Authors
Christine Stephens, Nigel Long, Ian Miller
Publication date
1997/1/1
Journal
Journal of criminal justice
Volume
25
Issue
4
Pages
303-314
Publisher
Pergamon
Description
Police work often involves traumatic situations and efforts toward the prevention of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) focus on posttrauma variables. Empirical evidence and theories of PTSD suggest the importance of social support as a moderator of the effects of trauma, in particular, emotional support and attitudes to expressing emotions. Five hundred twenty-seven officers of the New Zealand Police responded to a questionnaire to test the hypothesis that social support moderates the effect of traumatic experiences on PTSD symptoms. The prediction that lower social support would be related to higher PTSD scores was supported for social support from peers, supervisors, and outside work, but not for negatively expressed support. The prediction that these aspects of support would interact with traumatic experiences was supported for attitudes to expressing emotion at work. These findings suggest that there …
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