Differences in Mental Health, Help-Seeking and Barriers to Care Between Civilians and Sworn Members Working in Law Enforcement: A Research Note

Martin, Krystle; Siddiqui, Alifa; Ricciardelli, Rosemary; Lentz, Liana; Carleton, R. Nicholas

doi:10.1007/s11896-021-09437-y

Cited by 11 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…weak, less competent; Captuo & Rouner, 2011), or for fear of a lack of confidentiality (Haugen et al, 2017). Officers may fear that others will deem them unreliable when responding to critical incidents (Blum, 2000), and have reported worrying that seeking mental health support will affect their promotional opportunities (Martin et al, 2021;. Furthermore, while stigma is known to be a barrier to treatment-seeking for PSP in general, and police specifically, there is a lacuna in knowledge about how stigma is experienced by communicators versus police officers and the associated effects on treatment-seeking behaviours.…”

Section: Stigmamentioning

confidence: 99%

Police staff and mental health: barriers and recommendations for improving help-seeking

Newell

Ricciardelli

Czarnuch

et al. 2021

Police Practice and Research

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Mental disorders are prevalent among public safety personnel (PSP) yet many people working across public safety professions appear reluctant to seek care for mental health-related concerns. Given the prevalence and impact of compromised mental health on these populations, finding ways to increase use of psychological support for police staff and officers is necessary. We conducted an interview and focus groups (n= 9) with police service members (n= 33) to examine the barriers police officers (n= 25) and communicators (n= 8) report facing when seeking treatment, and their suggestions for improving access to treatment. We identified three main barriers: stigma, worries about confidentiality, and occupationspecific experience with people in the community who present in mental distress. Three suggestions emerged from our participants that may improve current mental health support, namely, ensuring confidentiality, easy-to-use electronic resources, and access to occupation-specific content. We discuss the implications of our results with suggestions for policy and practice.

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Section: Stigmamentioning

confidence: 99%

Police staff and mental health: barriers and recommendations for improving help-seeking

Newell

Ricciardelli

Czarnuch

et al. 2021

Police Practice and Research

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“…As it may be possible that junior officers are concerned about how accessing support would impact their career as has been reported in other research (e.g. Martin et al 2021), it may be worthwhile to have senior officers who show willingness to seek professional support to deliver this information. This could be in the form of supervisors discussing mental health helpseeking and well-being during shift meetings, internal communication including personal stories from senior officers about their help-seeking attitudes, or use of force training officers (who are seen as officers in positions of authority) discussing this during annual training.…”

Section: Implications and Conclusionmentioning

confidence: 88%

“…Most researchers studying police officers' attitudes toward mental health have focused on officers' interactions with members of the public who present in psychiatric distress, whereas there is less literature on officers' attitudes toward themselves or colleagues with mental disorders. Some previous research has found officers' attitudes toward seeking professional mental health services to be neutral; however, officers also expressed concern regarding how to pragmatically utilize services, for instance not knowing where to access help (Karaffa and Tochkov 2013) or not having enough time (Martin et al 2021). Other studies report ongoing stigma, especially for PSP who have mental disorders (e.g.…”

Section: Seeking Treatment For Mental Healthmentioning

confidence: 99%

Police Attitudes Toward Seeking Professional Mental Health Treatment

Lane

Martin

et al. 2021

J Police Crim Psych

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Public safety personnel (PSP), including police officers, often work in high-stress environments that expose them to potentially psychologically traumatic events (PPTE). As a result, PSP are at a higher risk than most other occupational roles for the development of new or worsening mental health concerns, such as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), major depressive disorder, general or social anxiety disorder, and substance use disorders (Carleton et al., Canadian Journal of Psychiatry 63(1):54–64, 2018; Haugen et al., Journal of Psychiatric Research 94:218–229, 2017; Velazquez and Hernandez, Policing: An International Journal 42(4):711–724, 2019). Given these higher rates, research examining how to support the mental health of individuals in these occupations and how to improve our understanding of mental health help-seeking beliefs is critical. Consequently, the overall objective of the current study was to examine predictors of help-seeking attitudes among a group of police officers, while accounting for the effects of gender, years of employment, type of training experience, and mental health status (i.e. presence of mental illness, perceived resilience) on mental health-related help-seeking behaviours. A total of 112 police officers in a mid-sized law enforcement organization in Ontario, Canada, completed an online survey as part of a larger study exploring their mental health. Results indicate that years of experience and mental health training may improve attitudes toward seeking help for mental health. Our discussion offers suggestions for law enforcement organizations to consider to encourage their members to seek help for mental health difficulties.

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“…The challenges from stigma are underscored by the unwillingness of CCG and C&P to access support from a colleague, a leader, or their employee assistance program. CCG and C&P officers may resist seeking care due to fear that others will deem them as weak or unreliable [ 33 ] or fear that seeking help for mental health challenges may impact progression in their careers (i.e., promotional opportunities [ 38 , 39 ]).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mental Health Training, Attitudes toward Support, and Screening Positive for Mental Disorders among Canadian Coast Guard and Conservation and Protection Officers

Andrews

Jamshidi

Nisbet

et al. 2022

IJERPH

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Public Safety Personnel (PSP) including members of the Canadian Coast Guard (CCG) and Conservation and Protection (C&P) officers, are regularly exposed to potentially psychologically traumatic events (PPTEs) and other occupational stressors. Several mental health training programs (e.g., critical incident stress management [CISM], critical incident stress debriefing [CISD], peer support, mental health first aid, Road to Mental Readiness [R2MR]) exist as efforts to minimize the impact of exposures. To help inform on the impact of several categories of mental health training programs (i.e., CISM, CISD, mental health first aid, Peer Support, R2MR) for improving attitudes toward support and willingness to access supports among CCG and C&P officers, the current study assessed CCG and C&P Officers perceptions of access to professional (i.e., physicians, psychologists, psychiatrists, employee assistance programs, chaplains) and non-professional (i.e., spouse, friends, colleagues, leadership) support, and associations between training and mental health. Participants (n = 341; 58.4% male) completed an online survey assessing perceptions of support, experience with mental health training and symptoms of mental health disorders. CCG and C&P Officers reported access to professional and non-professional support; however, most indicated they would first access a spouse (73.8%), a friend (64.7%), or a physician (52.9%). Many participants would never, or only as a last resort, access other professional supports (24.0% to 47.9%), a CCG or C&P colleague (67.5%), or their leadership (75.7%). Participants who received any mental health training reported a lower prevalence of positive screens for all mental health disorders compared to those who did not received training; but no statistically significant associations were observed between mental health training categories and decreased odds for screening positive for mental disorders. The current results suggest that the mental health training categories yield comparable results; nevertheless, further research is needed to assess the shared and unique content across each training program. The results highlight the need to increase willingness to access professional and non-professional support among CCG and C&P Officers. Revisions to training programs for leadership and colleagues to reduce stigma around mental health challenges and support for PSP spouses, friends, and physicians may be beneficial.

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Differences in Mental Health, Help-Seeking and Barriers to Care Between Civilians and Sworn Members Working in Law Enforcement: A Research Note

Cited by 11 publications

References 20 publications

Police staff and mental health: barriers and recommendations for improving help-seeking

Police staff and mental health: barriers and recommendations for improving help-seeking

Police Attitudes Toward Seeking Professional Mental Health Treatment

Mental Health Training, Attitudes toward Support, and Screening Positive for Mental Disorders among Canadian Coast Guard and Conservation and Protection Officers

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