Mental health of Royal Canadian Mounted Police after the first year of service

Why was the study done?

Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) are regularly exposed to potentially psychologically traumatic events (PPTEs), which include direct (e.g., happened to me) or indirect (e.g., part of my job) exposure to actual or threatened death, serious injury, or sexual violence. Exposures to PPTEs and other occupational stressors have been associated with several posttraumatic stress injuries (PTSIs), including but not limited to posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), social anxiety disorder (SAD), panic disorder (PD), alcohol use disorder (AUD), and major depressive disorder (MDD). To date, there have been no studies exclusively examining changes in mental health from completion of the RCMP Cadet training to one year of police service. Identifying such changes in mental health may help to reduce stigma, bolster arguments for early and ongoing mental health interventions and tools, and inform iterative improvements for mental health supports.

What was done in the study?

The current study draws on data from participants from the larger, 10-year RCMP Longitudinal PTSD Study, a part of a Federal Framework on PTSD. Participants were RCMP members (n=181; 72.8% male) finishing their first year of service, and assessments included: web-delivered surveys and clinical interviews assessing current and mental health disorder symptoms after their first year of service.  

What did we find out?

RCMP members after the first year of service reported higher symptom severity (all ds=.09 to .53, all ps<.05) and positive screens (all Zs=.05 to 3.32, all ps<.001) for PTSD, MDD, and SAD, compared to pre-deployment. 15.0% of the current sample also screened positive for one or more probable mental health disorders after the first year of service, compared to 7.2% at pre-deployment.

The current results bolster notions that PTSI prevalence among experienced RCMP is related to service experiences, rather than failures to screen out recruits who have pre-existing mental health challenges. The current results also evidence that mental health challenges can begin to develop as early as the first year of service. The current results underscore the need for evidence-based supports and longitudinal assessments, across the policing lifecycle, from initial training through to post-retirement, while also providing empirical evidence to support the continued development and deployment of organization-level PTSI mitigation strategies for all RCMP.