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Predictors of Police Suicide Ideation
Author(s) -
Violanti John M.
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
suicide and life‐threatening behavior
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.544
H-Index - 90
eISSN - 1943-278X
pISSN - 0363-0234
DOI - 10.1521/suli.34.3.277.42775
Subject(s) - suicidal ideation , suicide prevention , poison control , human factors and ergonomics , injury prevention , psychiatry , occupational safety and health , clinical psychology , psychology , ideation , suicide ideation , medicine , medical emergency , pathology , cognitive science
Further inquiry into processes that lead to suicide in the police occupation is necessary. Suicide ideation in police officers and possible correlates associated with such ideation is explored in this paper. The focus was on psychologically traumatic police work experiences, the development of posttraumatic stress (PTSD) in officers, and the inordinate use of alcohol associated with this condition. The impact of these occupationally based factors and their association with suicide ideation has not yet been fully explored. Results suggest that certain traumatic police work exposures increase the risk of high level PTSD symptoms, which subsequently increase the risk of high alcohol use and suicide ideation. The combined impact of PTSD and increased alcohol use led to a ten‐fold increase risk for suicide ideation.