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1 – 10 of 153Shannon L. Wagner and Melanie O’Neill
The purpose of this paper is to add to the overall body of literature regarding mental health implications related to fire service membership; in particular, to look specifically…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to add to the overall body of literature regarding mental health implications related to fire service membership; in particular, to look specifically at the implications of volunteer membership and to compare results with previous research looking at paid‐professional members.
Design/methodology/approach
Responses to the Impact of Event Scale‐Revised (IES‐R), the Neuroticism‐Extroversion‐Openness Personality Inventory (NEO‐PI) and the Symptom checklist (SCL)‐90R were collected from a sample of volunteer firefighters (n=64), as well as from a similar comparison sample (n=103).
Findings
Volunteer fire service members reported significantly higher rates of posttraumatic stress symptomatology when compared to a similar group of comparison participants. In contrast, no differences were found in other types of mental health symptomatology between the volunteer fire fighters and comparison group. Additionally, there appeared to be few differences in the patterns regarding prediction of mental health symptomatology from individual personality characteristics for the two groups. Generally, the authors’ results suggested that, regardless of group, neuroticism was a predictor of mental health symptomatology in many domains.
Originality/value
To the authors’ knowledge, this is the only available study to have as its primary intent to describe the mental health implications of volunteer fire service membership, as opposed to a similar comparison sample. In addition, the authors’ data provide some meaningful comparison with previously published results found in a paid‐professional sample; such comparison, to this point, has been unavailable.
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Shannon Wagner, Alex Fraess-Phillips and Kelly Mikkelson
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the predispositional hypothesis related to the “rescue personality” and the mental health of firefighter recruits.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the predispositional hypothesis related to the “rescue personality” and the mental health of firefighter recruits.
Design/methodology/approach
This study compared responses to a written set of personality and mental health measures between firefighter recruits and non-rescue comparison participants – individually matched based on age, gender, ethnicity, and marital status. Data analysis involved statistical one-way between subjects analyses of variance complemented with epidemiological paired odds ratio calculations.
Findings
The results indicated that firefighter recruits self-reported as less open to experience, less neurotic, and less Type A. They also self-reported as less likely to report somatization, hostility, and posttraumatic stress symptomatology than comparison participants. Recruits were higher in extraversion and conscientiousness, but indicated no differences in perceptions of risk or sensation-seeking behaviour.
Originality/value
The present study contributes to the literature on firefighter recruits and provides some initial data regarding personality of those attracted to the fire services, as well as information about the mental health of firefighters prior to service. Mitchell’s “rescue personality” was partly supported and evidence was provided suggesting that new recruits have strong self-perceived mental health.
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Marin C. Beagley, Zoë D. Peterson, David R. Strasshofer and Tara E. Galovski
Women comprise a significant and growing proportion of the law enforcement population. Despite this, their potentially unique reactions to job-related posttraumatic stress…
Abstract
Purpose
Women comprise a significant and growing proportion of the law enforcement population. Despite this, their potentially unique reactions to job-related posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) and depression have been underrepresented in the relevant literature, particularly within the context of exposure to community violence. Also understudied is the role of empathy in the development of post-trauma reactions, which has been a risk factor for the development of posttraumatic distress in previous studies. With the recent endorsement of empathy training by the President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing, it is important to examine ways in which empathy may contribute to differences in PTSS and depression for male and female officers. The paper aims to discuss this issue.
Design/methodology/approach
Male and female police officers (n=189) exposed to violence during the 2014 Ferguson protests completed a battery of measures designed to assess demographic information, prior trauma history, and mental health outcomes.
Findings
Moderation analyses showed that empathy moderated the relationships between exposure and PTSS and exposure and depression in female officers, such that exposure was associated with higher posttraumatic stress and depressive symptoms only for female officers with high levels of empathy. These relationships were not found for men.
Originality/value
This study is the first to examine sex differences and the role of empathy in the mental health effects of law enforcement secondary to violence during community protests against policing.
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Clare Sarah Allely and Lino Faccini
The area of trauma in autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) is an important area given the substantial rates of abuse endured by these individuals. However, there are issues with the…
Abstract
Purpose
The area of trauma in autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) is an important area given the substantial rates of abuse endured by these individuals. However, there are issues with the identification of trauma, understanding how it is perceived, and manifested. The paper aims to discuss this issue.
Design/methodology/approach
The limited research regarding trauma in ASD is reviewed and gaps are identified.
Findings
The key findings from the relevant literature are discussed.
Practical implications
Practical suggestions are outlined for more effective identification of trauma in individuals with ASD.
Originality/value
To date, there has been relatively little research on trauma and ASD. This paper emphasises the urgent need for attention in this area.
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Purpose – In this chapter, I examine the ways that various trauma carriers, including social movements, self-identified survivors, professional organizations, and advocates make…
Abstract
Purpose – In this chapter, I examine the ways that various trauma carriers, including social movements, self-identified survivors, professional organizations, and advocates make public claims about trauma and the PTSD diagnosis as they work to define moral and political issues.
Methodology/approach – Employing the method of social pattern analysis, I analyze a variety of narrative data pertaining to issues such as child sexual abuse, war, slavery, and genocide.
Findings – Trauma carriers engage in significant social memory work and collective identity work, define social problems, and practice social activism as they address the causes and consequences of psychological suffering. Within the context of modern diagnostic psychiatry, the PTSD diagnosis stands out as a unique narrative of social illness. The PTSD diagnosis is a powerful cultural script that various individuals and interest groups use to interpret mental health symptoms while attributing psychological consequences to social causes as opposed to problems rooted in the individual's psyche (as with psychoanalysis) or neurophysiology (as with modern diagnostic psychiatry). By implication, the social world must be “cured” for the individual to be healthy.
Originality/value of paper – I detail the unique sociocognitive implications of the PTSD diagnosis, highlighting its impact on our collective understanding of particular traumatic experiences and the shared nature of posttraumatic affect. I show the relevance of social memory studies, the more broadly conceived sociology of culture and cognition – especially as it pertains to collective identity and classification norms, the sociology of health-focused social movements, and the analysis of social problems claims-making to an emerging sociology of diagnosis.
Guoping Huang, Yalin Zhang, Shakeh Momartin, Xuanyin Huang and Lan Zhao
The purpose of the study was to assess the relationship between child sexual abuse (CSA) and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in female inmates in China. A total of 471…
Abstract
The purpose of the study was to assess the relationship between child sexual abuse (CSA) and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in female inmates in China. A total of 471 participants were assessed for CSA, personality traits, coping strategies, and frequency of lifetime PTSD. Results demonstrated that CSA and negative coping were predictive factors for lifetime PTSD among female inmates after personality traits were controlled. The findings suggest that CSA is one potential factor contributing to lifetime PTSD among female inmates. The importance of screening for CSA among female inmates was highly emphasized. Early intervention and prevention programmes based on coping skills may be useful to forestall the development of chronic PTSD in female inmates.
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Elizabeth Donnelly, Colby Valentine and Karen Oehme
The toll of the stresses of policing on officers’ physical and mental health and on their individual work and family functioning has been well documented in the literature. Given…
Abstract
Purpose
The toll of the stresses of policing on officers’ physical and mental health and on their individual work and family functioning has been well documented in the literature. Given the well-established consequences of work-related stress on law enforcement, it becomes important to understand how officers are utilizing institutional support systems. Specifically, the purpose of this paper is to elucidate the relationship between officers and Employee Assistant Programs (EAPs).
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected from surveys attached to an online officer training targeting domestic violence in law enforcement families in a large southern state.
Findings
A total of n=934 participants were retained for analyses. Few respondents (16.2 percent) reported accessing their EAPs. Totally, 56.4 percent reported knowing enough about their EAP and how to access it; 33 percent of participants would not use their EAPs for domestic violence concerns. No significant differences among officers who did and did not access their EAPs for workplace stress, posttraumatic stress, alcohol use, or domestic violence were identified. Significant differences in alcohol use, posttraumatic stress, and operational stress were identified in those who reported not knowing enough about how to access their EAP.
Practical implications
Concrete suggestions are offered to help increase officers’ knowledge and understanding of the importance of mental health and EAPs. Agencies should consider a more comprehensive approach to mental health to ensure that officers get the help they need.
Originality/value
Very little is known about the relationship that law enforcement officers have with EAP services. This study sheds light on some important differences in work-related stress, stress reactions, and knowledge and familiarity with EAP services.
Russell Woodfield, Katie Dhingra, Daniel Boduszek and Agata Debowska
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the moderating role of psychopathy facets on the relationship between traumatic exposure and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the moderating role of psychopathy facets on the relationship between traumatic exposure and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptomology.
Design/methodology/approach
Participants were male prisoners incarcerated in the UK.
Findings
The analysis revealed differential associations between the two facets of psychopathy, with potentially traumatic events and symptoms of PTSD. Specifically, neither primary psychopathy nor trauma exposure were significantly related to PTSD, while secondary psychopathy was positively and significantly related with PTSD symptoms. Furthermore, the effect of trauma exposure on PTSD was found to depend on the level of secondary psychopathy. More specifically, trauma exposure was strongly and positively associated with PTSD symptoms for low levels of secondary psychopathy and negatively associated with PTSD symptomology for individuals with high levels of secondary psychopathy.
Originality/value
The findings clarify linkages among psychopathy facets, trauma, and PTSD, and extend the understanding of the presentation of PTSD in male prisoners.
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Ingemar Karlsson and Sven Å. Christianson
The focus of the present study was on police officers reactions to and memories of a manhunt after a shooting incident. Emotional impact and memories of these events are discussed…
Abstract
Purpose
The focus of the present study was on police officers reactions to and memories of a manhunt after a shooting incident. Emotional impact and memories of these events are discussed in relation to time elapsed, support from co‐workers, supervisors and professional debriefing.
Design/methodology/approach
A total of 11 police officers responding to a mass shooting carried out by a young offender resulting in seven dead civilians were asked to describe the event ten months after the event, five years after the event, and again nine years after the event.
Findings
All police officers reported having vivid memories of the mass shooting incident, and visual and auditory memories of the event were best retained, although a decline was observed nine years after the incident. Regarding working through the traumatic experience, the police officers had not been offered professional help in connection with the mass shooting incident.
Research limitations/implications
Owing to the fact that police officers in the present study answered the survey anonymously, it was not possible to work out repeated measures statistics for these memories over time.
Practical implications
Knowing that the psychological distress due to exposure to a traumatic event may be long lasting, it is crucial that police organizations consider time as an important factor in working through these experiences.
Originality/value
Research on emotion and memory is highly relevant to the work of police officers and to the legal system.
Alex Hossack, Jennie McCarthy, Elaine McClean and Leslie Serette
This case study illustrates the rehabilitation of a woman who suffered chronic sexual, physical and emotional abuse throughout childhood that resulted in 20 years of secure…
Abstract
This case study illustrates the rehabilitation of a woman who suffered chronic sexual, physical and emotional abuse throughout childhood that resulted in 20 years of secure psychiatric care and a ‘psychopathic personality’ diagnosis. Rehabilitation used a survivor‐orientated approach to resolve symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder, institutionalisation and a dysfunctional narrative.
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