Posttraumatic stress disorder and alcohol drinking behavior in police officers.

Details

• Personal Author:
  Adjeroh LC ; Andrew, Michael E. ; Burchfiel CM ; Charles LE ; Fekedulegn D ; Gu JK ; Violanti JM
• Description:
  Police officers are exposed to numerous traumatic events which may result in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Previous studies have shown a high tendency for officers to depend on alcohol to help alleviate feelings of distress. Differences in alcohol use among police officers with and without PTSD were examined. The PTSD checklist, civilian version (PCL-C) was administered using PCL-C score > 33 to define PTSD. The Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test (AUDIT) was used to assess alcohol drinking behavior with an AUDIT score >8 indicating risky/hazardous drinking behavior. Mean AUDIT scores were compared across PTSD status using analysis of variance (ANOVA) and covariance (ANCOVA). Officers with PTSD exhibited a significantly higher mean AUDIT score (8.4 +/- 6.1) than did officers without PTSD (4.9 +/- 3.8). Associations between PTSD and alcohol use were stronger among officers who were younger (≤ 40 years of age), had ≤ 4 years of education, and were current and former smokers. All three DSM-IV PTSD symptom clusters were associated with alcohol use, with the avoidance symptom cluster having the highest mean AUDIT score. Officers were generally at low risk for hazardous drinking behavior except, perhaps, in cases where PTSD was present. Our results indicate that the presence of PTSD is associated with alcohol drinking behavior in police officers. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Alcoholic Beverages Behavior Law Enforcement Mental Health Nervous System Occupational Health Safety Stress, Psychological
• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: PTSD; AUDIT; Officers; Alcohol Drinking Behavior Law Enforcement; Police Officers; Job Stress; Mental Health; Behavior Patterns; Alcoholic Beverages; Alcoholism; PTSD; Post-traumatic Stress Disorder; BCOPS;
• ISSN:
  2334-2471
• Publisher:
  Institute for Law Enforcement Administration
• 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:
  5-23
• Volume:
  2
• Issue:
  1
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20046940
• Citation:
  J Law Enforce Leadersh Ethics 2015 Sep; 2(1):5-23
• Contact Point Address:
  Michael E. Andrew, Biostatistics and Epidemiology Branch, Health Effects Laboratory Division, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1095 Willowdale Road, Morgantown, West Virginia 26505
• Email:
  mta6@cdc.gov
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2015
• NORA Priority Area:
  Public Safety
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Source Full Name:
  Journal of Law Enforcement Leadership and Ethics
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:7dc847c09aedf140bc731323e8446b4703641ae07d6ad9e7b7238120dab30b8f7dcaa9b938d34d035f87873a0fe7fec262d5d13dcaf290925445e82b6de3b57d
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/248284/cdc_248284_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 168.02 KB ]