Risk factors for complex posttraumatic stress disorder in UK police

Risk factors for complex posttraumatic stress disorder in UK police

C Steel, N Tehrani, G Lewis, J Billings | Occupational Medicine

14% of police world wide meet the diganostoic threshold for PTSD. Repetitive or prolonged exposure to traumatic events is recognised as a significant risk factor for C-PTSD. This study demonstrates that adding to this, a lower perceived social support, impacts levels of PTSD which is relevant to the police population where high workload and unsociable working hours are common. The authors advise further investigation into the presence of occupational trauma in police officers, which symptomatically presents differently to PTSD and C-PTSD. The recommendations of the study are to ensure manager support, develop well-being programmes that focus on building resilience and awareness of mental health issues among managers.

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Risk factors for complex posttraumatic stress disorder in UK police, C Steel, N Tehrani, G Lewis, J Billings, Occupational Medicine, 2021