Sex differences in mental disorder symptoms among Canadian police officers: the mediating role of social support, stress, and sleep quality.

Sex differences in mental disorder symptoms among Canadian police officers: the mediating role of social support, stress, and sleep quality. Cogn Behav Ther. 2021 Feb 08;:1-18 Authors: Angehrn A, Vig KD, Mason JE, Stelnicki AM, Shields RE, Asmundson GJG, Carleton RN Abstract Police officers, and specifically women officers, report elevated mental disorder rates relative to the general population, which may be impacted by sleep quality, policing-related stress, and social support. In a sample of Canadian police officers, sex was indirectly related to post traumatic stress, depression, generalized anxiety, panic, and social anxiety symptoms through its relationships with social support and sleep quality, but not through policing-related stress. Sex was indirectly related to problematic alcohol use symptoms through sleep quality only. Differences in clinical symptom severity between both sexes may be partially accounted for by the worsened sleep quality reported by women officers relative to their men counterparts. Conversely, general social support appears to be a protective, albeit insufficient, factor influencing the mental health of women police officers. Male and women police officers did not differ in their reports of policing-related stress. The current results underscore the importance of incorporating strategies to improve sleep practices into police workplace environments. Additionally, findings that general social support and...
Source: Cognitive Behaviour Therapy - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Tags: Cogn Behav Ther Source Type: research