The Prevalence and Health Impacts of Frequent Work Discrimination and Harassment among Women Firefighters in the US Fire Service
Table 2
Outcomes by Discrimination Severity.
Variable
Tertiles of Harassment-Discrimination Severity
p-value
Low
Medium
High
n=603
n=578
n=592
Demographic Characteristics
Age (years; M ± SD)
40.3 ± 9.2
40.4 ± 8.9
39.8 ± 8.9
0.452
Race (% White, Non-Hispanic)
86.3
88.7
86.6
0.420
Marital Status (% Married, domestic partnership, or civil union)
56.0
58.7
51.8
0.059
Sexual Orientation (% Heterosexual)
79.8
81.3
77.1
0.204
Education (% At least some college or higher)
95.0
97.2
96.7
0.117
Income (% $50,000 or more)
91.1
91.5
88.4
0.146
Occupational Characteristics
Years in the Fire Service (years; M ± SD)
13.4 ± 8.1
13.7 ± 8.0
13.7 ± 7.6
0.783
Rank (% Any firefighter rank)
71.5
67.6
69.8
0.452
(1) Physical Health
Obesity (% BMI≥30 kg/m2)
13.5
14.5
12.6
0.653
Number of Poor Physical Health Days (M ± SD)
2.8 ± 6.7
2.9 ± 6.7
4.0 ± 7.3
<0.001
Injuries Reported in Last Year (% 1 or more)
36.8
44.1
56.3
<0.001
(2) Mental Health
Current Depression (CESD-10 Depression Cutoff; % ≥4)
15.1
23.6
43.3
<0.001
Current Anxiety Symptoms (MHI Anxiety Score Total; M ± SD)
16.4 ± 6.5
17.7 ± 5.9
21.1 ± 7.6
<0.001
Current PTSD Symptoms (TSQ Cutoff; %≥6)
6.9
8.5
16.5
<0.001
(3) Health Behaviors (Substance Use, Physical Activity)
CAGE Cutoff (%≥2)
13.4
18.6
19.2
0.027
Binge Drinker (% yes)
45.5
52.9
47.4
0.056
Drove While Intoxicated (% yes)
2.2
5.7
4.4
0.014
Smoke Cigarettes (% current)
4.0
5.9
4.8
0.120
Smokeless Tobacco Use (% current)
1.5
1.2
1.2
0.846
Physical Activity Level (SRPA; M ± SD)
5.7 ± 1.4
5.5 ± 1.5
5.5 ± 1.5
0.787
(4) Job Outcomes (Efficacy/Stress/Satisfaction)
FFSE Score Total (M ± SD)
118.8 ± 14.3
115.4 ± 12.3
113.8 ± 13.0
<0.001
How Much Stress at Work (% a lot)
16.7
23.4
40.3
<0.001
Stress Interferes With Work (% a lot)
1.0
1.7
6.4
<0.001
Optimistic about future success in fire department (% agree/strongly agree)
82.1
71.4
51.5
<0.001
Satisfied with job in fire department (% agree/strongly agree)
89.2
80.0
59.9
<0.001
Happy with choice to be a firefighter (% agree/strongly agree)
93.4
90.1
84.3
<0.001
Would recommend being a firefighter to other women (% agree/strongly agree)
82.6
72.9
59.7
<0.001
Happy to spend the rest of career with fire department (% agree/strongly agree)
88.7
77.3
59.3
<0.001
(5) Family Well-Being
Role as a Firefighter Places Stress on Family (% agree/strongly agree)
24.0
32.3
55.1
<0.001
Note: Dichotomous outcomes were modeled using logistic regression. The MHI-A, FFSE, and SRPA were modeled using nonparametric overall and post-hoc tests. Number of poor physical health days in the last 30 was modeled with Poisson regression.
