Affective Depression Mediates PTSD to Suicide in a Sample of Treatment-Seeking First Responders.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to examine the associations of comorbid posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), affective or somatic depression, and suicide among first responders (FRs). METHOD: We used baseline data from FRs ( N = 232) who sought services at a nonprofit mental health agency specializing in treating trauma exposed FRs. We conducted two PROCESS simple mediation models with PTSD as the predictor, affective depression and somatic depression as the mediators, and suicidality as the dependent variable. RESULTS: Affective depression significantly mediated the relationship between PTSD and suicidality, whereas somatic depression did not. The direct effect of PTSD on suicidality was not significant. LIMITATIONS: These data are cross-sectional and should be followed up with longitudinal analyses across the course of treatment. CONCLUSIONS: To reduce suicide risk, it is recommended that clinicians target affective depression instead of PTSD symptoms.