Correlates of hopelessness in the high suicide risk police occupation

Details

• Personal Author:
  Andrew, Michael E. ; Burchfiel CM ; Fekedulegn D ; Hartley TA ; Mnatsakanova A ; Violanti JM
• Description:
  Police officers are chronically exposed to work stress. We examined specific stressors that may be associated with hopelessness, a possible risk factor for suicide in this high suicide risk population. The study included 378 officers (276 men and 102 women) with complete data. Analysis of variance was used to estimate mean levels of hopelessness scores as associated with stress, adjusted for age, gender, and race/ ethnicity. Posttraumatic symptoms were tested as a modifier of the association between stress and hopelessness. Increasing stress of administrative practices and lack of support were significantly associated with increasing hopelessness among officers (p < .006 - hopelessness range: 1.64-2.65; and p < .001 - hopelessness range 1.60-2.80, respectively). Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms significantly modified the association between lack of organizational support and hopelessness (p < .010) with significant association only among individuals with higher PTSD symptoms (p < .001). Results suggest that hopelessness is associated with specific stressors in police work, and this is modified by posttraumatic symptomatology. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Law Enforcement Mental Health Nervous System Occupational Health Safety Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic Suicide
• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Police BCOPS Hopelessness Law Enforcement Mental Health Police Officers Post-traumatic Stress Disorder Posttraumatic Stress PTSD Stress Support Traumatic Incident Stress

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• ISSN:
  1561-4263
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant ; Contract
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  New York ; OSHA Region 2 ; OSHA Region 3 ; West Virginia
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  HELD - Health Effects Laboratory Division
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  408-419
• Volume:
  17
• Issue:
  5
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20045845
• Citation:
  Police Pract Res 2016 Sep-Oct; 17(5):408-419
• Contact Point Address:
  John M. Violanti, Ph.D. Social and Preventive Medicine, School of Public Health and Health Professions, University at Buffalo, the State University of New York, Buffalo, New York 14214
• Email:
  violanti@buffalo.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2016
• NORA Priority Area:
  Public Safety
• Performing Organization:
  State University of New York at Buffalo
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20150901
• Source Full Name:
  Police Practice and Research: An International Journal
• End Date:
  20190831
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:6a2827f436c8ce7800d8bf97556705c19a770cb8857ea2724f89a043909845dee8d297c54bce858f92eb59eae9708278d2f013669692efda883467d7ef5b2e66
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/201106/cdc_201106_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 337.14 KB ]