Is It Personal? The Effect of Personal vs. Occupational Trauma on PTSD Symptom Severity in Emergency Responders

Experiences of (Potentially) Traumatizing Deployments and Posttraumatic Stress in Police Officers: An Exploratory Survey of Early Career Police Officers

BACKGROUND

As part of their career, police officers are faced with traumatic events on a regular basis and are at a higher risk of developing post-traumatic-stress disorder (PTSD) compared to the general population. The aim of this study was to examine if and how many early career police officers had already experienced potentially traumatizing situations and how many met either subsyndromal or complete PTSD criteria. A further subject of interest was if the officers knew the concept of psychosocial emergency care for first responders (PSNV-E) and if such support was made use of.

METHOD

Early career police officers (n=221) were assessed via an online survey about their posttraumatic stress symptoms.

RESULTS

More than half of the participants (n=121) reported having experienced at least one traumatic deployment. PTSD prevalence in this group was at 1.7%, an additional 14.9% showed partial PTSD. One-fifth did not know about the PSNV-E concept.

CONCLUSION

Police officers are confronted with a range of extremely stressful events early in their career leading to first symptoms of PTSD in some of them. Early prevention strategies as well as the identification of those affected for secondary prevention is of very high relevance for long-term mental health.

HINTERGRUND

Polizeibeamt:innen werden in ihrer beruflichen Karriere oft mit traumatischen Einsätzen konfrontiert und weisen im Vergleich zur Allgemeinbevölkerung ein erhöhtes Risiko eine posttraumatische Belastungsstörung (PTBS) zu entwickeln auf. Ziel der vorliegenden Studie war, zu untersuchen, ob und wie häufig Berufsanfänger:innen der Polizei bereits (potenziell) traumatische Einsätze erlebt haben und wie häufig eine PTBS oder eine subsyndromale Ausprägung der PTBS vorliegt. Ferner war von Interesse, ob ihnen das Konzeptzur psychosozialen Notfallversorgung für Einsatzkräfte (PSNV-E) bekannt ist und ob diese Angebote in Anspruch genommen werden.

METHODE

N=221 Berufsanfänger:innen der Polizei wurden im Rahmen einer Online-Befragung zum Erleben potenziell traumatischer Einsätze befragt. Zudem wurde mit der PCL-5 das Ausmaß posttraumatischer Belastungssymptome erhoben.

ERGEBNISSE

Über die Hälfte der Befragten (n=121) hatte mindestens einen (potenziell) traumatischen Einsatz erlebt. Die PTBS-Prävalenz lag in dieser Gruppe bei 1,7%, weitere 14,9% wiesen eine partielle PTBS auf. Einem Fünftel der Befragten war das PSNV-E Konzept nicht bekannt.

SCHLUSSFOLGERUNG

Bereits in den ersten Berufsjahren sind Polizeibeamt:innen mit extrem belastenden Einsätzen konfrontiert, woraufhin ein Teil von ihnen erste Anzeichen einer PTBS aufweist. Frühe Präventionsmaßnahmen sowie Identifikation von Betroffenen zur sekundären Prävention sind von hoher Relevanz für die langfristige Gesunderhaltung.

Impacts of Post Critical Incident Seminar on emergency service personnel: The critical incident-related experiences and psychological state

INTRODUCTION

Post Critical Incident Seminar (PCIS) is an intervention originally developed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for supporting law enforcement officers who have faced critical incidents (CIs) at work. In Finland, police forces have arranged modified PCIS regularly since 2012, but the first PCIS for emergency service personnel was organized in 2020. PCIS consists of psychoeducation, peer support, and mental health professional support/Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR). Previous international studies of PCIS are scarce. Our research question was this: After 6 months, how do emergency service personnel who have participated in the PCIS describe the impacts of PCIS on experiences and psychological state evoked by the CI that was the reason to apply for it?

METHODS

The data consisted of individual interviews 6 months after attending the PCIS. The number of participants in this study was 15 (94%). The data was analyzed qualitatively with inductive content analysis.

RESULTS

The impacts of PCIS on incident-related experiences and state 6 months afterward were divided into five main categories: social changes, new perspectives and sensations, incident-related components, future-oriented processes, and new abilities and actions.

CONCLUSIONS

PCIS can have multilevel impacts on the experiences and psychological state caused by a CI. These impacts are reflected, for example, in their inner experience, choices, emotions, actions, and relationships with others in different areas of life. As a result of PCIS, the emergency service personnel's relationship with CIs in the past and the ability to function in the future can change. Further study is needed to investigate the long-term impacts of the PCIS.

[Experiences of (Potentially) Traumatizing Deployments and Posttraumatic Stress in Police Officers - An Exploratory Survey of Early Career Police Officers]

BACKGROUND

As part of their career police officers are faced with traumatic events on a regular basis and are at a higher risk of developing PTSD compared to the general population. The aim of this study was to examine if and how many early career police officers already experienced potentially traumatizing situations and how many conform to either subsyndromal or complete PTSD criteria. Further subject of interest was if the officers know the concept of psychosocial emergency care for first responders (PSNV-E) and if such support is made use of.

METHOD

N=221 early career police officers were assessed via an online-survey about their posttraumatic stress symptoms.

RESULTS

More than half of the participants (n=121) reported having experienced at least one traumatic deployment. PTSD prevalence in this group was at 1.7%, an additional 14.9% showed partial PTSD. One fifth did not know about the PSNV-E concept.

CONCLUSION

Police officers are confronted with a range of extremely stressful events early in their career leading to first symptoms of PTSD in some of them. Early prevention strategies as well as the identification of those affected for secondary prevention is of very high relevance for long term mental health.