Police officers experience a high number of potentially traumatic events (PTEs) often associated with elevated posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS). In addition, PTSS are related to co-occurring psychiatric symptoms (e.g., anxiety, depression), alcohol misuse, and low perceived well-being. Yet, behavioral processes that may account for the associations between PTSS and unfavorable outcomes remain unspecified. Psychological flexibility, or one's response to private experiences (e.g., PTE-related memories) with an open, aware, and active approach, may be one such process. The present study aimed to evaluate psychological flexibility as both a mediator and moderator of PTSS and commonly co-occurring psychiatric symptoms, alcohol use, and general well-being, using cross-sectional data provided by a sample of police officers (N = 459) recruited from three regionally distributed U.S. police agencies. Structural equation modeling indicated a wellfitting model wherein psychological flexibility indirectly accounted for associations among PTSS and endogenous outcomes, χ 2 (107, N = 457) = 225.33, p < .001, CFI = .99, TLI = .98, RMSEA = .05, 90% CI [.04, .06], SRMR = .03. Psychological flexibility also moderated associations between PTSS and psychiatric symptoms, B = 1.58 (SE = 0.22), p < .001; and well-being, B = −3.84 (SE = 0.46), p < .001. Although additional research is needed, these preliminary results suggest psychological flexibility may be a behavioral process that accounts for negative outcomes associated with PTSS and a productive intervention target in the context of PTSS and generalized distress. Further research regarding the role of psychological flexibility in PTSS-related outcomes for police officers appears warranted.Potentially traumatic events (PTEs) are defined as lifethreatening or upsetting experiences, such as physical injury, sexual violence, or actual or threatened death, that individuals either directly experience, witness, or learn has happened to a loved one. Exposure to PTEs can lead to posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS), such as flashbacks, hypervigilance, and increased negative affect (American Psychiatric Association [APA], 2013). These PTSS are related to social and personal costs, including poor occupational and social functioning, physical health problems, psychiatric symptoms, and avoidant coping (Baek et al., 2017;Pietrzak et al., 2009;Radomski et al., 2016), even if one's symptom severity does not reach the threshold for a posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) diagnosis (Korte et al., 2016).

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Abstract. Background: Law enforcement officers (LEOs) are responsible for maintaining public order and safety within communities. As a consequence of this obligation, LEOs are repeatedly exposed to a myriad of unavoidable occupational stressors, known to affect health behaviors and well-being. Importantly, LEO well-being has public safety implications as those reporting higher well-being exhibit more equitable police behavior relative to those reporting lower well-being. Aims: The present study aimed to identify factors that may be leveraged to enhance LEO well-being by investigating the indirect relation of health behaviors to well-being through psychological flexibility. Method: Path-analytic regression models were used to analyze cross-sectional data provided by LEOs recruited from three geographically dispersed police agencies ( N = 459; Male = 84.7%, White = 64.2%). Results: Results indicated psychological flexibility accounted for the relations of chronic pain and quality sleep to well-being. Regular exercise accounted for the largest proportion of well-being variance, though the indirect effect through psychological flexibility was not significant. Limitations: Inclusion of more comprehensive measures of well-being and health behaviors may further clarify the strength of relations reported herein. Conclusion: Enhancing flexible response styles may support high well-being in LEO populations who report poor sleep quality and chronic pain.

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Background By the nature of their work, first responders are at risk for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Efficient screening instruments are useful to identify at-risk first responders and connect them to services. Aims The current study aimed to (i) evaluate the diagnostic properties of the Primary Care PTSD for DSM-5 (PC-PTSD-5) scale among firefighters, (ii) explore the use of an adapted PC-PTSD-5 on a five-point Likert-type scale and (iii) examine sensitivity and specificity of the adapted instrument in this population. Methods Pooled data were analysed among firefighters (N = 92) from a treatment-seeking sample (n = 36) and a population health screening sample (n = 56). Participants completed an adapted version of the PC-PTSD-5 and the Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5). Receiver operating characteristic curve analyses were performed, referencing PCL-5 cut-off/probable diagnostic threshold scores. Results The PC-PTSD-5 demonstrated excellent operating characteristics overall. A threshold of 3 was optimal for discriminating probable PTSD using a proxy for the original PC-PTSD-5 (range: 0–5), whereas a score of 9 was identified for the PC-PTSD-5 permutation that allowed for more response variability (range: 0–20). Conclusions Our preliminary data suggest the PC-PTSD-5 may be a useful tool for brief firefighter screening, with suggested cut-offs that require further replication and expanded investigation.