ABSTRACT
Police work is widely recognized as a profession associated with heightened exposure to distressing situations and potentially traumatic stressors (Violanti, 2008). Additionally, it is well documented that officers identify organizational factors (e.g., frequent work shift changes, workload due to personnel shortages, excessive paperwork, inadequate department and supervisory support, role conflict, and limited opportunities for career advancement) as a significant and pervasive source of stress (Collins & Gibbs, 2003; Shane, 2010, Violanti & Aron, 1993). Recent events covered by the media attest to the ongoing presence of these stressors in the lives of police officers. While individual officers vary considerably in terms of their response to such stressors, their presence has been linked to a number of deleterious consequences ranging from sleep disturbance and other physical health problems (Hartley, Burchfiel, Fekedulegn, Andrew, & Violanti, 2011) to emotional difficulties, including acute stress reactions and PTSD (Arnetz, Arble, Backman, Lynch, & Lublin, 2009; Buchanan, Stephens, & Long, 2001; Violanti, 1997), depression (Hartley et al., 2011), anger (Bergman, Christopher, & Bowen, 2016), hopelessness, and even suicide (Loo, 2003; Miller, 2006). Furthermore, compared to the general population, researchers have found higher rates of PTSD (Marmar et al., 2006), depression (Wang et al., 2010), and substance use disorders (Rees & Smith, 2008) in law enforcement populations.
