Associations Between Police Work Stressors and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms: Examining the Moderating Effects of Coping

Abstract

The role of coping in the association between stress and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is not clear. We investigated the effects of active and passive coping strategies on the associations between police stress (administrative and organization pressure, physical and psychological threats, and lack of support) and PTSD symptoms in 342 police officers. Linear regression model was used in the analyses. The association between physical and psychological stress and PTSD symptoms was stronger in officers who used lower active coping (B = 4.34, p <0.001) compared to those who utilized higher active coping (p-interaction = 0.027) (B =1.79, p ≤ 0.003). A similar result was found between lack of support and PTSD symptoms (p-interaction = 0.016) (lower active coping, B = 5.70, p < 0.001; higher active coping, B = 3.33, p <0.001), but was not significantly different comparing the two groups regarding the association between administrative and organizational pressure and PTSD symptoms (p-interaction = 0.376). Associations of total stress, administrative and organizational pressure, and physical and psychological stressors with PTSD symptoms were significantly stronger in officers who utilized higher passive coping (p-interaction = 0.011, 0.030, and 0.023, respectively). In conclusion, low active or high passive coping methods may exacerbate the effect of work stress on PTSD symptoms.

The Development and Exploratory Psychometric Properties of the Traumatic and Routine Stressors Scale on Emergency Nurses (TRSS-EN)

“…The analyses showed firstly that the factorial solution was composed of two dimensions, these two dimensions corresponding to, respectively, traumatic events and procedures of significant magnitude (traumatic stressors) and stressful events and procedures of moderate magnitude (routine stressors). This solution fits well with current proposals concerning the existence of a cluster of highly stressful factors with highly "traumatic" potential [41,42], distinguishable from a constellation of routine, nontraumatic stressors with even greater potential to generate general and post-traumatic symptomatology [7,17]. Thus, in the present study, correlations of both factors and their resulting indexes with general (SA-45) [32] and specific PTSD symptomatology (PSD-5) [35] pointed again in this direction by yielding a stronger association of routine stressors with both forms of symptomatology.…”

“…The two dimensions of the factorial solution were similar to those found in previous studies [6,7], focusing on samples of police officers who were exposed to different types of stressful events compared to the sample of this study. The two dimensions of the factorial solution were similar to those found in previous studies [6,7], focusing on samples of police officers who were exposed to different types of stressful events compared to the sample of this study.…”

“…Both can trigger the development of a disorder, but not in all individuals, and different kinds of stressors may potentially lead to different disorders (i.e., adjustment disorders or post-traumatic stress disorder) [5]. Accordingly, some authors distinguish between "traumatic" and "routine" stressors, with traumatic events referring to shocking, scary, or dangerous experiences that can affect someone emotionally and physically [1] and routine stressors referring to other less significant, albeit more frequent sources of stress, which are still assumed to possess substantial potential for trauma [6,7].…”

“…In contrast, there is an extensive literature on the relationships between more frequent routine stressors and psychiatric symptomatology [12][13][14], but its capability to produce PTSD symptomatology is less well known [7,15]. Nevertheless, some studies have shown that common stressors such as marital problems, divorce or unemployment may produce PTSD-like symptomatology [16], and that other common stressors such as family problems, imprisonment or severe illness of relatives may produce higher rates of PTSD-like symptoms than traumatic events do [17].…”

“…Hence, the study of routine stressors as significant risk factors for developing PTSD and other psychiatric symptomatology in nurses is a relevant question. Recent studies with other emergency public servant professionals, such as police officers [7] and firefighters [24], have shown that stressors of moderate to high intensity are more harmful than very intense ones, depending on factors such as frequency of presentation and differential use of coping strategies, among others.…”