Policing necessitates
exposure to traumatic, violent and horrific events, which can lead to an
increased risk for developing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
The
purpose of this study was to determine whether the frequency, recency, and type
of police-specific traumatic events were associated with PTSD symptoms.
Participants were 359 police officers from the Buffalo Cardio-Metabolic
Occupational Police Stress (BCOPS) Study (2004–2009). Traumatic police events
were measured using the Police Incident Survey (PIS); PTSD was measured using
the PTSD Checklist-Civilian Version (PCL-C). Associations between PIS and PTSD
symptoms were evaluated using ANCOVA. Contrast statements were used to test for
linear trends. Increased frequency of specific types of events were associated
with an increase in the PCL-C score in women, particularly women with no
history of prior trauma and those who reported having a high workload (p <
0.05).
More recent exposure to seeing severely assaulted victims was associated
with higher PCL-C scores in men (p < 0.02). In summary, the frequency of
several traumatic events was associated with higher PTSD scores in women, while
the recency of seeing victims of assault was associated with higher PTSD scores
in men.
These results may be helpful in developing intervention strategies to
reduce the psychological effects following exposure and these strategies may be
different for men and women.
Below: Occurrence of different types of traumatic events by sex
Full article at: http://goo.gl/kh3YLT
By: Tara A. Hartley, Khachatur Sarkisian, John M. Violanti, Michael E. Andrew, and Cecil M. Burchfiel
Tara A. Hartley, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Ctrs. for Disease
Control & Prevention, Morgantown, WV;
Correspondence regarding this article may be directed to Dr.
Hartley at ; Email: voG.cdC@yeltrahT
Tara A. Hartley, PhD, MPA, MPH, is with the Biostatistics
and Epidemiology Branch, Health Effects Laboratory Division, National Institute
for Occupational Safety and Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
Morgantown, WV. John M. Violanti, PhD, is in the Department of Social And
Preventive Medicine, School of Public Health and Health Professions, University
at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY. Khachatur Sarkisian, MS, Michael E. Andrew, PhD, and
Cecil M. Burchfiel, PhD, MPH, are with the Biostatistics and Epidemiology
Branch, Health Effects Laboratory Division, National Institute for Occupational
Safety and Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Morgantown, WV.
More at: https://twitter.com/hiv insight
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