Don't be a Pack rat 3 By Aarao Cornelio Jr

Описание: Prevalence of Mental Illness and Mental Health Care Use Among Police Officers
Katelyn K Jetelina 1,✉, Rebecca J Molsberry 1, Jennifer Reingle Gonzalez 2, Alaina M Beauchamp 1, Trina Hall 3
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PMCID: PMC7542299 PMID: 33026452
This article has been corrected. See JAMA Netw Open. 2020 Nov 16;3(11):e2029188.
See commentary "On Policing-A Matter of Psychological Survival." on page e2020231.
Key Points
Question
What is the prevalence of mental illness and mental health care use among police officers at a large, urban police department?
Findings
In this survey study of 434 police officers, 12% had a lifetime mental health diagnosis and 26% reported current symptoms of mental illness. Of these officers, 17% had sought mental health care services in the past 12 months, but officers reported interest in help if a few key concerns were met, including confidentiality assurance.
Meaning
The findings suggest that routine mental health screening may be needed in law enforcement agencies to systematically identify and refer officers to mental health care services.
Abstract
Importance
Limited literature has characterized patterns of mental illnesses and barriers in seeking mental health care among police officers.
Objectives
To assess the prevalence of mental illness (diagnosis) and symptoms of mental illness, evaluate the characteristics of officers interested in seeking mental health care, and characterize perceptions of mental health care use.
Design, Setting, and Participants
This survey study was conducted among officers at a large police department in Dallas–Fort Worth, Texas. Focus group sessions were conducted from April 1, 2019, to November 30, 2019, and the survey was conducted from January 1 to February 27, 2020. A total of 446 sworn, employed patrol officers who were present during the recruitment briefing were eligible to participate in surveys and focus groups.
Main Outcomes and Measures
Officers reported lifetime or current diagnosis of depression, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress disorder, as well as current mental health symptoms (using validated screeners of depression, anxiety, posttraumatic stress disorder, and suicidal ideation or self-harm) and mental health care use in the past 12 months. Focus group data were collected to contextualize mental health care use. Logistic regression analyses were used for quantitative data, and focus groups were iteratively coded by 4 coders using inductive and deductive thematic identification.
Results
Of the 446 officers invited to participate, 434 (97%) completed the survey (mean [SD] age, 37 [10] years; 354 [82%] male; 217 White [50%]). Of these officers, 19 (17%) had sought mental health care services in the past 12 months. A total of 54 officers (12%) reported a lifetime mental health diagnosis, and 114 (26%) had positive screening results for current mental illness symptoms. Among officers with positive screening results, the odds of interest in using mental health services was significantly higher for officers with suicidal ideation or self-harm than for those who did not (adjusted odds ratio, 7.66; 95% CI, 1.70-34.48). Five focus groups were conducted with 18 officers and found 4 primary barriers in accessing mental health services: (1) inability to identify when they are experiencing a mental illness, (2) concerns about confidentiality, (3) belief that psychologists cannot relate to their occupation, and (4) stigma that officers who seek mental health services are not fit for duty.
Conclusions and Relevance
The study found that although few officers were seeking treatment, they were interested in seeking help, particularly those with suicidal ideation or self-harm. Additional interventions appear to be needed to systematically identify and refer officers to health care services while mitigating their concerns, such as fear of confidentiality breach.

This survey study assesses the prevalence of mental illness and mental health care use among police officers at a large, urban police department in the US.
Introduction
Evidence suggests that exposure to law enforcement work is associated with increases in many forms of stress, including physical, psychosocial, and anticipatory stress.1,2,3 Officers are exposed to traumatic calls for service on a daily basis, including child abuse, domestic violence, car crashes, and homicides. Repeated exposure to these stressors and events may be associated with development of mental illnesses, such as anxiety, depression, somatization, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and burnout.4,5,6,7,8,9 In 2019, twice as many officers died of suicide compared with dying in the line of duty.10 Within the Buffalo, New York Police Department, the odds of committing suicide were 8.4 times higher among active duty officers compared with retired officers.11