Mental health and social support among public safety personnel

Abstract

Background Social support may be a protective factor for the mental health of public safety personnel (PSP), who are frequently exposed to potentially psychologically traumatic events and report substantial post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and major depressive disorder (MDD) symptoms. Research examining perceived social support and its association with PTSD and MDD in different PSP categories (e.g. firefighters, paramedics) is limited. Aims To examine differences in perceived social support across PSP and determine whether perceived social support is associated with differences in rates of MDD and PTSD. Methods We asked Canadian PSP, including correctional workers and officers, public safety communications officials, firefighters, paramedics, municipal and provincial police officers, and Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) officers, to complete an online anonymous survey that assessed socio-demographic information (e.g. occupation, sex, marital status, service years), social supports and symptoms of mental disorders, including PTSD and MDD. Analyses included ANOVA and logistic regression models. Results Perceived social support differed by PSP occupation. RCMP officers reported lower social support than all other PSP except paramedics. For most PSP categories, PSP who reported greater social support were less likely to screen positive for PTSD (adjusted odds ratios [AORs]: 0.90–0.93). Across all PSP categories, greater perceived social support was associated with a decreased likelihood of screening positive for MDD (AORs: 0.85–0.91). Conclusions Perceived social support differs across some PSP categories and predicts PTSD and MDD diagnostic status. Studies involving diagnostic clinical interviews, longitudinal designs and social support interventions are needed to replicate and extend our results.

Coping among public safety personnel: A systematic review and meta–analysis

“…Given mounting evidence that stigma substantially inhibits care‐seeking for mental health challenges in these populations (Carleton et al., 2019a, 2019b; Ricciardelli, 2018; Ricciardelli et al., 2018), occupational training that emphasizes adaptive coping to work‐related exposures may be better suited for initial or basic training. While having social supports and tolerating uncertainty are critical to resilience and handling of stress, recent evidence suggests that these factors are also relevant to protecting PSP from adverse psychological outcomes following PPTE (Angehrn et al., 2020; Vig et al., 2020). However, there remains a gap in the literature surrounding which coping methods effectively mitigate PTSIs and promote mental health over time among PSP.…”

“…While having social supports and tolerating uncertainty are critical to resilience and handling of stress, recent evidence suggests that these factors are also relevant to protecting PSP from adverse psychological outcomes following PPTE (Angehrn et al, 2020;Vig et al, 2020). However, there remains a gap in the literature surrounding which coping methods effectively mitigate PTSIs and promote mental health over time among PSP.…”

Biological Embedding of Psychosocial Stressors Within a Sample of Canadian Firefighters

“…High levels of perceived social support were observed across our participants, which seems to generally agree with what has been found recently in other larger-scale investigations of Canadian firefighters. 38,50 In particular, out of the various ways in which such support can take shape, one of the strongest was the feeling that they could discuss problems with their family members and talk to their colleagues about work-related experiences (interestingly, being able to talk with other firefighters about work-related experiences was also among the strongest examples of social support observed in other Canadian firefighters 38 ). In addition, despite not observing a strong association between a participant's perceived social support and their LOS, the relationship trend (an inverse one) was similar to that observed in other studies, with significant findings between both variables.…”

Testifying after an Investigation: Shaping the Mental Health of Public Safety Personnel

“…More than half of RCMP (55.4%) report comorbid mental health challenges [ 35 ] and difficulties with insomnia (59%) [ 36 ]. The RCMP also report substantial organizational and operational stressors relative to other Canadian PSP organizations [ 37 ], as well as the lowest levels of much-needed social support [ 25 , 38 , 39 ]. Families of police officers also experience unique stressors related to service [ 40 , 41 ], which can be exacerbated when the officer experiences one or more PTSI [ 37 , 41 ].…”