Behind the blue shadow: a theoretical perspective for detecting police suicide

Details

• Personal Author:
  Andrew, Michael E. ; Mnatsakanova A ; Violanti JM ; Andrew, Michael E. ; Mnatsakanova A ; Violanti JM
• Description:
  Police officers are at increased risk for suicide. Reluctance by this population to self-report suicidal thoughts requires detection on a different level. Based on existing theory, this paper discusses a possible alternative method for detecting suicidal tendencies among police officers: the suicide Implicit Association Test (IAT). The IAT measures the implicit strength of cognitive identification with death opposed to life. Previous work has demonstrated that a cognitive identification with death over life is associated with both suicide attempts and completions. The clinical application of implicit cognitions, along with other proven clinical measures, may be of value in detecting suicide ideation in police officers or other high suicide risk groups who are hesitant to explicitly report suicidal thoughts. More research is needed to help clarify the clinical usefulness of the IAT and its validity over time. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Law Enforcement Mental Health Nervous System Occupational Health Safety Suicide
• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Police BCOPS Implicit Cognitions Law Enforcement Mental Health Police Officers Prevention Psychological Testing Suicide Ideation
• ISSN:
  1522-4821
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article ; Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  New York ; OSHA Region 2 ; OSHA Region 3 ; West Virginia
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) ; National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  HELD - Health Effects Laboratory Division ; HELD - Health Effects Laboratory Division
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health ; Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America ; North America
• Pages in Document:
  37-42
• Volume:
  14
• Issue:
  1
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20041704
• Citation:
  Int J Emerg Mental Health 2012 Oct; 14(1):37-42
• Contact Point Address:
  John M. Violanti, PhD, School of Public Health and Health Professions, Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, State University of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY
• Email:
  violanti@buffalo.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2013
• NORA Priority Area:
  Services ; Public Safety ; Services ; Public Safety
• Performing Organization:
  State University of New York at Buffalo
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20100901
• Source Full Name:
  International Journal of Emergency Mental Health
• End Date:
  20150831
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:8e95a3a082b4b47d5b55e1997af44938b7bcddda4b15839252356982f702c09907731395ccfa7008c7de042b9910c6f91d7d54d22c4bbdcfcddd516294f0473b
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/194195/cdc_194195_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 234.29 KB ]