The Relationship Between the Adjustment of Australian Police Officers and Their Partners

Davidson, Alwyn; Berah, Ellen; Moss, Simon

doi:10.1375/pplt.13.1.41

Cited by 20 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…Very few articles have empirically examined the effects of police stress on spouses of police officers (e.g., Alexander & Walker, 1996; Davidson, Berah, & Moss, 2006) or the coping and support strategies of police spouses (e.g., Beehr et al, 1995). This study contributed to the literature base in this area; however, a few limitations should be addressed.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Perceived Impact of Police Work on Marital Relationships

et al. 2014

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Police work creates unique marital difficulties. There are many factors that add stress to police officers' marriages, including shift work, long hours and unconventional schedules, divided commitment between work and family roles, and perceived personality changes among officers. When police officers carry work-related stress and behaviors into the home, they may experience difficulties in their family relationships. Unfortunately, relatively few researchers have investigated the impact of police work on spouses. In this study, we administered a needs assessment to police officers and their spouses to determine the types of difficulties evident in their marriages. Results indicated that officers and spouses generally agreed on stressors and sources of support. Although spouses reported feeling pride about being married to an officer, they also noted financial concerns, workfamily conflict, and law enforcement-specific stressors, such as negative public attitudes toward police. Officers and spouses reported relying on friends and family for support more than on professional sources. Implications for prevention and intervention when working with police officers and their spouses are discussed.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Perceived Impact of Police Work on Marital Relationships

et al. 2014

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“…In line with this consideration, some findings have indicated that officers' significant others may be susceptible to experiencing vicarious trauma. For example, Davidson, Berah, and Moss (2006) found that spouses of officers suffering from PTSD symptoms tended to experience greater levels of psychological distress themselves.…”

Section: Consequences Of Stressmentioning

confidence: 99%

Stigma, Pluralistic Ignorance, and Attitudes Toward Seeking Mental Health Services Among Police Officers

Karaffa

Koch

2015

Criminal Justice and Behavior

112

111

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Due to the stressors inherent in the law enforcement profession, police officers may be at increased risk for a variety of personal and mental health-related concerns. Despite these tendencies, officers have historically refrained from seeking psychological services. Several factors have been identified to explain their hesitance, including public stigma and self-stigma regarding mental health issues. In this study, sworn police officers in Texas and Oklahoma completed a 62-item online survey related to their attitudes toward seeking mental health services, mental health stigma, willingness to seek services, and perceptions of other officers' willingness to seek services. The first objective of the study was to identify the role of public stigma and self-stigma in predicting attitudes toward seeking mental health services among police officers. Consistent with the study hypotheses, the results indicate that public stigma and self-stigma were negatively correlated with attitudes toward seeking professional psychological help. Furthermore, self-stigma fully mediated the relationship between public stigma and attitudes toward seeking help, and the overall model explained 56% of the variance in attitude scores. Previous research has suggested that officers may tend to underestimate their colleagues' willingness to seek psychological services, thus demonstrating the concept of pluralistic ignorance. The second objective of the study was to develop a more comprehensive understanding of the pluralistic ignorance effect as it pertains to help-seeking attitudes among police officers, with regard to several common presenting concerns. As expected, results suggest that officers underestimated their colleagues' willingness to seek mental health services for family issues, depression, posttraumatic stress disorder, substance abuse, and physiological complaints due to stress. In other words, officers tended to believe that their peers were less willing to seek mental health services than they actually were. Implications for training and future research are discussed.

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“…The Australasian Centre for Policing Research (McNeill & Wilson, 1993) reported that approximately 16% of male and 32% of female officers were classified as binge drinkers, being substantially higher than the general population (Lawford, Young, Noble, Kann, & Ritchie, 2006). The sequelae of these mental health problems for police also extend to the family (Davidson, Berah, & Moss, 2006), work absenteeism (Tang & Hammontree, 1992), physiological problems including heart disease (Violanti et al, 2006), and compromise in neurological structures, such as a small hippocampus (Lindauer et al, 2004). For such reasons, at the organizational level there is a readiness and political will to undertake proactive interventions to address the adverse impact of occupational stress.…”

Section: Mental Health In the High Risk Occupations And The Emerging ...mentioning

confidence: 99%

The development and implementation of the Promoting Resilient Officers (PRO) Program.

et al. 2011

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This article describes the rationale, developmental process, and content of a resilience-building program that has been implemented with new recruits to a police academy. The process of extensive consultation with the police service (consistent with community-based participatory research principles) has helped to provide a sustainable and pragmatic program framework. The Promoting Resilient Officers (PRO) program is a seven-session strength-based program that integrates CBT and interpersonal perspectives within a salutogenic paradigm. PRO also includes two "refresher" sessions delivered online up to 18 months post the initial face-to-face sessions. PRO was delivered with high fidelity as an integral part of police recruit training and made sustainable by using psychologists within the police service to deliver the intervention. Implementation incorporated a Randomized Controlled design by which a rigorous evaluation of program effectiveness is being conducted. Initial data presented indicates a high level of engagement and acceptability of the PRO program.

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The Relationship Between the Adjustment of Australian Police Officers and Their Partners

Cited by 20 publications

References 21 publications

Perceived Impact of Police Work on Marital Relationships

Perceived Impact of Police Work on Marital Relationships

Stigma, Pluralistic Ignorance, and Attitudes Toward Seeking Mental Health Services Among Police Officers

The development and implementation of the Promoting Resilient Officers (PRO) Program.

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