Abstract
BackgroundPublic safety personnel (PSP; e.g., correctional workers and officers, firefighters, paramedics, police officers, public safety communications officials) are regularly exposed to potentially traumatic events and considerable uncertainty as part of their employment. Canadian PSP screen positively for mental disorders at much higher rates than the general population. Intolerance of uncertainty (IU) and anxiety sensitivity (AS) are empirically-supported vulnerability factors associated with the development and maintenance of mental disorders.MethodsThe present study was designed to assess IU and AS across PSP—a population regularly encountering uncertainty—with and without mental disorders (n = 4304; 33.3% women), and across normative clinical, community, and undergraduate samples. Further, the study examined the relationship between IU and AS and mental disorders among PSP.ResultsThere were significant differences across groups on IU and AS scores (ps < .001). All PSP, with and without a positive screen for a mental disorder, reported lower IU and AS than clinical samples; however, PSP without mental disorders reported lower IU and AS than all other groups (ps < .001).ConclusionIncreased resilience or the development of coping skills to manage regular exposures to uncertain threat may help explain why PSP reported low levels of IU and AS despite higher prevalence of mental disorders. Implications for PSP training and treatment are discussed.
Highlights
Public safety personnel (PSP; e.g., correctional workers and officers, firefighters, paramedics, police officers, public safety communications officials) are regularly exposed to potentially traumatic events and considerable uncertainty as part of their employment
Most PSP were from Western Canada, had some post-secondary education, and were English speaking
The most common mental disorders that PSP screened positive for were posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) followed by SAD, panic disorder (PD), and major depressive disorder (MDD) (See Table 2)
Summary
Public safety personnel (PSP; e.g., correctional workers and officers, firefighters, paramedics, police officers, public safety communications officials) are regularly exposed to potentially traumatic events and considerable uncertainty as part of their employment. Canadian PSP screen positively for mental disorders at much higher rates than the general population. Methods The present study was designed to assess IU and AS across PSP—a population regularly encountering uncertainty—with and without mental disorders (n = 4304; 33.3% women), and across normative clinical, community, and undergraduate samples. The study examined the relationship between IU and AS and mental disorders among PSP. All PSP, with and without a positive screen for a mental disorder, reported lower IU and AS than clinical samples; PSP without mental disorders reported lower IU and AS than all other groups (ps < .001). Conclusion Increased resilience or the development of coping skills to manage regular exposures to uncertain threat may help explain why PSP reported low levels of IU and AS despite higher prevalence of mental disorders.
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