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Trauma on duty cognitive functioning in police officers with and without posttraumatic stress disorder PTSD 1.25 MB
Published VersionCC BY-NC V4.0, Open Access
Journal article
Trauma on duty: cognitive functioning in police officers with and without posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
European Journal of Psychotraumatology, Vol.12(1), pp.1-12
2021
PMID: 34721819
Abstract
Background:
Neuropsychological alterations co-occur with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder(PTSD); yet, the nature and magnitude of such alterations in police officers remains unknown despite their high level of trauma exposure.
Objective:
The current research sought to examine (1) cognitive functioning among police officers with and without PTSD; (2) the clinical significance of their cognitive performance; and(3) the relationship between PTSD symptoms and cognition.
Method:
Thirty-one police officers with PTSD were compared to thirty age- and sex-matched trauma-exposed officers without PTSD. Clinical assessment and self-report questionnaires established PTSD status. All participants underwent a neuropsychological evaluation.
Results:
Police officers with PTSD displayed lower cognitive performance across several domains, notably executive functioning, verbal learning and memory, and lexical access, compared to controls. The neuropsychological decrements in the PTSD group were mild compared to normative data, with average performances falling within normal limits. Among officers with PTSD, higher levels of intrusion symptoms were associated with reduced efficacy in executive functioning, as well as attention and working memory. Moreover, increased intrusion and avoidance symptoms were associated with slower information processing speed.
Conclusion: Considering that even mild subclinical cognitive difficulties may affect their socialand occupational functioning, it appears important to integrate neuropsychological assess-ments in the clinical management of police officers diagnosed with PTSD.
Details
- Title
- Trauma on duty: cognitive functioning in police officers with and without posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
- Authors
- Alexandra Bisson Desrochers - Douglas Mental Health University InstituteIsabelle Rouleau - Université du Québec à MontréalAndréanne Angehrn - Université du Québec à Trois-RivièresHelen-Maria Vasiliadis - Université de SherbrookeDaniel Saumier - Douglas Mental Health University InstituteAlain Brunet - Douglas Mental Health University Institute
- Publication details
- European Journal of Psychotraumatology, Vol.12(1), pp.1-12
- Publisher
- Taylor & Francis
- Date published
- 2021
- DOI
- 10.1080/20008198.2021.1959117
- ISSN
- 2000-8066; 2000-8198
- PMID
- 34721819
- Copyright note
- © 2021 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
- Grant note
- This research was supported by a grant (2015-0029) from the Institut de recherche Robert-Sauvé en santé et en sécurité du travail (IRSST) to A.B., H.M.V. and I.R. While working on this project, A.B.D. held a doctoral scholarship from the Fonds de recherche du Québec – Santé (FRQS) and a scholarship supplement from IRSST.
- Organisation Unit
- Thompson Institute
- Language
- English
- Record Identifier
- 991105740002621
- Output Type
- Journal article
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- Domestic collaboration
- Web Of Science research areas
- Psychiatry
- Psychology, Clinical
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