Posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms and neurocognitive functioning in fire fighters: The mediating role of sleep problems and resilience

Background: Firefighters are often exposed to terrible and dangerous scenes due to their duties, and thus have a high risk of developing posttraumatic stress disorder(PTSD). The purpose of the study is to examine the relationship between PTSD symptoms, sleep problems, resilience and neurocognitive functioning of firefighters, and to identify the sequential mediating effects of sleep problems and resilience on the relationship between PTSD symptoms and neurocognitive functioning (especially psychomotor speed and processing speed). Methods: Data were collected from 325 firefighters in eight fire departments in four regions of Korea. Subjects performed neurocognitive function tests and completed the following questionnaires: Primary Care PTSD Screening, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index-K and Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale-2. The correlation and dual mediation effects were analysed using SPSS 22.0 program and PROCESS macro 3.4 program. Results: PTSD symptoms, neurocognitive functioning, sleep problems and resilience were significantly correlated with each other. In the sequential mediation model, the relationship between PTSD and psychomotor speed/processing speed was sequentially mediated by sleep problems and resilience after adjusting for demographic variables. Conclusions: The PTSD symptoms of firefighters were related to a sequential link between sleep problems, low resilience and decreased neurocognitive function. These findings could serve as a basis for more effective and integrated interventional strategies for facilitating better neurocognitive functioning in firefighters. •PTSD symptoms, sleep problems, resilience, and neurocognitive problems of firefighters are interrelated.•PTSD symptoms reduce the speed of psychomotor speed & processing speed.•This association is mediated by sleep problems and resilience.