Criminology and Criminal Justice Commons^™

The Effects Of Frequent Exposure To Violence And Trauma On Police Officers, Ternarian Warren

Ternarian A Warren PhD

Police officers who maintain negative or traumatic information in long-term memory are vulnerable to mental illness, unstable emotional and behavioral responses, interpersonal problems, and impaired social relationships. The cognitive theory suggests that police officers externalize various negative or maladaptive behaviors as a result of frequent exposure to traumatic events. Researchers have found that police officers tend to either not seek mental health treatment, try to fix their own mental health problem, or if in treatment will not be forthcoming with internalized thoughts of psychological distress. The intention of this research was to examine the relationship between police officers' frequent exposure …