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Description: Law enforcement officers are at increased risk for a variety of personal, emotional, and vocational issues but are often resistant to seeking help. In this study, we examined attitudes toward seeking mental health services in a sample of 158 sworn officers in Texas and identified some determinants of these attitudes. Results indicate that officers exhibited, on average, a neutral attitude toward seeking professional services. Officers' perception of other officers' willingness to seek services was positively correlated with attitude scores, while endorsement of the distrust of outsiders' norm was negatively correlated with attitude scores. Officers perceived their colleagues to be less willing to seek psychological help than themselves and generally indicated concern with pragmatic aspects of service utilization.
Suggested Citation:
Karaffa, K.M., & Tochkov, K. (2013). Attitudes toward seeking mental health treatment among law enforcement
officers. [Electronic Version]. Applied Psychology in Criminal Justice,
9(2), 75-99.
Keywords: law enforcement, mental health attitudes, police culture, counseling
Date: Nov 07, 2013 | File Size: 360.7 Kb | Downloads: 2323