Law Enforcement Pathways to Mental Health: Secondary Traumatic Stress, Social Support, and Social Pressure

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dc.contributor.authorDaniel, A. M., & Treece, K. S.
dc.date.accessioned2022-12-05T18:28:28Z
dc.date.available2022-12-05T18:28:28Z
dc.date.issued2022
dc.description.abstractThe mental health of law enforcement officers (LEO) is critical to the safety and well-being of the officers and the public they serve. However, LEO face significant on-the-job stressors that undermine mental health, and there is a lot to be learned about when and how LEO seek and enter mental health services. The present study sought to explore variables related to mental health seeking behavior, the role of social engagement and social pressure in the decision to seek mental health services, and the most common pathways into mental health utilized by LEO. A small sample of 86 LEO were recruited from the social media page of a law enforcement nonprofit support organization to take several self-report measures on past mental health service usage and intentions to seek future services, the Inventory of Attitudes Toward Seeking Mental Health Services, the Professional Quality of Life Survey, and a measure of social engagement on mental health topics. Results indicate that while a number of factors are associated with intentions to seek future services, the primary factor in past mental health seeking behavior was secondary traumatic stress. Those who sought mental health services reported higher social engagement and social pressure to seek help. LEO entered mental health services for a variety of reasons and through a variety of provider options, such that no one provider source was preferred. Though the present study was limited by a small sample size, reliance on self-report measures, and occurred during a time of civil unrest that sparked the “defund the police” movement, the results serve as a starting point for understanding the pathways into mental health services for LEO and the roles of secondary trauma and prior mental health service experience.en_US
dc.identifier.citationDaniel, A. M., & Treece, K. S. (2022). Law enforcement pathways to mental health: secondary traumatic stress, social support, and social pressure. Journal of police and criminal psychology, 37(1), 132-140.en_US
dc.identifier.urihttps://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11896-021-09476-5
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11212/5651
dc.language.isoen_USen_US
dc.publisherJournal of police and criminal psychologyen_US
dc.subjectsecondary traumatic stressen_US
dc.subjectlaw enforcementen_US
dc.subjectmental healthen_US
dc.titleLaw Enforcement Pathways to Mental Health: Secondary Traumatic Stress, Social Support, and Social Pressureen_US
dc.typeArticleen_US

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