Trauma and Coping Strategies in Police Officers: A Quantitative-Qualitative Pilot Study

Police officer occupational health: a model of organizational constraints, trauma exposure, perceived resources, and agency

BACKGROUND

Police officers constitute a work force at high risk due to their highly demanding work conditions. In a realistic paradigm, these conditions, and other determinants of their psychological health, can be linked to a multitude of variables that interplay altogether. However, current literature that simultaneously models-quantitatively from observed data-such a multitude of variables is sparse. This study took upon this objective to further theoretical and applied understandings through a measurement framework on empirical data, and allow the data to drive some features of model development, such as variable groupings into factors, and paths between factors.

METHODS

A total of 1312 officers from various police bureaus fully responded to a questionnaire composed of validated instruments for assessing factors related to psychological and occupational health, consisting of more than 25 variables. Statistical analyses were performed in progressing complexity, namely t-tests, correlations, multiple regression, factor analysis, and path analysis with latent factors.

RESULTS

The regression analysis identified 10 significant variables, in which decision latitude, organizational justice, and work recognition/meaning were the most protective, and these 10 variables coincided with those found significant in the t-test and correlational results. In higher complexity, the latent path analysis resulted in a model of 6 factors: Psychological Health, Organizational Constraints, Trauma Exposure, Perceived Resources, Sense of Agency, and Esteem. Organizational Constraints (β = -0.32, inferred by psychological demands and role conflict), Perceived Resources (β = 0.31, social support, a self/work-esteem subfactor, and organizational justice), Sense of Agency (β = 0.30, decision latitude, hierarchical position, right to carry a firearm), and Trauma Exposure (β = -0.14, frequency/time since event, used a firearm, years of service) were found significantly associated with Psychological Health. Within each factor, specific variables could be identified as the most associated, such as role conflict for constraints, self/work-esteem for resources, decision latitude for agency, and frequency of and time since trauma for trauma exposure. Our results therefore encourage us to take into account not only agency, but also past professional experiences in models for managing well-being.

CONCLUSIONS

Providing police officers with social support at work, recognition, work meaning, fair proceedings and pay (organizational justice, especially for female and young officers), decision-making power (decision latitude), and minimizing conflictual information and procedures (role conflict) is of utmost importance. Officers with higher years of service, working in lower population cities, and who recently used their firearm, should be considered for trauma counseling. The degree of psychological demands of police officers should be regularly assessed, and reduced if possible. Reminders of support and integration in the force for officers with variables linked to a perceived lack of agency may be useful in their facing work challenges. Future integrative modeling research may be crucial to better understanding the relative contribution of each variable and their interplay in realistic settings, providing also a framework for measurement.

Strategies for Coping with Occupational Trauma: A Scoping Review of the Police Officer Context

BACKGROUND

Occupational trauma is heightened among police officers due to their exposure to physical, biological, chemical, and psychological hazards. Sustained occupational trauma results in mental illness among members of the police, which is a public health issue of concern. This study aimed to report a scoping review of the literature on strategies employed by police officers for coping with occupational trauma around the globe.

METHODS

A search string, formulated from the review question of what is known about the strategies of police officers for coping with occupational trauma, was used to search for articles from databases. A total of 588 hits were screened against inclusion criteria, resulting in 36 full-text studies between 1983 and 2022 being included in this review. Data were extracted using a standardised data extraction tool. The multi-step process was used to analyse the extracted data, integrating quantitative and qualitative approaches.

RESULTS

From this review, 'adaptive coping mechanisms', involving confrontation; 'maladaptive coping mechanisms', such as self-isolation, distancing and substance use; 'resilience', relating to mental preparation, and 'seeking support systems' from family, colleagues and professionals reflected the strategies used by police officers to cope with occupational trauma. Social stigma related to mental health disorders impacts the strategies used by police officers to cope with occupational trauma.

CONCLUSIONS

the police management and healthcare practitioners must collaborate towards providing constructive environments that support and strengthen police officers' strategies for coping with occupational trauma.

Remote work arrangement: a blessing in disguise for socially anxious individuals

This research examines the link between social anxiety disorder (SAD), psychological distance (PD), and burnout using survey data from 463 software development workers who are currently working remotely. According to the results of the study, SAD was associated with higher PD, but, in contrast to what had been shown in earlier studies, this higher PD had no effect on the participants' reported levels of burnout. Both psychological safety and workplace attachment orientation (WAO) were tested for their moderating effects in this study. According to the study's findings, the link between SAD and PD was moderated by WAO but not by psychological safety. The findings of this study underscore the importance of conducting additional research on the challenges faced by people with social anxiety in the workplace and the steps that can be taken by employers to better accommodate them.

"Wading through the worst that humanity does to each other": New Zealand Crown prosecutors' experiences of working with potentially traumatic material in the criminal justice system

Introduction

Occupational exposure to trauma and its potential impacts on legal professionals working in the criminal justice system is an area that has historically been neglected and has only gained traction in recent years. Crown prosecutors, as a subset of practising criminal lawyers in New Zealand, are arguably at heightened risk of vicarious trauma (VT) due to their occupationally distinct exposure to potentially traumatic material (PTM). However, no research to date has explored the experiences of this group of working with PTM.

Methods

This qualitative study aimed to explore New Zealand Crown prosecutors' experiences of working with PTM. Nineteen Crown prosecutors from four Crown Solicitor firms across New Zealand participated in individual semi-structured interviews. The data was analysed using reflexive thematic analysis.

Results

Three themes were developed that described Crown prosecutors' experiences of work-related exposure to trauma: trauma is everywhere, enduring effects of PTM exposure, and coping in the moment. These findings add to the growing body of literature on legal professionals' work-related wellbeing and highlights how they are an at-risk population for VT, which can be significant and enduring.

Discussion

Further research is needed to understand the unique etiological pathways for both the consequences of working with PTM and effective ways to reduce this occupational risk for legal professionals working in the criminal law.

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.

Stressful Factors, Experiences of Compassion Fatigue and Self-care Strategies in Police Officers

Police officers routinely face stressful and possibly traumatic events in their work which may result in them experiencing compassion fatigue. The aim of this study was to explore compassion fatigue experiences in police officers, along with the stressful factors that may lead to compassion fatigue and the coping strategies they use in combating compassion fatigue. The convenience sample of 41 police officers was recruited via social media focused on police work. Data were collected using an online battery of questionnaires with open-ended questions prompting them to share their experiences of compassion fatigue, stress factors and self-care strategies. The data were analysed using deductive (theoretical) thematic analysis. After identifying recurring statements, statements were coded using pre-existing individual codes, and each statement was categorized into the emerging domains, subdomains, categories and subcategories. The results described the stressful factors and experiences of compassion fatigue as well as coping strategies in the 7 domains described by Figley in Front Psychol 9:2793, 2002b: emotional, behavioural, personal relations, somatic, spiritual, cognitive and work performance.

Burnout Among School Teachers During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Jazan Region, Saudi Arabia

Background

Burnout is a syndrome that results from stressors in the work environment that have not been successfully managed. The prevalence of burnout among schoolteachers was always controversial. COVID-19 pandemic added more stressors to teachers since they had to change their working styles in response to the pandemic lockdowns or curfews. In Saudi Arabia, the prevalence and determinants of burnout among school teachers were not measured by any other group during the COVID-19 pandemic stressors.

Methods

A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 879 teachers in the Jazan region, Saudi Arabia, using the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI), during April 2021. Multistage cluster random sampling was used.

Results

The mean age of the participants was 41.4 (±6.9) years. Male teachers represented 52.6% of the participants while females represented 47.4%. Most teachers showed burnout symptoms (69.6%). Consequences of burnout were observed, such as using psychotropic medications (4.6%), absenteeism (45.6%), lack of job satisfaction (7.7%), and changing schools (15.8%). Using the MBI scale, most teachers showed medium or high emotional exhaustion (57.6%), low depersonalization (62.2%), and low personal accomplishment (51.4%).

Conclusion

Most teachers showed symptoms of burnout during the COVID-19 pandemic. Being an expert and ability to adapt to technology during the COVID-19 pandemic proved to effectively reduce burnout symptoms. Increasing incentives, early detection, and improving the work environment is recommended to diminish burnout consequences.

Hopelessness in Police Officers and Its Association with Depression and Burnout: A Pilot Study

Hopelessness is a particularly critical condition and a risk factor for suicide. Many studies have reported that this condition is common in some occupations and is associated with high stress that is not properly managed. This study examined the prevalence of hopeless status (HS) in a sample of police officers (POs) and the association of hopelessness with depression, burnout, and suicidality. In total, 127 out of 231 POs participated in the survey; they were assessed with the Beck Hopelessness Scale, the Beck Depression Scale, and the Maslach Burnout Inventory. A total of 26.5% of POs reported hopelessness, and a significant association was found with depression and burnout; in individual cases, these conditions were associated with suicidal thoughts. In a multivariate logistic regression model adjusted for confounding variables, depression, emotional exhaustion, and reduction of personal accomplishment were significantly associated with HP status. Depression (OR = 3.02, 95% CI: 1–9.12) and emotional exhaustion (OR = 1.88, 95% CI: 1.06–3.32) significantly increased the risk of hopelessness, while personal accomplishment (OR = 0.57, 95% CI: 0.32–1) was a protective factor. Hopelessness appears to be a very important factor to consider when assessing POs’ mental health.

Occupational Safety of Municipal Police Officers: Assessing the Vulnerability and Riskiness of Police Officers' Work

The municipal police agencies increase the safety of a municipality’s citizens and thus increase their quality of life. When performing interventions, municipal police officers may endanger their safety and health. This paper deals with the analysis of the riskiness of municipal police officers working in the Slovak Republic and the Czech Republic from 2004 to 2019 and the assessment of their occupational safety. The risk analysis was carried out on the basis of a risk matrix and calculations of the probability of attack and injury to municipal police officers. Using the Pearson correlation coefficient, the dependence between the selected variables was investigated. The reliability of this dependence was examined by the determination coefficient. The main result of the paper is the determination of the riskiness category of municipal police officer work based on the assessment of the occupational health protection of officers through statistical indicators of their activities and risk matrix. The results will serve as part of the explanatory memorandum for the proposal of legislative changes in order to increase the occupational health protection of municipal police officers.