Police and ambulance personnel are widely believed to have a high prevalence of excessive alcohol consumption. However, the empirical basis for this assumption is scant or non-existent. We assessed the association of alcohol use with burnout and job stress, with ‘drinking to cope’ and neuroticism as two possibly moderating factors in two occupations, the police- and ambulance services.

A comprehensive nationwide questionnaire survey of police (n = 2665) and ambulance personnel (n = 1180) in operational duty. The questionnaire encompassed the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT), the Maslach Burnout Inventory, the Job Stress Survey, and the Basic Character Inventory (BCI). A series of multiple linear regression analyses were conducted to examine relationships among the variables.

With a modified AUDIT score of 6 or more, the prevalence for men was 17.7% (police) vs. 16.6% (ambulance personnel). The prevalence for women was 9.1% vs. 7.4%, respectively. Personnel who were male, younger, and with higher levels of neuroticism reported higher levels of alcohol problems. ‘Drinking to cope’ was most strongly associated with higher levels of alcohol problems (standardized beta = 0.29, p < 0.001), and was found to moderate the effect of depersonalization and gender.

The prevalence of hazardous drinking was moderate in both groups. However, among those personnel who drank to reduce stress, males and those experiencing higher levels of depersonalization may be at increased risk of developing alcohol-related problems.