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Predictors of Posttraumatic Stress in Police and Other First Responders
a Veterans Affairs Medical Center, San Francisco, California 94121, USA b University of California, San Francisco, California 94121, USA c Columbia University, New York, New York 10027, USA d National Institute of Justice, Washington, D.C. 20531, USA e University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-1043, USA f University Hospital Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg 20246, Germany g Division of Traumatic Stress Studies, Mount Sinai School of Medicine and Bronx Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Bronx, New York 10468, USA
Address for correspondence: Charles R. Marmar, M.D., San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center, 4150 Clement St. (116 P), San Francisco, CA 94121. Voice: 415-221-4810 ext.: 2126; fax: 415-751-2297. e-mail: Charles.marmar{at}med.va.gov
We provide an overview of previous research conducted by our group on risk and resilience factors for PTSD symptoms in police and other first responders. Based on our work, the findings of other investigators on individual differences in risk for PTSD, and drawing on preclinical studies fear conditioning and extinction, we propose a conceptual model for the development of PTSD symptoms emphasizing the role of vulnerability and resilience to peritraumatic panic reactions. We tested this conceptual model in a cross-sectional sample of police officers (n = 715). Utilizing an hierarchical linear regression model we were able to explain 39.7% of the variance in PTSD symptoms. Five variables remained significant in the final model; greater peritraumatic distress (
 = 0.240, P < .001), greater peritraumatic dissociation ( = 0.174, P < .001), greater problem-solving coping ( = 0.103, P < .01), greater routine work environment stress ( = 0.182, P < .001), and lower levels of social support ( = –0.246, P < .001). These results were largely consistent with the proposed conceptual model. Next steps in this line of research will be to test this model prospectively in a sample of 400 police academy recruits assessed during training and currently being followed for the first 2 years of police service.
Key Words: police • PTSD • risk • first responders • peritraumatic This article has been cited by other articles:
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