Maladaptive Defense Style and Traumatic Stress Reactions in a Specialized Unit of the South African Police Service

Abstract

ABSTRACT Police work has been recognized as high risk for exposure to traumatic events and the ensuing potential to develop posttraumatic stress disorder. However, not all officers exposed to traumatic events develop symptoms of traumatic stress, though they may continue to express subjective stress. Ego defense styles and the dispositional construct of sense of coherence (SOC) were identified as variables that impact on officers' stress responses. Fifty-one officers from a specialized unit with the South African Police Service completed several standardized self-report measures. Overall scores for subjective stress in the sample were elevated. The correlation analyses showed a stronger association of levels of traumatic stress with maladaptive defenses rather than with mature defenses. Similarly, hierarchical multiple regression indicated a stronger association for maladaptive defenses with traumatic stress rather than subjective stress. Overall results suggest that a model that includes maladaptive defenses can prove more informative when the primary objective is the assessment of traumatic stress responses.