Posttraumatic stress disorder and complex posttraumatic stress disorder in UK police officers

Abstract

Background We investigated work-related exposure to stressful and traumatic events in police officers, including repeated exposure to traumatic materials, and predicted that ICD-11 complex PTSD (CPTSD) would be more prevalent than posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The effects of demographic variables on exposure and PTSD were examined, along with whether specific types of exposure were uniquely associated with PTSD or CPTSD. Methods An online survey covering issues about trauma management, wellbeing and working conditions was disseminated via social media and official policing channels throughout the UK. In total, 10 401 serving police officers self-identified as having been exposed to traumatic events. Measurement of PTSD and CPTSD utilised the International Trauma Questionnaire. Results The prevalence of PTSD was 8.0% and of CPTSD was 12.6%. All exposures were associated with PTSD and CPTSD in bivariate analyses. Logistic regression indicated that both disorders were more common in male officers, and were associated independently with frequent exposure to traumatic incidents and traumatic visual material, and with exposure to humiliating behaviours and sexual harassment, but not to verbal abuse, threats or physical violence. Compared to PTSD, CPTSD was associated with exposure to humiliating behaviours and sexual harassment, and also with lower rank and more years of service. Conclusions CPTSD was more common than PTSD in police officers, and the data supported a cumulative burden model of CPTSD. The inclusion in DSM-5 Criterion A of work-related exposure to traumatic materials was validated for the first time. Levels of PTSD and CPTSD mandate enhanced occupational mental health services.

Traditional Male Role Norms, Social Support, and Symptoms of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder Among Male Polish Police Officers

“…Mild positive associations were found between symptoms of PTSD and age, length of relationship, length of service, and number of types of traumatic events, while a mild negative association was found between PTSD symptoms and social relations/support. Partially contrary to the findings of Hartley et al (2013), Chopko et al (2016), and Brewin et al (2020), the frequency of traumatic events was positively associated only with intrusions, but not with any other type of PTSD symptoms or the IES-R total score. This might mean that higher frequency of traumatic events is related to more intense problems with re-experiencing the traumatic events in the form of intrusions, but not to increased hyperarousal or a higher tendency to avoid trauma-related stimuli.…”

Probable post-traumatic stress disorder and harmful alcohol use among male members of the British Police Forces and the British Armed Forces: a comparative study

“…Most relevant mental health research concerning the UK police forces, has often been conducted in the aftermath of an emergency, and/or included only a select few police forces (Lawson, Rodwell, & Noblet, 2012 ; Maia et al, 2007 ; van der Velden et al, 2013 ). Though recently, a large UK survey suggested that of those police employees exposed to trauma, about one in five would develop symptoms of PTSD (Brewin, Miller, Soffia, Peart, & Burchell, 2020 ). Additionally, a recent meta-analysis identified a pooled global prevalence of 5% for harmful alcohol use among police employees and 14% for PTSD (Syed et al, 2020 ).…”

‘Getting on with the job’: A systematised literature review of secondary trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in policing within the United Kingdom (UK)

“…These results are based primarily on older quantitative studies, but it is perhaps worthy of note that those studies that also had qualitative research found that there are clearly signs of trauma amongst some officers, with potentially behaviours linked to avoidance and intrusion remaining undiagnosed and hidden due to the impact of police culture (Hetherington, 1993;Walker, 1997). The studies relating to secondary or work-related trauma had results which appeared lower than the authors expected with only four (Brewin et al, 2020;Hurrell et al, 2018;Parkes et al, 2018b) showing signs of psychological trauma.…”

“…Gray and Rydon-Grange (2019); Tehrani (2016) and Turgoose et al (2017) however all found that levels of secondary trauma were low, or average compared to the UK population. In general policing populations only two showed any indicators of psychological distress, with reporting that more than 40% of those surveyed scored at or over the threshold for psychological distress and Brewin et al (2020) reporting the prevalence of PTSD was 8.0% and of CPTSD was 12.6%, within their study of 10,401 officers. However, the findings of Sheard et al (2019) gave mixed results and both and Evans et al (2013) found little or no distress in officers.…”