Alcohol Misuse and Correlates with Mental Health Indicators among Firefighters.

: Stress and repetitive exposures to potentially traumatizing events are inherent to first-responder professions. Firefighters and other crisis responders are often exposed to incidents in their work environments and are at risk of developing acute or posttraumatic symptomatology, depression, and anxiety, as well as harmful patterns of alcohol consumption. Most prior research and theory suggests that many firefighters use alcohol to cope with past and current stressors, and that increased drinking accompanies ongoing exposures to stressful occupational hazards.