Protecting the Protectors: Moral Injury, Coping Styles, and Mental Health of UK Police Officers and Staff Investigating Child Sexual Abuse Material.
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| Title: | Protecting the Protectors: Moral Injury, Coping Styles, and Mental Health of UK Police Officers and Staff Investigating Child Sexual Abuse Material. |
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| Authors: | Conway, Paul (AUTHOR), Redmond, Theresa (AUTHOR), Lundrigan, Samantha (AUTHOR), Davy, Deanna (AUTHOR), Bailey, Simon (AUTHOR), Lee, Peter (AUTHOR), Landi, Giulia (AUTHOR) |
| Source: | Depression & Anxiety (1091-4269). 11/23/2024, Vol. 2024, p1-25. 25p. |
| Subjects: | Child pornography, Mental illness, Harm (Ethics), Post-traumatic stress disorder, Police, Sexual assault |
| Abstract: | Police officers and staff who investigate child sexual abuse material (CSAM) may be at elevated risk for mental health problems, which may be mitigated or exacerbated by institutional and interpersonal factors. The current work examined mental health in a large sample of UK CSAM investigators (N = 661). Results suggest substantially elevated rates of depression and anxiety but not posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Feeling successful and supported powerfully buffered against negative outcomes, whereas moral injury—particularly feelings of institutional betrayal—predicted worse outcomes. Although exposure to CSAM and contact with victims predicted worse outcomes, these effects were much smaller. Regarding coping styles, self‐blame, rumination, catastrophizing, withdrawal, ignoring, and negative religious coping predicted worse outcomes, whereas positive refocusing, seeking distraction, and social support were effective. These results held controlling for demographics. These results suggest that UK CSAM police officers and staff experience elevated depression and anxiety, but institutional and interpersonal support can buffer outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
| Copyright of Depression & Anxiety (1091-4269) is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) | |
| Database: | Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection |
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| Abstract: | Police officers and staff who investigate child sexual abuse material (CSAM) may be at elevated risk for mental health problems, which may be mitigated or exacerbated by institutional and interpersonal factors. The current work examined mental health in a large sample of UK CSAM investigators (N = 661). Results suggest substantially elevated rates of depression and anxiety but not posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Feeling successful and supported powerfully buffered against negative outcomes, whereas moral injury—particularly feelings of institutional betrayal—predicted worse outcomes. Although exposure to CSAM and contact with victims predicted worse outcomes, these effects were much smaller. Regarding coping styles, self‐blame, rumination, catastrophizing, withdrawal, ignoring, and negative religious coping predicted worse outcomes, whereas positive refocusing, seeking distraction, and social support were effective. These results held controlling for demographics. These results suggest that UK CSAM police officers and staff experience elevated depression and anxiety, but institutional and interpersonal support can buffer outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
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| ISSN: | 10914269 |
| DOI: | 10.1155/da/1854312 |
