Gender and Age Differences in Trauma and PTSD Among Dutch Treatment-Seeking Police Officers

J Nerv Ment Dis. 2017 Feb;205(2):87-92. doi: 10.1097/NMD.0000000000000562.

Abstract

Little is known about how age and gender are associated with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and traumatic experiences in treatment-seeking police offers. In this study, we examined 967 diagnostic files of police officers seeking treatment for PTSD. Six hundred twelve (63%) of the referred police officers were diagnosed with PTSD (n = 560) or partial PTSD (n = 52). Police officers reported on average 19.5 different types of traumatic events (range 1-43). Those who experienced a greater variety of traumatic events suffered from more PTSD symptoms. Also, women reported more often direct life-threatening or private events as their index trauma than men and suffered from more PTSD symptoms than their male colleagues. Results indicate that police officers experience a considerable number of different traumatic events, which is significantly associated with PTSD symptoms. The results highlight the importance of early detection of PTSD symptoms in the police force.

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Age Factors
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Life Change Events*
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Netherlands
  • Occupational Diseases / diagnosis*
  • Occupational Diseases / psychology
  • Police / psychology*
  • Sex Factors
  • Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / diagnosis*
  • Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / psychology
  • Stress, Psychological / psychology*