Department
Criminal Justice
Disciplines
Industrial and Organizational Psychology | Other Psychology
Abstract
Police officers serve a vital role in our communities and face particularly acute trauma and stress in the execution of their jobs. Therefore, it is critical to fully understand how police officers react in these situations. Studies have shown that officers endure a distinctive source of stress and are presented with the risk of exposure to traumatic events. Chopko & Schwartz (2012) surveyed 183 officers and found that more than 30% displayed symptoms of PTSD; however, this study focused on direct exposure to trauma. The current study expands this previous research to study the effects of indirect experiences of trauma. For the purpose of this study, direct exposure to trauma is any first-hand involvement with trauma—for example, engaging in fire—and indirect exposure to trauma is a secondhand interaction—for example, hearing about an assault. The current study uses the Impact of Event Scale-Revised instrument developed by Morris et al. (2005) and used by Chopko & Schwartz (2012) to assess PTSD-related symptoms of police officers in stressful events. This study assesses symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder as it relates to direct and indirect exposure to trauma, analyze officers' accessibility to employee assistance programs, and examine the officers' evaluation of these services.
Abstract Format
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Recommended Citation
Cortez, Marybel
(2014)
"Direct v. Indirect Exposure to Trauma: An Insight to Officer Coping Mechanisms,"
McNair Scholars Research Journal: Vol. 10:
Iss.
1, Article 7.
Available at:
https://scholarworks.boisestate.edu/mcnair_journal/vol10/iss1/7