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Chapman University

Communication (PhD) Dissertations

Stress

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Understanding Law Enforcement Mental Health Communication And Police Officers’ Mental Health Support Preferences: A Grounded Theory Study, Erin S. Craw May 2022

Understanding Law Enforcement Mental Health Communication And Police Officers’ Mental Health Support Preferences: A Grounded Theory Study, Erin S. Craw

Communication (PhD) Dissertations

Throughout the United States, police officers experience cumulative stress and their mental health-related concerns often remain unaddressed. Recently, police departments have begun to offer more mental health support resources in an attempt to mitigate this issue. However, the underutilization of such support is a serious problem. The overall goal of this dissertation is to develop a grounded theory of mental health communication in law enforcement. Employing a constructivist grounded theory approach, data were collected in two sequential phases. Phase one involved 48 in-depth semi-structured interviews with active and retired police officers to examine how the messages police officers receive from …