Perceived Stress in Black and Latino Male Firefighters: Associations with Risk and Protective Factors

To compare the prevalence of work-related protective and risk factors among Black and Latino male firefighters and to examine the association of these factors to perceived stress among both ethnic groups.

Participants included 1,036 male, career firefighters who self-identified as Black (n=477) or Latino (n=559) from a large fire department in a major metropolitan city in the southwestern United States. As part of a department-wide suicide prevention program conducted in 2008, participants completed an anonymous and voluntary mental health needs survey.

The needs survey included questions regarding prevalence of work-related protective and risk factors, the RAPS-4 to assess substance abuse problems, and the 10-item Perceived Stress Scale.

Results of regression analyses indicated that for both Black and Latino male firefighters, alcohol abuse (β =.13, β =.22), self-reported good health (β = -.23, β =-.24) and a positive partner/spouse relationship (β =-.14, β = -.15) were related to perceived stress. In addition, having a second job (β = .12) and a sense of life calling (β =-.10) were related to perceived stress only among Latino firefighters. All associations were in the expected direction as indicated by the signs of the standardized beta coefficients (β).

Black and Latino male firefighters reported relatively high levels of perceived stress. However, there were both differences and similarities in the factors associated to perceived stress among the ethnic groups. Therefore, interventions to help firefighters reduce or manage stress need to take into account that factors associated with perceived stress may vary by ethnic group.