Secondary Traumatic Stress: Prevalence and Symptomology Amongst Detective Officers Investigating Child Protection Cases

Abstract

It has been increasingly recognised that individuals exposed to the trauma of others within their professional roles can be affected by secondary traumatic stress (STS). Despite this recognition, there is a dearth of literature examining the prevalence of secondary traumatic stress amongst police officers in the UK. This study aims to meet this gap. Sixty-three Detective Officers from Family Protection Units (FPU(s)), primarily engaged in child protection/abuse investigations, self-reported their experiences and symptoms associated with STS through a questionnaire. Findings indicate that over half of the respondents experienced STS symptoms with 11% reporting levels of symptoms that were in the high or severe range. This study is significant in that it provides empirical evidence of issues that have so far been little documented in the UK and considers the implications for policing policy and practice in terms of the health and well-being of serving police officers.

Secondary Traumatic Stress in Italian Police Officers: The Role of Job Demands and Job Resources

“…The type of intervention and the exposure to persons who have experienced one (or more) traumatic events could vary and thus influence the STS symptoms. As suggested by MacEachern et al (2019) , disturbing material (such as child pornography or intimate partner violence; Zara and Gino, 2018 ) greatly increases the symptoms of STS. Further research must investigate the exposure to and the type of traumatic events in which POs have to intervene.…”

“…As described by MacEachern et al (2019), other definitions have also been used to describe the consequences that result from working with traumatic events. These definitions include vicarious trauma and compassion fatigue.…”

“…POs are workers who interact with individuals who have experienced one (or more) traumatic event ( Cornille and Meyers, 1999 ; Garbarino et al, 2011 ). As described by MacEachern et al (2019) , these workers “often must share the emotional burden of the trauma, bearing witness to damaging or cruel circumstances that individuals have experienced, and acknowledge the existence of terrible and traumatic events in the world” (p. 166). The originality of this study lies in the fact that, to the best of our knowledge, this is the first time an investigation on STS has been conducted among Italian POs.…”

Secondary traumatic stress in police detective officers dealing with complainants of sexual crimes

“…There is no other existing research to make direct comparisons for this specific group. Nonetheless, several previous studies conducted in different developed countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom used the STSS as an instrument (Bourke & Craun, 2012, 2014; Bride, 2007; Hurrell et al, 2018; MacEachern et al, 2019; Perez et al, 2010; Perron & Hiltz, 2006). The present study found higher levels of STS symptomology among PDOs compared with previous studies conducted in the United Kingdom and the United States.…”

“…This is supported by MacEachern et al (2011), who assert that there is a high possibility of STS among police officers working with the victims of sexual crime. In addition, a number of studies conducted on police officers have indicated that PDOs report more severe indicators of psychological distress, namely STS, than their counterparts who do not work with victims of sexual crime (Bourke & Craun, 2014; MacEachern et al, 2019; Perez et al, 2010). These PDOs similarly display signs of STS/vicarious trauma (VT), including hyper-vigilance, recurrent and intrusive distress, difficulty concentrating, relationship problems, lack of communication, denial, repression, avoidance, isolation, disassociation, change in worldviews, and loss of a sense of meaning (Bourke & Craun, 2012; MacEachern et al, 2011; Tovar, 2011).…”