Depressive Symptoms Among Police Officers: Associations with Personality and Psychosocial Factors

Profiling Police Forces against Stress: Risk and Protective Factors for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Burnout in Police Officers

Police officers are frequently exposed to highly stressful situations at work and have an increased risk to develop symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and burnout (BO). It is currently not well understood which officers are most at risk to develop these disorders. The aim of this study was to determine which coping strategies and personality traits could act as protective or risk factors in relation to PTSD and BO. The second aim, in the interest of designating preventive and therapeutical measures, was to determine whether certain profiles of police officers could be identified as high risk for developing mental disorders. Herein, 1073 French-speaking police officers in Switzerland reported in an online survey about their PTSD and BO symptoms, anxiety, depression, suicide ideation, coping strategies, occupational stress, and personality factors. The cluster analysis highlighted three principal profiles of police officers: those who are not at risk of developing pathologies because they are not exposed or insensitive to these stressors, and those who are, among which personality and coping strategies oriented the risk of developing PTSD or BO. These same protective and risk factors were also corroborated in the linear and logistic regression analyses. These results may suggest that a crucial opportunity for mitigating mental health issues in the force could consist of screening recruits for risk-related personality traits and orienting them towards psychological training programs for the development of functional coping strategies.

Suicidal Ideation and Mental Health: The Moderating Effect of Coping Strategies in the Police Force

The suicide rate in the police force (Fuerzas y Cuerpos de Seguridad-FFCCSS) is estimated to be greater than that of the general population. The objectives of this paper are to detect mental health problems, in particular depression and anxiety, and to analyze the moderating effect of coping strategies on the relation between mental health and suicide ideation in police officers. The Suicidal Behavior Questionnaire (SBQ-R), Beck’s Depression Inventory (BDI), the Anxiety Inventory (STAI), and the Brief Cope have all been used in the study. The sample consists of 98 Spanish police officers, of whom 91.8% were male. The results indicate that depression and anxiety can predict suicidal ideation. Nevertheless, it must be said that coping strategies do not have a moderating effect in the relation between mental health and suicidal ideation in this professional group.

Evaluating real-time momentary stress and affect in police officers using a smartphone application

Background

Police officers work under stressful conditions, and the resulting occupational stress may impact their health and well-being through changes in positive affect (PA) and negative affect (NA). It is therefore important to assess officers’ stress, PA, and NA while it is experienced. This study evaluates police officers’ momentary stress and affect in real-world settings using an ecological momentary assessment, and examines the within-person (W) and between-person (B) factors that influence momentary affect.

Methods

Eighty-nine police officers were recruited in South Korea. Participants completed questionnaires about their momentary stress and affect using a smartphone application. The associations between momentary stress, momentary contextual environment, momentary PA, and momentary NA were examined using mixed modeling.

Results

Social overload (W: -.37), work discontent (W: −.45, B: −.73), social tension (W: −.79, B: −.67), and pressure to perform (W: −.29, B: −.49) were significantly associated with lower PA. Work overload (B: .33) and social isolation(W: .48, B: .31) were significantly associated with higher PA. Being with family (W: .71, B: .91) and friends (W: 1.89, B: 2.45) were significantly associated with higher PA. Being at home or other places away from the work place were significantly associated with higher PA (W: 1.01) and when patrolling or investigating were associated with lower PA (B: − 1.13). Lack of social recognition (W: 1.74, B: 2.33), work discontent (W: 1.59, B: 1.88), social tension (W: 1.74, B: 2.92), and pressure to perform (W: .78, B: 1.92) were significantly associated with higher NA. Being with colleagues (W: − 1.43), family (W: -1.38, B: − 2.66) and friends (W: -1.78, B: − 2.45) were associated with lower NA.

Conclusions

Momentary within-person and between-person stress factors and contextual factors influenced police officers’ momentary affect. These factors should be considered when developing interventions to mitigate stress and improve affect in police officers.

Mediating role of coping style on the relationship between job stress and subjective well-being among Korean police officers

Background

Police officers have long been known to have one of the most stressful occupations. This study investigates their stress levels, coping styles, and subjective well-being, including affect and life satisfaction. We also explore the interrelationships of these factors to determine how coping style influences a police officer’s subjective well-being.

Methods

We used a convenience sampling method for 112 police officers in a metropolitan area in South Korea. Data were collected using self-administered questionnaires. The questionnaires consisted of the following scales: job stress, coping style, positive/negative affect, and life satisfaction that measured subjective well-being. Descriptive statistics, a correlation analysis and Hayes’ PROCESS macro, and bootstrap analysis were performed.

Results

The level of job stress for the participants was moderate, with an average of 43.57 out of 100. The mean scores of positive affect was 17.38 out of 40, 8.50 out of 40 for negative affect, and 20.76 out of 35 for life satisfaction. Job stress and coping were significantly correlated with subjective well-being, and problem-solving style mediated stress, positive affect, and life satisfaction. Lastly, assistance pursuit style mediated stress and positive affect.

Conclusions

Participants’ problem-solving and assistance pursuit coping styles were shown as important mediating factors for stress and subjective well-being, especially positive affect. These findings need to be considered when planning interventions and implementing strategies focusing on the psychosocial health of the improvement of police officers’ well-being.

Longitudinal associations of psychological resilience with mental health and functioning among military personnel: A meta-analysis of prospective studies

BACKGROUND

Military personnel are exposed to severe stressors across different stages of their career that may have a negative impact on mental health and functioning. It is often suggested that psychological resilience plays an important role in the maintenance and/or enhancement of their mental health and functioning under these circumstances.

METHOD

A systematic literature search was conducted using PsycINFO, MEDLINE, PsycARTICLES, Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection, Web of Science, and PubMed up to August of 2019 retrieving 3,698 reports. Schmidt and Hunter meta-analytical techniques were used to assess the predictive value of psychological resilience on ten different military relevant mental health and functioning outcomes. Multivariate meta-analysis assessed the origin of heterogeneity among bivariate effect sizes.

RESULTS

The effect sizes of 40 eligible peer-reviewed papers covering 40 unique samples were included in the meta-analysis. Seventy-eight percent of these studies were published after 2010 and were predominantly conducted in western countries. Bivariate effect sizes were low to medium (absolute values: 0.08 to 0.36) and multivariate effect sizes, adjusting for across studies varying sets of covariates, were low to trivial (absolute values: 0.02 to 0.08). Moderator analyses using multivariate meta-analysis on 60 bivariate effect sizes, revealed no significant effect of type of psychological resilience scale, time-lag, and career stage.

CONCLUSIONS

The current review found no indications that different conceptualizations of psychological resilience across a variety of research designs, are strongly predictive of mental health and functioning among military personnel. Future directions (moderator/mediator models, stressor type specifications, and directionality) for prospective studies are discussed. Our results question the usefulness of interventions to enhance the resilience of soldiers to improve their mental health and functioning.