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Gender and Age Differences in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Depression Among Buffalo Police Officers

Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University; Health Effects Laboratory Division, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Morgantown, West Virginia

Michael E. Andrew

Health Effects Laboratory Division, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Morgantown, West Virginia

Tara A. Hartley

Cecil M. Burchfiel

Health Effects Laboratory Division, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Morgantown, West Virginia; cburchfiel{at}cdc.govzar5{at}cdc.gov

Desta Fekedulegn

Health Effects Laboratory Division, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Morgantown, West Virginia

John M. Violanti

School of Public Health and Health Professions, Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, State University of New York at Buffalo

Because of the stressful nature of police work, officers may be at increased risk for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression. The Impact of Event Scale (IES) and Center for Epidemiologic Studies–Depression (CES-D) survey were administered to 100 officers. Mean IES and CES-D scores and prevalence of PTSD and depression were compared across gender and age. Female officers had higher mean IES and CES-D scores than male officers. Mean CES-D scores tended to increase with age, whereas mean IES scores varied little across age. Prevalence of depression was greater among women (22.0%) than men (12.1%), yet differences were less evident for PTSD (36.6% women, 34.5% men). Depression and PTSD tended to increase with age and were not explained by gender, marital status, or education.

Key Words: depression • epidemiology • occupation • police • posttraumatic stress disorder • risk factors • stress

Traumatology, Vol. 12, No. 3, 220-228 (2006)
DOI: 10.1177/1534765606296271


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