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Di Nota PM, Scott SC, Huhta JM, Gustafsberg H, Andersen JP. Physiological Responses to Organizational Stressors Among Police Managers. Appl Psychophysiol Biofeedback 2024; 49:85-102. [PMID: 38244109 PMCID: PMC10869394 DOI: 10.1007/s10484-023-09613-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 11/24/2023] [Indexed: 01/22/2024]
Abstract
Police officers demonstrate increased risk of physical and mental health conditions due to repeated and prolonged exposure to stressful occupational conditions. Occupational stress is broken into two types: operational stress, related to the content of field duties (e.g., physical demands); and organizational stress, related to cultural and structural contexts (e.g., interpersonal relationships). Applied police research focuses on physiological activation in operational tasks as a mechanism explaining health risk and non-optimal performance outcomes. However, recent survey-based studies indicate numerous organizational stressors associated with self-reported mental health symptoms. The question of whether organizational stressors elicit significant physiological activity remains unknown. The current proof-of-concept field study tests the hypothesis that police managers will display significant physiological reactivity before, during, and after engaging in reality-based scenarios representative of stressful police management tasks developed from evidence-based pedagogical approaches. A sample of 25 training police managers (7 female, M = 16 +/- 5.3 years of experience) completed 5 reality-based scenarios, including resolving a heated conflict between colleagues, delivering negative feedback to a subordinate, and critical incident command. Significant increases in heart rate relative to rest were observed during all tasks, and in anticipation of several tasks. Greater increases in reactive heart rate were associated with longer recovery times. Sex differences and relationships between objective biological and subjective psychological measures of stress are discussed. The current findings demonstrate significant physiological responses to organizational stressors similar to levels observed during operational tasks, despite the absence of physical or aerobic exertion. Implications for police health and training are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paula M Di Nota
- Department of Psychology, University of Toronto Mississauga, Mississauga, ON, Canada
| | - Sarah C Scott
- Department of Psychology, University of Toronto Mississauga, Mississauga, ON, Canada
| | - Juha-Matti Huhta
- Police University College of Finland, Tampere, Finland
- Faculty of Culture & Education, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland
| | | | - Judith P Andersen
- Department of Psychology, University of Toronto Mississauga, Mississauga, ON, Canada.
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Nourry N, Alsayed Obeid S, Rolling J, Lefebvre F, Baumlin S, Nasseri M, Berna F, Charbotel B, Gonzalez M, Vidailhet P, Mengin AC. Posttraumatic stress disorder and depression after the 2018 Strasbourg Christmas Market terrorist attack: a comparison of exposed and non-exposed police personnel. Eur J Psychotraumatol 2023; 14:2214872. [PMID: 37305952 PMCID: PMC10262818 DOI: 10.1080/20008066.2023.2214872] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/04/2023] [Revised: 05/05/2023] [Accepted: 05/08/2023] [Indexed: 06/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Background: Police personnel are among the first responders exposed to terrorist attacks, raising in number in the late decades. Due to their profession, they are also exposed to repetitive violence, increasing their vulnerability to PTSD and depression.Objective: Our study aims at comparing the prevalence of PTSD and depression, and the risk factors associated with these conditions among directly and indirectly exposed versus non-exposed police personnel during the Strasbourg Christmas Market terrorist attack.Method: Three months after the attack, participants completed a survey assessing their sociodemographic characteristics, occupational data, degree of exposure, sleep debt around the event, event centrality (CES), and three mental health conditions: PTSD (PCL-5), depression (PHQ-9), and suicide risk (yes/no questions).Results: A total of 475 police personnel responded to the questionnaire: 263 were exposed to the attack (182 of them directly) and 212 were non-exposed. Among directly exposed participants, the prevalences of partial and complete PTSD were 12.6 and 6.6%, and the prevalence of moderate-to-severe depression was 11.5%. Multivariate analysis revealed that direct exposure was associated with a higher risk of PTSD (OR = 2.98 [1.10-8.12], p = .03). Direct exposure was not associated with a higher risk of depression (OR = 0.40 [0.10-1.10], p = .08). A significant sleep debt after the event was not associated with a higher risk of later PTSD (OR = 2.18 [0.81-5.91], p = .13) but was associated with depression (OR = 7.92 [2.40-26.5], p < .001). A higher event centrality was associated with both PTSD and depression (p < .001).Conclusions: Police personnel directly exposed to the Strasbourg Christmas Market terrorist attack were at higher risk of PTSD but not depression. Efforts to prevent and treat PTSD should focus on directly exposed police personnel. However, general mental health should be monitored for every personnel member.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nathalie Nourry
- Hôpitaux Universitaires de Strasbourg, Service de Pathologies Professionnelles et Médecine du Travail, Strasbourg, France
- Strasbourg University, Faculty of Medicine, Strasbourg, France
- Université de Lyon, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Université Gustave Eiffel, Lyon Cedex, France
| | - Shadi Alsayed Obeid
- Hôpitaux Universitaires de Strasbourg, Service de Pathologies Professionnelles et Médecine du Travail, Strasbourg, France
- Strasbourg University, Faculty of Medicine, Strasbourg, France
| | - Julie Rolling
- Regional Center for Psychotrauma Great East, Strasbourg, France
- Psychiatry, Mental Health and Addictology Department, Strasbourg University Hospital, Strasbourg, France
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique Unité Propre de Recherche 3212 (CNRS UPR 3212), Institute for Cellular and Integrative Neurosciences (INCI), Strasbourg, France
| | - François Lefebvre
- Hôpitaux Universitaires de Strasbourg, Département de Santé Publique, GMRC, Strasbourg, France
- Université de Strasbourg, Laboratoire de Biostatistique et Informatique Médicale, Illkirch, France
| | - Sandra Baumlin
- Service de Soutien Psychologique opérationnel, Police Nationale, Ministère de l’Intérieur, Préfecture du Bas Rhin, Strasbourg, France
| | - Mohamed Nasseri
- Hôpitaux Universitaires de Strasbourg, Département de Santé Publique, GMRC, Strasbourg, France
- Université de Strasbourg, Laboratoire de Biostatistique et Informatique Médicale, Illkirch, France
| | - Fabrice Berna
- Strasbourg University, Faculty of Medicine, Strasbourg, France
- Regional Center for Psychotrauma Great East, Strasbourg, France
- Psychiatry, Mental Health and Addictology Department, Strasbourg University Hospital, Strasbourg, France
- INSERM U1114, Cognitive Neuropsychology, and Pathophysiology of Schizophrenia, Strasbourg, France
- Fédération de Médecine Translationnelle de Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France
| | - Barbara Charbotel
- Université de Lyon, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Université Gustave Eiffel, Lyon Cedex, France
| | - Maria Gonzalez
- Hôpitaux Universitaires de Strasbourg, Service de Pathologies Professionnelles et Médecine du Travail, Strasbourg, France
- Strasbourg University, Faculty of Medicine, Strasbourg, France
| | - Pierre Vidailhet
- Strasbourg University, Faculty of Medicine, Strasbourg, France
- Regional Center for Psychotrauma Great East, Strasbourg, France
- Psychiatry, Mental Health and Addictology Department, Strasbourg University Hospital, Strasbourg, France
- INSERM U1114, Cognitive Neuropsychology, and Pathophysiology of Schizophrenia, Strasbourg, France
- Fédération de Médecine Translationnelle de Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France
| | - Amaury C. Mengin
- Regional Center for Psychotrauma Great East, Strasbourg, France
- Psychiatry, Mental Health and Addictology Department, Strasbourg University Hospital, Strasbourg, France
- INSERM U1114, Cognitive Neuropsychology, and Pathophysiology of Schizophrenia, Strasbourg, France
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Edgelow M, Fecica A, Kohlen C, Tandal K. Mental health of public safety personnel: Developing a model of operational, organizational, and personal factors in public safety organizations. Front Public Health 2023; 11:1140983. [PMID: 36935659 PMCID: PMC10017732 DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2023.1140983] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/09/2023] [Accepted: 02/10/2023] [Indexed: 03/06/2023] Open
Abstract
The work of public safety personnel (PSP) such as police officers, firefighters, correctional officers, and paramedics, as well as other PSP, makes them vulnerable to psychological injuries, which can have profound impacts on their families and the communities they serve. A multitude of complex operational, organizational, and personal factors contribute to the mental health of PSP; however, to date the approach of the research community has been largely to explore the impacts of these factors separately or within single PSP professions. To date, PSP employers have predominantly focused on addressing the personal aspects of PSP mental health through resiliency and stress management interventions. However, the increasing number of psychological injuries among PSPs and the compounding stressors of the COVID-19 pandemic demonstrate a need for a new approach to the study of PSP mental health. The following paper discusses the importance of adopting a broader conceptual approach to the study of PSP mental health and proposes a novel model that highlights the need to consider the combined impacts of operational, organizational, and personal factors on PSP mental health. The TRi-Operational-Organizational-Personal Factor Model (TROOP) depicts these key factors as three large pieces of a larger puzzle that is PSP mental health. The TROOP gives working language for public safety organizations, leaders, and researchers to broadly consider the mental health impacts of public safety work.
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