Abstract
The recognition of certain mental health conditions is important as this requires police officers to communicate and behave in an adjusted manner with affected individuals. The objective of the present study was to test police officers’ knowledge about mental health symptoms as a component of their mental health literacy (MHL) and to examine if police officers’ perceived knowledge corresponds with their actual knowledge. A questionnaire was used to assess for MHL representing mental health conditions which occur frequently in police requests (schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depression, post-traumatic stress disorders, and emotionally unstable personality disorder). Furthermore, the questionnaire assessed the frequency of police requests, the officers’ perceived knowledge regarding mental disorders and their sense of feeling sufficiently trained to deal with these kinds of requests. Eighty-two police officers participated in the study. Police officers’ actual knowledge about mental health conditions did not correspond with their perceived knowledge. Participants revealed a moderately high level of overall knowledge which differed with regard to symptoms of each of the five mental health conditions. The mental status of a paranoid schizophrenia was best identified by the police officers and the majority correctly allocated the symptoms. Post-traumatic stress disorders and manic episodes were only identified by a minority of police offers. Police training geared to prepare for requests involving individuals with mental disorders should expand this limited knowledge transfer and focus on a broader variety of mental health conditions that police officers frequently encounter in requests.
Highlights
There is a large body of research examining interactions between police forces and individuals with a mental health condition (Vigours and Quy, 2017)
The majority of participants (n = 47; 57.3%) reported they had felt tense during interactions with individuals with mental disorders, about a quarter (24.4%) of the participants felt safe, 14 (17.1%) participants felt uncomfortable, and one (1.2%) participant felt overwhelmed
Police officers revealed a differentiated knowledge about mental disorders in general: A diagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia was identified most frequently by participants (62%) and the majority correctly allocated the respective symptoms to the disorder
Summary
There is a large body of research examining interactions between police forces and individuals with a mental health condition (Vigours and Quy, 2017). It is thought that the ability to recognize and identify certain mental health conditions enables police officers to adjust their communication strategies and behavior with a focus on procedural justice, empathy and patience to prevent the risk of escalating violence and traumatic experiences (Desmarais et al, 2014; Livingston et al, 2014a; Wittmann et al, 2021b). Knowledge about and recognition of mental health conditions is one component of the mental health literacy (MHL) concept. Components of MHL include (a) the ability to recognize specific disorders or psychological distress; (b) knowledge and beliefs about risk factors and causes; (c) knowledge and beliefs about self-help interventions; (d) knowledge and beliefs about available professional help; (e) attitudes which facilitate recognition and help-seeking; and (f) knowledge of how to seek mental health information (Jorm, 2000)
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