Traumatic Experiences, PTSD, and Depression Within Police Officers in Alaska

Abstract

Past research has found that police officers who experience traumatic events on duty are more vulnerable to the development of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and depression symptoms than the general population (Chopko, Am. J. Psychother. 64(1):55–72 2010; Lewis-Schroeder et al. 2018). Police officers also experience traumatic events that are not duty-related, which may have an influence on subsequent PTSD and depressive symptoms, but there is a lack of research into this possibility. This study used a cross-sectional survey of 241 police officers based in Alaska to understand the association of exposure to duty-related and personally experienced trauma and reported PTSD and depressive symptoms. Results indicated that the rate across the entire sample of probable PTSD was 5.4% and the rate of depression was 10.4%. This research found no significant relationship between exposure to duty-related traumatic events and PTSD symptoms. However, there was a significant relationship between the combination of duty-related and personally experienced traumatic events and PTSD symptoms. It is possible that duty-related traumatic experiences alone are not associated with PTSD symptoms because of effective police officer training and desensitization to trauma experienced on duty but more research is needed about this potential explanation. This study points to the need to better understand and address personally experienced trauma among police officers rather than focusing solely on duty-related traumatic experiences.