Police Officers’ Ability in Recognizing Relevant Mental Health Conditions
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...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2021-09-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Psychology |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.727341/full |
| _version_ | 1818573691558035456 |
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| author | Linus Wittmann Gunter Groen Petra Hampel Ronja Petersen Astrid Jörns-Presentati |
| author_facet | Linus Wittmann Gunter Groen Petra Hampel Ronja Petersen Astrid Jörns-Presentati |
| author_sort | Linus Wittmann |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | 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. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-15T00:15:00Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-cfe5bf45ff9c4b638bdee5b012f5418a |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1664-1078 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-15T00:15:00Z |
| publishDate | 2021-09-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Psychology |
| spelling | doaj.art-cfe5bf45ff9c4b638bdee5b012f5418a2022-12-21T22:42:29ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychology1664-10782021-09-011210.3389/fpsyg.2021.727341727341Police Officers’ Ability in Recognizing Relevant Mental Health ConditionsLinus Wittmann0Gunter Groen1Petra Hampel2Ronja Petersen3Astrid Jörns-Presentati4Department of Health Psychology and Health Education, Europa-Universität Flensburg, Flensburg, GermanyDepartment of Social Work, University of Applied Sciences Hamburg, Hamburg, GermanyDepartment of Health Psychology and Health Education, Europa-Universität Flensburg, Flensburg, GermanyHamburg Police Academy, Hamburg, GermanyDepartment of Social Work, University of Applied Sciences Hamburg, Hamburg, GermanyThe 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.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.727341/fullindividuals with mental disorderstrainingmental health conditionsmental health literacypolice |
| spellingShingle | Linus Wittmann Gunter Groen Petra Hampel Ronja Petersen Astrid Jörns-Presentati Police Officers’ Ability in Recognizing Relevant Mental Health Conditions Frontiers in Psychology individuals with mental disorders training mental health conditions mental health literacy police |
| title | Police Officers’ Ability in Recognizing Relevant Mental Health Conditions |
| title_full | Police Officers’ Ability in Recognizing Relevant Mental Health Conditions |
| title_fullStr | Police Officers’ Ability in Recognizing Relevant Mental Health Conditions |
| title_full_unstemmed | Police Officers’ Ability in Recognizing Relevant Mental Health Conditions |
| title_short | Police Officers’ Ability in Recognizing Relevant Mental Health Conditions |
| title_sort | police officers ability in recognizing relevant mental health conditions |
| topic | individuals with mental disorders training mental health conditions mental health literacy police |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.727341/full |
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