Firefighters are exposed to a range of potentially traumatic stressors, yet studies examining the impact of this exposure are equivocal. Although some studies suggest increased risk for mental health problems, others suggest unusual resilience. Type of assessment methodology may contribute to the lack of consistent findings. We assessed 142 trauma-exposed, professional firefighters utilizing a standardized clinical interview and self-report measures and found low rates of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) diagnoses (4.2%), and depressive, anxiety, and alcohol-abuse symptoms. Frequency of trauma exposure did not predict psychological symptoms. Perceived social support, occupational stress, coping, as well as the interaction between perceived social support and self-blame were significant predictors of symptoms. Firefighters reporting low-perceived social support and high self-blame demonstrated the highest levels of clinically significant symptoms. These findings may inform education, treatment, and resilience training for emergency personnel.

Smoking is highly prevalent across most anxiety disorders. Tobacco use increases risk for the later development of certain anxiety disorders, and smokers with anxiety disorders have more severe withdrawal symptoms during smoking cessation than smokers without anxiety disorders. The authors critically examined the relationships among anxiety, anxiety disorders, tobacco use, and nicotine dependence and reviewed the existing empirical literature. Future research is needed to better understand the interrelationships among these variables, including predictors, moderators, and mechanisms of action. Increased knowledge in these areas should inform prevention efforts as well as the development and improvement of smoking cessation programs for those with anxiety and other psychiatric disorders.

The association between occupational stress and suicidal ideation may be reduced by social support. Further research on this topic is warranted.

This study examined the relationship between rumination and the use of other emotion-regulation strategies in a depressed sample. Sixty outpatients diagnosed with unipolar depression completed questionnaires and participated in a sad mood induction. The mood induction was used to investigate the relationship between the use of rumination and each of two theoretically relevant emotionregulation strategies-suppression and acceptance. Findings demonstrated that rumination was positively associated with other types of suppression and negatively related to acceptance. Results offer tentative support for the conceptualization of rumination as a maladaptive, cognitive emotion-regulation strategy utilized by depressed individuals in an attempt to suppress their experience of negative emotion. Findings also suggest a potential mechanism of action for efficacious mindfulness and acceptance-based treatments for depression.

Rates of smoking among individuals with psychiatric conditions are much greater than those seen in the general population, yet little is known about the psychometric properties of commonly used instruments that assess smoking-related variables among smokers with psychiatric conditions. The present study examined the factor structure and psychometric characteristics of the Smoking Consequences Questionnaire-Adult (SCQ-A; Copeland, Brandon, & Quinn, 1995, Psychological Assessment, 7, 484-494) among smokers with psychiatric conditions. A confirmatory factor analysis of the instrument indicated that the factor structure derived by the instrument's authors provided an adequate fit to the data. In addition, many of the 10 subscales of the SCQ-A demonstrated adequate internal consistency as assessed by Cronbach's alpha as well as adequate test-retest reliability over the course of 1 week. Based on the data derived from this sample, the SCQ-A has adequate psychometric properties for applications involving smokers with psychiatric conditions.

Cigarette smoking rates remain remarkably high in schizophrenia relative to smoking in other psychiatric groups. Impairments in the reward system may be related to elevated rates of nicotine dependence and lower cessation rates in this psychiatric group. Smokers with schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder (SWS; n = 15; M age = 54.87, SD = 6.51, 100% male) and a non-psychiatric control group of smokers (NCL; n = 16; M age = 50.38, SD = 11.52; 93.8% male) were administered a computerized signal detection task to measure reward-based learning. Performance on the signal detection task was assessed by response bias, discriminability, reaction time, and hit rate. Clinician-assessed and self-reported measures of smoking and psychiatric symptoms were completed. SWS exhibited similar patterns of reward-based learning compared to control smokers. However, decreased reward-based learning was associated with increased levels of nicotine dependence in SWS, but not among control smokers. Nicotine withdrawal and urge to smoke were correlated with anhedonia within the SWS group. Among SWS, reduced reward responsiveness and increased anhedonia were associated with and may contribute to greater co-occurring nicotine dependence. These findings emphasize the importance of targeting reward system functioning in smoking cessation treatment for individuals with schizophrenia.

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The ability to regulate emotions is important to mental health and well-being. However, relatively little is known about the cognitive strategies people use when faced with negative affect and the extent to which these strategies reduce such affect. This may be due, in part, to the lack of a comprehensive measure of cognitive affectregulation strategies. Three studies were conducted to develop a broad-based selfreport inventory of 15 specific strategies, called the Inventory of Cognitive Affect Regulation Strategies (ICARUS). This instrument assesses strategies that are oriented toward avoidance of the feelings (e.g., mental disengagement, thoughts of suicide) or diverting attention (e.g., self-criticism/self-blame, blaming others), as well as strategies that are oriented toward approach or engagement (e.g., reframing and growth, acceptance, mindful observation). Results provide preliminary support for the internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and convergent validity of the measure.