Suicidal Ideation in Police Officers: Exploring an Additional Measure

Details

• Personal Author:
  Andrew, Michael E. ; Mnatsakanova A ; Violanti JM
• Description:
  Police officers are at an increased risk for suicide. Hesitancy by this high risk population to seek help makes it essential to detect suicide ideation on a different level than self-reports. This pilot study was an effort to explore the potential for an additional measure, the suicide Implicit Association Test (IAT), to detect suicidal ideation in police officers. The IAT measures levels of identification with life or death. In terms of self-reported suicide ideation, none was reported by officers. Results from the IAT measure suggested that officers had differing levels of identification with life: slight (18.5%), moderate (32.3%), and strong (29.2%). 14% were neutral in their identification with life, and 6% identified with death. Self-reported suicide ideation, depression and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) did not significantly correlate with IAT scores, suggesting that the IAT is distinct from self-report tools, measuring attitudes toward life and death below the conscious level. More research is needed to help clarify the operational usefulness of IAT methods and their validity over time. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Law Enforcement Mental Health Nervous System Occupational Health Safety Suicide
• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Police BCOPS Detection Mental Health Police Officers Post-traumatic Stress Disorder Prevention Psychological Effects PTSD
• ISSN:
  2078-5488
• Document Type:
  Text
• 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:
  33-41
• Volume:
  4
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20069392
• Citation:
  Suicidol Online 2013 Jul; 4:33-41
• 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, Farber Hall Room 270, Buffalo, New York 14214-3000, USA
• Email:
  violanti@buffalo.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2013
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Source Full Name:
  Suicidology Online
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:98277577fc138c409fc03225989fc356556ba0429b0b8425b26c3e1e5cd64e7836c2045aa600e19d7fb1f22fd0c8df5f952378397dd0c23bccdcbd2d5136eaa5
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/207879/cdc_207879_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 404.71 KB ]