Pain intensity, alcohol use motives, and alcohol use among firefighters: The moderating role of pain-related anxiety.

Firefighters are an understudied population that reports high rates of alcohol use and hazardous drinking. Pain, which is also commonly experienced by firefighters, may be associated with alcohol use and alcohol use motives, as research among the general population suggests that pain is associated with coping-oriented drinking. Pain-related anxiety, reflecting a tendency to respond to pain with anxiety or fear, may link pain to coping-oriented drinking among firefighters. Therefore, the current study examined the moderating role of pain-related anxiety on the association between pain intensity and alcohol use motives as well as alcohol use severity. The sample was comprised of 189 (M = 40.33, SD = 9.97, 89.9% male) firefighters. Results from the current study supported a significant moderation effect of pain-related anxiety on the association between pain intensity and alcohol use coping motives, whereby the association between pain intensity and coping motives was stronger for those with high compared to low pain-related anxiety. No significant moderation effects were documented for social, enhancement, or conformity motives; and no significant moderation effect was found for alcohol use severity. These results highlighted the potential importance of pain intensity and pain-related anxiety in coping-oriented alcohol use among firefighters.