POSTTRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER IN CANADIAN POLICE OFFICERS

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Canadian Police Officers

Violet Bacon
Bachelor of Law Enforcement Studies
LAWS 4003 Research Project: Final Paper
Justice Institute of British Columbia
Instructor: Nora Houlahan
April 08, 2022
Word Count: 6048

POSTTRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER IN CANADIAN POLICE OFFICERS
Abstract
The purpose of this research was to determine whether there are specific risk and protective
factors that contribute to, or prevent Canadian police officers from developing Posttraumatic
Stress Disorder (PTSD). This research aimed to answer: what risk and protective factors
influence the development of PTSD in Canadian officers? This research is a critical appraisal.
The inclusion criteria includes English full-text, scholarly articles, with a publication time frame
of 2011-2021 to ensure recent research is included. The research includes literature on Canadian
police officers, with a specific focus on the factors that contribute to the likelihood to develop
PTSD. Exclusion criteria are any articles that are not available in English, published before the
set time frame, and/or based on studies conducted in another country. The research found that
psychological/cognitive variables play a significant role in the development of PTSD,
particularly identifying emotional regulation, and resilience as keys variables in preventing
PTSD. Significant differences between RCMP and municipal officers were also found, with
RCMP officers showing higher rates of PTSD and PTSD symptomology.
Keywords: Canada, posttraumatic stress disorder, police, risk and protective factors,
susceptibility and development of PTSD

POSTTRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER IN CANADIAN POLICE OFFICERS
Table of Contents
Abstract ........................................................................................................................................... 2
Table of Contents ............................................................................................................................ 3
Methodology ................................................................................................................................... 5
Results ............................................................................................................................................. 7
Discussion ..................................................................................................................................... 12
Recommendations ......................................................................................................................... 20
Conclusion .................................................................................................................................... 21
References ..................................................................................................................................... 24

POSTTRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER IN CANADIAN POLICE OFFICERS
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Canadian Police Officers
Research shows that recurrent exposure to trauma is an inevitable part of work for first
responders, which negatively impacts their mental health (Public Safety Canada, 2019). A study
included in Foley & Massey’s research article showed that police officers displayed the highest
levels of stress and poor mental health among first responders (2021). Development of
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is defined as a disturbance that causes clinically
significant distress or impairment in an individual's social interactions and capacity to function in
work and other areas (Pai et al., 2017). PTSD is caused by exposure to an actual or threatened
death, serious injury, or sexual violence, and is accompanied by intrusion symptoms, avoidance
of stimuli, negative alterations in cognition and mood, and alterations in arousal and reactivity
(Center for Substance Abuse Treatment, 2014). These symptoms must be present for more than
one month to fulfill the diagnostic criteria (Center for Substance Abuse Treatment, 2014).
Studies have shown various outcomes in PTSD development, and further research is
required to identify the risk and protective factors in a Canadian context. The purpose of this
critical appraisal is to develop a more thorough understanding of the importance of specific
protective and risk factors for PTSD in Police officers in Canada. The research will provide an
overview of the current literature on Canadian police officer PTSD development to provide an
explanation of the factors that contribute to or protect officers from developing PTSD. The
research question was: what risk and protective factors influence the development of PTSD in
Canadian officers?
The philosophical worldview guiding this study was pragmatism. Pragmatism views
problems as those with solutions which can be implemented to come to a resolution (Creswell &
Creswell, 2017). The development of PTSD is a result of a traumatic experience, which

POSTTRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER IN CANADIAN POLICE OFFICERS
pragmatism sees as a problem with practical solutions, such as developing effective training or
practicing healthy coping mechanisms to strengthen the individual’s ability to overcome
adversity. Further it follows the idea that the likelihood of developing PTSD is highly dependent
on the presence of certain individual level factors. This means that by identifying certain risk or
preventative factors practical solutions can be implemented to mitigate and lessen the risks of
developing PTSD.
The research has found higher rates of PTSD in first responders, however it is unclear
what the causes are. Some officers are often exposed to the same or similar events they can have
significantly different mental health outcomes, some experiencing little to no negative changes,
while others develop PTSD as a result. The research shows that the exposure to traumatic events
is a cause of PTSD, however it is unclear what causes the difference in outcomes across officers.
The majority of related research is based on studies conducted via self-reporting measures, and
therefore leads to poor accuracy of results due to variances in reporting. The research provides
conclusions about PTSD which may be conducted on people that do not fulfill diagnostic
criteria. This also leads to poor generalizability overall, as well as difficulty determining causal
relations between factors throughout studies.

Methodology
This was a critical appraisal of literature, which was most appropriate due to the time
constraints on the project. The inclusion criteria includes English full-text, scholarly articles,
journals, publication date of 2011-2021 to ensure accuracy of findings, and includes studies on
Canadian police officers, with a specific focus on the factors that contribute to the likelihood to
develop PTSD. Exclusion criteria are any articles that are not available in English, published
before the set time frame, and/or based on studies conducted in another country. Despite the need

POSTTRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER IN CANADIAN POLICE OFFICERS
for current literature clarifying the differences in factors contributing to police officers’ PTSD
development compared to first responders there is lacking research presented, so studies that
categorize police as a sector of public safety personnel are included.
For article selection the JIBC Library search database EBSCOHost was used first, after
inputting keywords: PTSD or Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, AND Police AND Canada. The
additional criteria was added: full text, scholarly peer reviewed journals, search journals only,
English language and 2011-2021 time frame. This resulted in 72 results articles for title and
abstract review, of which 8 were deemed useful as they were relevant to the research topic. The
following 7 articles were found on the UBC library, after inputting keywords: PTSD or
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, AND Police AND Canada AND predictor AND risk factor. The
additional criteria was added: full text online, scholarly & peer reviewed, journal articles, open
access, English language and publication time frame of 2011-2021, which resulted in 343 hits,
followed by a title and abstract review. Many of the research papers on both databases had titles
appearing to be relevant to the topic, however upon abstract review were not conducted on a
sample of Canadian officers, this led to exclusion of the article.
The main research interest was to investigate the risk and protective factors as variables
for police officer susceptibility to PTSD but did not find sufficient research specifically
pertaining to police officers. This is because a lot of data collection on PTSD in Canada has
combined public safety personnel within studies, therefore, the results from Canadian police
officers are predominantly derived from research on public safety personnel. The present
research aimed to differentiate the risk and protective factors specifically on police officer PTSD
susceptibility. Additionally, some studies conducted research on a particular police agency,
therefore generalizability to Canadian police officers is low. The research was collected in regard

POSTTRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER IN CANADIAN POLICE OFFICERS
to police officers' development of PTSD, with special regard to the risk and protective factors.
Other relevant information is included when available, such as previous occupations which may
contribute to PTSD development, as well as some research on related professions, such as
paramedics, and military services to allow the comparison of research findings which will better
determine applicability of PSP studies on Canadian police officers.
The researcher assessed accuracy by reviewing the results of the article and comparing
whether the researcher would obtain the same conclusions from such results. Validity was
assessed by evaluating whether the search conducted was measuring the attributed variables, and
analyzing the possibility of confounding variables in the consideration of the findings. The
researcher assessed whether the results indicated significantly different findings compared to
similar studies, to ensure reliability of studies. The researcher chose studies that analyzed mental
health specifically in regard to police officer PTSD, with inclusion of related studies such as
those on public safety personnel, as these would be applicable.

Results
Groll et al. (2020) conducted research including public service personnel (PSP), and
examined the relationship between PSP’s previous military service and mental health disorders.
They found that those with previous military service were 1.5 times more likely to screen
positive for PTSD along with other mental disorders, compared to PSP without prior military
service. Park et al. (2021) research also studied PSP and found that depersonalization and
derealization were correlated with PTSD symptom severity, emotional dysregulation, functional
impairment and poor social functioning.
Horswill et al. (2021) research consisted of a web-based questionnaire, completed by
municipal and RCMP officers. This examined psychosocial variables including anxiety

POSTTRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER IN CANADIAN POLICE OFFICERS
sensitivity, intolerance of uncertainty, childhood adversity, personality facets, work engagement,
hope, optimism and perceived social support, and compared them with correlation to both PTSD
and Posttraumatic growth. The results supported existing literature, stating that RCMP and
municipal officers displayed similar risk characteristics, while municipal officers reported higher
levels of protective factors, yet RCMP officers have higher rates of PTSD than municipal
officers (Horswill et al., 2021). Their study also found that high anxiety sensitivity, high
intolerance of uncertainty, low social support, and low optimism were statistically significantly
associated with PTSD whereas greater PTSD severity, high agreeableness, and more adverse
childhood events were statistically significantly associated with posttraumatic growth (Horswill
et al., 2021). Korol et al. (2021) compared demographic and cognitive variables, and shared
similar findings as Horswill et al. (2021) study. Korol et al. (2021) found that anxiety sensitivity
and intolerance of uncertainty were significant contributors to all mental disorders experienced
among police officers in their study. Korol et al. (2021) research also found that female officers
in provincial and municipal forces displayed higher levels of PTSD than their male counterparts,
however, in the RCMP they found no significant difference between genders’ PTSD rates.
Marchand et al. (2015) research differentiated between officer’s disorders, studying acute
stress disorder and full/partial PTSD and found the individual’s emotional coping to be a
significant contributing factor. Their study also analyzed the pre-traumatic, peritraumatic and
posttraumatic stages, and found that the intensity of the officer’s reaction in the peritraumatic
stage had the most significant impact (Marchand et al., 2015). On another note, Papazoglou &
Chopko (2017) examined the differences between moral distress (cumulative mundane incidents
with moral dilemma) and moral injury (death & violence related incidents) in combination, and
their influence on police officers' susceptibility to developing PTSD. They found that moral

POSTTRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER IN CANADIAN POLICE OFFICERS
distress is a predictor of PTSD symptoms in soldiers/veterans and other first responders, and is
prevalent in the triggering, re-experiencing and responding to traumatic events (Papazoglou &
Chopko, 2017).
Regehr et al., (2013) measured biological stress levels of police communicators, to assess
the association of psychological distress and physiological stress with the following factors:
anxiety, depression, posttraumatic stress, coping strategies, social supports and locus of control.
The study found that duration of employment and coping styles were the most significant factors
associated with PTSD development. Specifically, the study found that police communicators that
employed emotion focused coping (including attitudes of self-blame, repetitive worry and anger)
had higher levels of anxiety, depression and PTSD. Additionally, avoidant-focused coping was
correlated to PTSD development in the correlational analysis, but not the multivariate analysis.
Stelnicki et al. (2021) assessed the implementation of a unique early intervention
program on PSP which included cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT). They found that
individuals participating in the program experienced improvements in self-awareness, avoidant
behaviours, relationships, and decrease in PTSD symptoms. Vig et al. (2020) similarly studied
the relationship between PSP’s perceived social support and two disorders: PTSD and Major
Depressive Disorder (MDD). Their research found perceived social support to be a predicting
factor for PTSD development. This is particularly in RCMP officers, who shared lower levels of
perceived support. These findings are similar to the aforementioned study by Horswill et al.
(2021), while different factors were studied by Vig et al. (2020), the contributing factors
measured have proven more prevalent in RCMP officers compared to municipal officers.
Waegemakers Schiff & Lane (2019) studied the psychological impacts of frontline work
in the homeless service sector, specifically to determine whether frontline workers in the

POSTTRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER IN CANADIAN POLICE OFFICERS
homeless sector were more susceptible to developing PTSD. The study found that ⅓ of
participants reported symptomology of PTSD, yet they maintained lower burnout rates than other
frontline workers, which the researchers attributed to their lack of education on PTSD
(Waegemakers Schiff & Lane, 2019).
Carleton et al. (2018) studied 147 Canadian police officers who participated in the Road
to Mental Readiness training (R2MR) (a form of cognitive behavioural therapy). The Mental
Health Commission of Canada created a specific version of the R2MR program to combat police
officer mental health issues, as the program was initially implemented for military personnel
(Carleton et al., 2018). The goal of this program was to determine the potential of the program to
combat mental health issues specific to police officers. Following the program, participants
shared written responses indicating accumulation of greater resiliency skills, and less stigma on
mental health issues (Carleton et al., 2018). Their research found a reduction in stigma, changing
attitudes, and improving communication following the program. They also found differences in
perceptions and thought processes about mental health in general, but did not find significant
changes in symptoms of PTSD or the other mental health issues measured (Carleton et al., 2018).
Doyle et al. (2021) study aimed to determine the relationship between occupational stress
(OS) and first responders’ mental health, in particular regard to the role that anger and resiliency
have with the various levels of OS. Their study found that the impact of resiliency on OS factors
and anger levels was most impactful on role overload, responsibility, role boundary (Doyle et al.,
2021). Meanwhile, the impact of resilience on role insufficiency, role ambiguity and physical
environment as components of OS was insignificant (Doyle et al., 2021).
Janssens et al. (2021) study aimed to discover the ways that resilience is measured among
police officers, and the extent to which resilience predicts officers ability to function. Janssens et

POSTTRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER IN CANADIAN POLICE OFFICERS
al., found many gaps in the literature stating that studies identify resilience as a protective factor
to police officer PTSD, despite it being a static and changing variable (2021). Further, the study
indicated that the impact of resilience is measurable through mental health outcomes but does not
account for work performance measures, because studies on PTSD attribute the lack of PTSD or
PTSD symptomatology to the presence of resilience (Janssens et al., 2021).
Boyd et al., (2018) study examined the relation between functional impairment and
symptoms of PTSD comparing between military, veterans and first responders. Their study
found that dissociative symptoms (depersonalization and derealization) were the strongest
indicator of functional impairment in all three occupational groups, with the total number of
symptoms having a potentially mitigating effect. They also found that reported exposure to
childhood abuse was significantly higher among military members and veterans compared to the
general population (Boyd et al., 2018). Boyd et al., research also found differences in
dissociative symptomology in the peritraumatic stage (2018). These findings support the
aforementioned study by Marchand et al., (2015), which found that the peritraumatic stage has
the greatest impact on PTSD development.
Halpern et al., (2014) evaluated the impact of down time on EMT/paramedics rates of
depression, PTSD, burnout and stress related emotional symptoms. While their research was
conducted on EMT/Paramedics, it is applicable because police officers experience similar mental
health issues due to similar exposure with frontline work. The mental health outcomes evaluated
in response to the downtime included depressive symptoms, PTSD, burnout and stress related
emotional symptoms. Halpern et al., (2014) hypothesized that this downtime would create an
immediate reduction in anxiety following the incident, therefore leading to a reduction in the
negative mental health outcomes caused by critical incidents. They found that implementing a

POSTTRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER IN CANADIAN POLICE OFFICERS
brief period of downtime following critical incidents is an effective strategy for reducing
depressive related symptoms (Halpern et al., 2014).

Discussion
Several limitations must be noted, firstly many of these studies were focused on public
safety personnel, among this category the differences between groups are not clarified in all
studies, despite stark differences in occupational demands. Additionally, while the analysis of
resilience is done through longitudinal studies, the measures of resilience are researcher
dependent, and therefore have poor interrater reliability. Due to the ethical issues surrounding the
study of mental health disorders, the majority of studies on PTSD are retrospective in nature,
therefore the ability to analyze and identify the level of impact of specific factors is difficult.
However, causal conclusions can only be drawn from longitudinal studies which include the precritical incident exposures which officers face.
The research has shown that RCMP officers have higher rates of PTSD and PTSD
symptomology, however the listed factors are subjective to researcher bias, and lack causal
attributions. For example, Vig et al. (2020) research showed that due to variances in the factor
“social support” PTSD development in RCMP members is significantly higher over provincial
and municipal officers. While social support is likely a contributing factor to a person’s ability to
cope with a mental illness, this could also be attributed to many other factors, such as differences
in organizational demands, inconsistent working schedules, instability caused by frequent
relocation, inadequate resources, work overload, etc. Another significant difference found by Vig
et al. (2020) is the militaristic organizational structure of the RCMP. Vig et al. (2020) research
had strong generalizability because the research was on Canadian police, with a sample that was
demographically representative of the Canadian population.

POSTTRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER IN CANADIAN POLICE OFFICERS
The findings of higher rates of PTSD is also supported by the stronger prevalence of
PTSD in those with a military background as well, as shown in Groll et al. (2020) study. With
exposure to traumatic events in the military being significantly higher, PTSD symptomology
could be further exacerbated by the combination of their past experiences with the militaristic
style of policing in the RCMP. Alternatively, these officers could have fully developed the
symptomology represented in the study prior to their engagement in police services, and could
have experienced a decrease in symptomology since beginning their police service. Neither of
these possibilities are accounted for, therefore the causal attribution is deemed void for the
current research, only a correlation can be attributed. There are multiple confounding variables
which could be contributing to RCMP officer’s higher rates of PTSD development, and these
should be further evaluated through longitudinal studies to determine the causal relation.
Papazogloua & Chopko’s (2017) research found moral distress, the experience of
cumulative mundane incidents, is a considerable factor in predicting first responders’
development of PTSD. While their study was not conducted solely on police officers, it can be
assumed that moral distress would similarly contribute to police officers’ PTSD development of
PTSD. The results show that despite the focus on death and violence related incidents as the
primary cause of PTSD, further research into moral distress may prove its impact to be similarly
significant.
Park et al. (2021) research also studied PSP and found that depersonalization and
derealization were associated with PTSD symptom severity, emotional dysregulation, functional
impairment and poor social functioning. Longitudinal studies on this would be beneficial to
determine the causal relation, rather than simply attributing these factors as being caused by the
traumatic event. These symptoms could be present prior to the traumatic experience, and be

POSTTRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER IN CANADIAN POLICE OFFICERS
exacerbated by the event, or in some cases may be caused by the event, however further studies
are necessary to assert this. Moreover, Park et al. (2021) research suggests that those with PTSD
diagnoses would benefit from treatment that is specific to emotional awareness and regulation
and the analysis of the resulting functional impairment is important for analysis.
Waegemakers Schiff & Lane’s (2019) research on workers in the homeless sector found
lower levels of burnout despite extensive frontline exposure. The researchers attributed this to
the lack of education surrounding PTSD, however it can be assumed that professionals in the
frontline community services likely have an understanding of PTSD, as they work with clientele
that have experienced trauma, substance abuse, and other related issues. Alternatively, the
findings could be reflective of the differences in professions, as those working in the frontline
homeless sector may be more likely to develop relationships with their clients, see the impact of
their role. These experiences may contribute to greater job satisfaction from the opportunities to
see progress in their clients. Comparatively, due to the nature of police work in the short
term/crisis stage, police officers recurrent traumatic exposures do not provide officers with any
type of relationship with their clientele base. They also lack the opportunity for the satisfaction
from seeing the long term (positive) impact of their work on the people they respond to.
While Boyd et al. (2018) research found dissociative symptoms to be the most strongly
linked to PTSD in their study, they also discovered that the military members and veterans were
more likely to have experiences of childhood abuse compared to the general public. Boyd et al.
further suggests that these childhood experiences contribute to PTSD development, and worse
mental health outcomes in general for these groups (2018). As the differences in PTSD
development among military members and veterans are likely impacted by childhood

POSTTRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER IN CANADIAN POLICE OFFICERS
experiences, the development of PTSD in other first responders, such as police, is also highly
likely to be affected by the experience of childhood abuse.
Boyd et al. also discussed other studies with contradictory findings, such as the strength
of hyperarousal symptoms being the greatest indicator of impairment, while other studies find
emotional dysregulation to be the most consistent (2018). Boyd et al. found that first responders
employ peritraumatic dissociation, which is associated with greater likelihood of developing
PTSD (2018). This aligns with Marchand et al. (2015) research on the different stages identified
for evaluation. While the association is clear between dissociation and PTSD, the findings of
Boyd et al. (2018) and Marchand et al. (2015), necessitate further research into the different
stages, to determine if the presence of dissociation in the peritraumatic stage is a cause or effect
of PTSD. This would also broaden the understanding of the use of emotional regulation, the
psychological state of officers during critical incidents, and the relationship between these and
PTSD outcomes.
Boyd et al. (2018) findings of childhood abuse as a potential contributing factor also
suggests the need for a comprehensive analysis of the non-work related contributing factors. The
level of influence of non-work related factors on PTSD development could be greater than the
critical incidents officers are exposed to. The peritraumatic processes in the critical incidents
police are responding to in combination with adverse childhood experiences could also influence
PTSD development, along with variables mentioned in other studies, such as anxiety sensitivity
(AS), intolerance of uncertainty (IU). For example, the research article by Korol et al. (2021)
found AS and IU to be predictors of PTSD development but failed to investigate multiple factor
combinations, or the variances in childhood experiences of these officers. This and other factors

POSTTRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER IN CANADIAN POLICE OFFICERS
could be found to contribute to PTSD in combination with or at varying degrees compared to the
incidents which the PTSD assessments were instigated by.
Korol et al. (2021) research found that anxiety sensitivity and intolerance of uncertainty
were significant contributors to all mental disorders experienced among police officers in their
study, however this does not differentiate the presence of other mental disorders such as anxiety
and depression prior to PTSD development. These factors may be influential in the development
of PTSD in police officers, those with 1 mental disorder may be more likely to develop PTSD
when combined with other PTSD related symptomology. Korol et al. (2021) also found female
provincial and municipal officers to have higher levels of PTSD, however the impact of gender
as a variable is already significant in the general population. Females have higher rates of mental
disorders, therefore the rates in the provincial and municipal police may not be indicative of
work-related experiences (Korol et al., 2021). Additionally, the research was a cross-sectional
design which means it has poor validity, however it includes research on a Canadian sample of
police officers, making the results highly applicable to the current study (Korol et al., 2021).
Janssens et al. (2021) research focused on the evaluation of mental strength of police,
including resilience, hardiness and psychological capital, and the use of factors as predictors of
PTSD. The research found greater consistency in hardiness and psychological capital, whereas
resilience is often referred to as the ability of an officer to carry out their duties, yet the presence
of a mental illness may or may not alter their ability to work effectively. Janssens et al. (2021)
criticized the study of mental health as a dependent variable, arguing that the presence of a
mental illness may or may not hinder an officer’s ability to work effectively. Further, Janssens et
al., study suggests that the officer’s work performance is rarely measured in connection with
PTSD, which means the presence of a mental illness, in this case PTSD, should not be taken as

POSTTRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER IN CANADIAN POLICE OFFICERS
an indicator of the need for intervention (2021). The intervention required then would simply be
mental health focused from a holistic approach rather than in an attempt to address poor work
functioning, as the majority of studies do not evaluate work performance in connection to PTSD
symptoms.
In Carleton et al.’s (2018) research on the Road to Mental Readiness training (R2MR)
was based on a self-reporting measures, over 1 year, which does not effectively capture the
sudden nature of PTSD, or accurately reflect the long term impacts due to the changing nature of
PTSD symptomology. Regardless, the research was conducted on a sample of Canadian
municipal police officers, making it applicable to the current research. Additionally, there was
high interrater reliability from this study, as the results were consistent with other research
findings. The findings of Carleton et al. (2018) show that implementing an educational program
can change attitudes about mental health issues, however, the program’s impact on PTSD over
the course of the year was minimal. While the program had positive effects on the municipal
sample, on stigma related outcomes, the R2MR session did not have a significant impact on long
term mental health.
Research by Halpern et al. (2014) found that implementing a brief period of down time
after critical incidents is an effective method to reduce depressive symptoms in paramedics.
While these results are indicative of the positive impact on paramedics, it would likely have a
similarly relieving effect on police officers’ mental health. This could easily be used as a
mitigating strategy by implementing briefing break periods with adequate personnel coverage,
thereby reducing pressure on officers to return to work, following critical incidents.
While Horswill et al. research found RCMP officers have higher rates of PTSD than
municipal officers; high anxiety sensitivity, high intolerance of uncertainty, low social support,

POSTTRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER IN CANADIAN POLICE OFFICERS
and low optimism were statistically significantly associated with PTSD whereas greater PTSD
severity, high agreeableness, and more adverse childhood events were statistically significantly
associated with posttraumatic growth (2021). This study has high generalizability to Canadian
police because it included both RCMP and municipal officers, however there may still be
variances in municipal and federal agencies across Canada. This is a significant indicator that
RCMP departments, more so than municipal agencies, should be implementing programs to
better address mental health issues for their members. Alternatively, this may not be due to
organizational differences, as the research also found municipal officers showed higher levels of
protective factors. Therefore, the factor which contributes more to the higher rates of PTSD in
this case, is unclear. Comparing differences between RCMP and municipal agencies should be
done Canada-wide to better understand the causal relations, between the organizational and
individual protective factors, and would therefore determine whether changes should be
prioritized at the organizational or individual level.
Regehr et al. (2013) found the duration of employment and coping styles to be the most
significant factors associated with PTSD development in police communicators. In regard to the
coping styles, the researchers argue that cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is an effective
method to combatting PTSD. They attributed lower levels of PTSD to individuals partaking in
task-oriented coping. These results suggest that PTSD development may be attributed to
differences in coping mechanisms, rather than the specific traumatic experiences of the
individual officers. This could be significant in the prevention of PTSD, as the coping
mechanisms can be broken down into skills learnt to cope, prior to PTSD development, rather
than implementing this as a solution. If further studied, CBT could be used as a mechanism of
resilience against PTSD, thereby leading to a reduction in PTSD development.

POSTTRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER IN CANADIAN POLICE OFFICERS
Stelnicki et al. (2021) found that an individual’s increased emotional regulation, selfawareness and individual coping abilities decrease officer likelihood to develop PTSD. Stelnicki
et al. also argue that CBT has a mitigating effect on PTSD symptoms, further arguing that
incorporating an approach focused on resiliency through behavioural changes will aid in PTSD
prevention (2021). While Stelnicki et al. (2021) research did not distinguish between clinical
diagnoses and self-reported symptoms, their findings support the research by Regehr et al.
(2013), Park et al. (2021), and Carleton et al. (2018), therefore it was deemed valid for the
current research. Stelnicki et al. (2021), Regehr et al. (2013) and Park et al. (2021) research is
also supported by Marchand et al. (2015) which found an officer’s emotional regulation in the
peritraumatic state to have a significant role on PTSD development. The multitude of research
supporting the argument that emotional regulation is a crucial factor in PTSD development in
police officers indicates that the development of CBT programming prior to traumatic events
would be beneficial.
Doyle et al. (2021) study found that resiliency had a mitigating effect on role overload,
responsibility, and role boundary. The impact of resiliency was found to play a role in the
various symptoms of occupational stress, pointing again to the importance of differentiating
between agency and individual related factors, to determine their contribution to police officer
PTSD. This supports the aforementioned studies by Carleton et al. (2018) and Janssens et al.
(2021), which necessitate the development of research on resilience as a contributing factor to
officer PTSD development. However, the findings were insignificant in relation to the remainder
of the literature included, as Doyle et al. (2021) research did not prove any causation of these
symptoms to PTSD development, or contribute new information to the research.

POSTTRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER IN CANADIAN POLICE OFFICERS
Recommendations
Further research is necessary to determine specific risk factors’ contribution to officer
PTSD development. Specifically, evaluation of cognitive variables and their presence in the pretraumatic, peritraumatic and posttraumatic stages, and the impact of such variables should be
completed. Also, as Korol et al. (2021) suggested, further research in the area of anxiety
sensitivity and intolerance of uncertainty should be completed to develop interventions specific
to the maladaptive behavioural patterns present with these factors. The relationship between
anxiety sensitivity and intolerance of uncertainty should be further investigated to distinguish
other mental health related factors, as well as determine whether these are indeed risk factors,
previously present which are then exacerbated by the events, or are solely a result of the critical
events officers experience.
Conducting longitudinal studies specifically looking at PTSD symptomology and the
prevalence of anxiety and its related psychological symptoms in these stages would be useful to
determine the importance of the variables, as well as identify their prevalence at the different
stages. Longitudinal research like this would also benefit from the concurrent evaluation and
implementation of interventions, allow for the evaluation of multiple factors at different stages,
and the level of impact of each factor. This would also provide a clear indication of the impact of
specific prevention methods and interventions throughout the different stages. It is crucial to
develop an understanding of the effectiveness of various intervention strategies based on the
specific risk and protective factors present, further enabling agencies to screen and intervene
with appropriate timing.
It is imperative to determine whether individual or agency related factors play a greater
role in the development of PTSD, specifically, comparing the RCMP with municipal services
would be beneficial. The studies shared stark differences in PTSD and PTSD symptomology in

POSTTRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER IN CANADIAN POLICE OFFICERS
RCMP officers compared to those in municipal agencies. The studies did not determine a causal
relationship between factors, however the higher PTSD rates in RCMP officers are suspected to
be attributed to both two factors: poor organizational support, and isolation due to the nature of
RCMP jurisdiction. Determining these differences in specific agency and/or officer related risk
and protective factors between agencies would support PTSD prevention efforts, as well as hold
agencies accountable to addressing their potential contribution to serious mental health concerns.
Research should also be done to capture the significant personal characteristics in
individuals, differences in childhood/youth experiences, the family structure including parenting
presence and relationships, as well as previous occupations (other than military service) to
determine the contribution of these as risk and/or protective factors in police officer PTSD
development. Additionally, as Regehr et al. (2013) suggested, filling gaps in the research related
to individual officer coping methods and resiliency factors would be beneficial to implement
effective preventative programming. Analysis of burnout and job retention, as well as inclusion
of former employees in studies would be beneficial to supplement the research findings. Also,
future research should differentiate between behavioural and cognitive variables to determine the
individual's role and/or contribution to the development or prevention of PTSD. This should
include evaluation of physical factors such as the maintenance of a physical regime, maintenance
of social and familial relationships, and other health related factors, distinguishable from the
main focus on cognitive/psychological or mental health variables.

Conclusion
The research has provided an overview of PTSD in the context of Canadian police
officers. This can be used to advance training, determine susceptibility factors to PTSD,
implement specific screening measures, and therefore enable police agencies to adequately

POSTTRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER IN CANADIAN POLICE OFFICERS
identify, prevent and support officers' PTSD development. The identified factors and their
relation to PTSD needs to be further examined, however the correlation is clear between
cognitive/psychological variables and their connection to PTSD development. Levels of anxiety,
and other resiliency related psychological factors have risen to the surface, proving connected,
however, further research is necessary to determine causal relations between each variable and
PTSD. In preventing PTSD, the research largely supports the importance of emotional regulation
and self-awareness of an officer's emotional states. Also, the factors which contribute to higher
rates of PTSD in RCMP officers needs to specify the causes, whether agency or individually
specific. Resilience is of particular interest as a protective factor in the development of PTSD,
however, the research on this specific factor is inadequate.
Officers can become self-aware and further pursue self-development by taking
precautionary measures to prevent PTSD in the preparation of, or early stages of their careers, by
learning about the contributing factors, and the importance of developing healthy coping
mechanisms. By evaluating the existing literature, and providing a summary of findings on the
significance of the risk and protective variables on Canadian officers, proactive measures can be
taken to prevent PTSD development. Additionally, these findings can influence officer screening
at an organizational level to facilitate faster treatment implementation. This analysis of research
provides for complementary advancements in action plans to prevent and treat PTSD effectively.
The research is limited due to time restraints on the project, and further research into police
officer PTSD separate from the PTSD development of other first responders is critical to further
understand the specific variables and contributing factors to police officer PTSD susceptibility
and prevention.

POSTTRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER IN CANADIAN POLICE OFFICERS
Overall, there are many gaps in the current research on the risk and protective factors to
PTSD development in Canadian police officers and extensive research is required to support
and/or refute the current findings. Multiple suggestions arise from the authors of the articles
reviewed, however, many of the results included are seemingly based on speculation, as causal
relations have yet to be proven. To ensure more accurate results the research needs to be
conducted with professional psychological assessment, such as the study by Marchand et al.,
(2015) which differentiated PTSD from acute-stress disorder through clinical professionals.
To develop effective prevention measures, and better enable Canadian agencies to
support their members there needs to be more thorough research conducted which includes a
comprehensive overview of officers health, psychological, emotional, physical and socioeconomic variables, as well as childhood experiences to fully evaluate the level of impact of the
various factors, and determine the strength of such factors in combination. Lastly, the need for
longitudinal studies is necessary to discover whether certain individuals are more susceptible to
develop PTSD, and whether this can be prevented through organizational efforts, before
resources are distributed to these causes.

POSTTRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER IN CANADIAN POLICE OFFICERS
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