Center for the Psychology of Learning and Experimental Psychopathology, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
Eur J Psychotraumatol. 2023;14(1):2156558. doi: 10.1080/20008066.2022.2156558.
Police officers are at considerable risk of developing posttraumatic symptoms because they frequently encounter violent or emotionally disturbing incidents. We investigate experiences with potentially traumatic events (PTE), traumatic exposure, and the prevalence of probable posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), complex PTSD and subclinical PTSD in a sample of Belgian police officers. In total, 1,465 police officers from 15 Belgian Local Police zones participated in a web-based survey, consisting of three segments: evaluating experiences with a list of 29 PTE, assessing if any of these PTE accounted for traumatic exposure, and evaluating 1-month probable PTSD, complex PTSD and subclinical PTSD prevalence using the International Trauma Questionnaire (ITQ). Police officers frequently experience a wide range of PTE. A large majority of 93.0% reports traumatic exposure. Assessment with ITQ shows a 1-month prevalence of 5.87% for probable PTSD and 1.50% for probable complex PTSD, while an additional 7.58% report subclinical PTSD. No demographic variables influenced PTSD prevalence. Cumulative PTE experiences in itself did not predict PTSD, while the characteristics of certain PTE did entail a higher prevalence of probable PTSD and subclinical PTSD. This study is the first to evaluate experiences with PTE, traumatic exposure and 1-month prevalence of probable PTSD, complex PTSD, and subclinical PTSD in Belgian police officers. Police officers are frequently confronted with a broad variety of PTE, and a large majority reports traumatic exposure. The 1-month prevalence of probable PTSD is significantly higher compared to previous international research in the general population, but lower than in similar international research involving police officers. In this study, cumulative PTE experiences in itself did not reliably predict PTSD, while the characteristics of certain PTE did. Posttraumatic symptoms are an important mental health challenge in Belgian police.
警察经常遇到暴力或情绪困扰的事件，因此面临着较大的创伤后症状风险。我们研究了比利时警察样本中与潜在创伤事件 (PTE)、创伤暴露以及创伤后应激障碍 (PTSD)、复杂 PTSD 和亚临床 PTSD 的患病率相关的经历。共有来自 15 个比利时地方警察区的 1465 名警察参与了一项基于网络的调查，该调查由三个部分组成：评估 29 个 PTE 清单中的经历，评估这些 PTE 是否构成创伤暴露，以及使用国际创伤问卷 (ITQ) 评估 1 个月的可能 PTSD、复杂 PTSD 和亚临床 PTSD 的患病率。警察经常经历广泛的 PTE。绝大多数（93.0%）报告了创伤暴露。ITQ 评估显示，可能 PTSD 的 1 个月患病率为 5.87%，可能复杂 PTSD 的患病率为 1.50%，而另外 7.58%报告亚临床 PTSD。没有人口统计学变量影响 PTSD 的患病率。累积 PTE 经历本身并不能预测 PTSD，而某些 PTE 的特征确实会导致更高的可能 PTSD 和亚临床 PTSD 患病率。本研究首次评估了比利时警察的 PTE 经历、创伤暴露以及 1 个月的可能 PTSD、复杂 PTSD 和亚临床 PTSD 的患病率。警察经常面临各种各样的 PTE，绝大多数报告了创伤暴露。可能 PTSD 的 1 个月患病率明显高于以前针对一般人群的国际研究，但低于涉及警察的类似国际研究。在这项研究中，累积 PTE 经历本身并不能可靠地预测 PTSD，而某些 PTE 的特征确实如此。创伤后症状是比利时警察面临的一个重要心理健康挑战。
