITATIONS: The study's participants were seeking treatment, so the results might not be applicable to all firefighters/EMTs. CONCLUSIONS: The findings reinforce previous research highlighting the significant role of re-experiencing in PTSD development and persistence. Further studies should explore non-treatment-seeking first responders and consider firefighters and EMTs separately.",

keywords = "Emergency medical service, Emergency medical technicians, Firefighters, First responder, Network analysis, Posttraumatic stress",

author = "Emily Beattie and Katharine Thomas and Ponder, \{Warren N.\} and Meyer, \{Eric C.\} and Kimbrel, \{Nathan A.\} and Claire Cammarata and Elizabeth Coe and Pennington, \{Michelle L.\} and Angelo Sacco and Brian Nee and Frank Leto and William Ostiguy and Yockey, \{R. Andrew\} and Jose Carbajal and Schuman, \{Donna L.\} and Gulliver, \{Suzy B.\}",

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year = "2023",

month = nov,

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doi = "10.1016/j.jad.2023.08.068",

language = "English",

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AU - Beattie, Emily

AU - Thomas, Katharine

AU - Ponder, Warren N.

AU - Meyer, Eric C.

AU - Kimbrel, Nathan A.

AU - Cammarata, Claire

AU - Coe, Elizabeth

AU - Pennington, Michelle L.

AU - Sacco, Angelo

AU - Nee, Brian

AU - Leto, Frank

AU - Ostiguy, William

AU - Yockey, R. Andrew

AU - Carbajal, Jose

AU - Schuman, Donna L.

AU - Gulliver, Suzy B.

PY - 2023/11/1

Y1 - 2023/11/1

N2 - BACKGROUND: First responders, like firefighters and EMTs, face high stress due to regular exposure to traumatic events. To provide effective treatment, understanding the relationship between PTSD symptoms is essential. METHOD: A study with 342 treatment-seeking firefighters/EMTs was done using a partial correlation network analysis of an eight-factor model. A Bayesian directed acyclic graph was utilized to estimate the causal relationships between symptom clusters. RESULTS: About 37% of the participants showed probable PTSD signs. The strongest connections were between internal and external re-experiencing. The Bayesian graph indicated that internal re-experiencing might predict other PTSD symptoms such as external re-experiencing, negative feelings, dysphoric arousal, and avoidance. LIMITATIONS: The study's participants were seeking treatment, so the results might not be applicable to all firefighters/EMTs. CONCLUSIONS: The findings reinforce previous research highlighting the significant role of re-experiencing in PTSD development and persistence. Further studies should explore non-treatment-seeking first responders and consider firefighters and EMTs separately.

AB - BACKGROUND: First responders, like firefighters and EMTs, face high stress due to regular exposure to traumatic events. To provide effective treatment, understanding the relationship between PTSD symptoms is essential. METHOD: A study with 342 treatment-seeking firefighters/EMTs was done using a partial correlation network analysis of an eight-factor model. A Bayesian directed acyclic graph was utilized to estimate the causal relationships between symptom clusters. RESULTS: About 37% of the participants showed probable PTSD signs. The strongest connections were between internal and external re-experiencing. The Bayesian graph indicated that internal re-experiencing might predict other PTSD symptoms such as external re-experiencing, negative feelings, dysphoric arousal, and avoidance. LIMITATIONS: The study's participants were seeking treatment, so the results might not be applicable to all firefighters/EMTs. CONCLUSIONS: The findings reinforce previous research highlighting the significant role of re-experiencing in PTSD development and persistence. Further studies should explore non-treatment-seeking first responders and consider firefighters and EMTs separately.

KW - Emergency medical service

KW - Emergency medical technicians

KW - Firefighters

KW - First responder

KW - Network analysis

KW - Posttraumatic stress

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ER -

Network analysis of posttraumatic stress disorder in a treatment-seeking sample of US firefighters and emergency medical technicians

Abstract

ASJC Scopus Subject Areas

Keywords

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