Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 6, 2026

Color Spot Test As a Presumptive Tool for the Rapid Detection of Synthetic Cathinones
Published on: February 5, 2018
Characteristics of police officer suicides in the Federal Austrian Police Corps
N D Kapusta1, M Voracek, E Etzersdorfer
1Department of Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy, Medical University of Vienna, Währinger Gürtel 18–20, Vienna, Austria. nestor.kapusta@meduniwien.ac.at
Background:
Suicide rates among police officers may be high because of strong occupational stressors.
Aims:
This study examined the suicide rate and suicide characteristics among police officers in the Federal Austrian Police Force.
Methods:
All suicides among policemen during the period 1996-2006 were analyzed retrospectively on the basis of personalized police record files from all Austrian police departments. Information on sex, age, marital status, children, region, method and place of suicide, suicide notes, position, and length of service was extracted from these files. The general Austrian population, adjusted for sex and age composition, served as the comparison group.
Results:
The suicide rate among male police officers was 30.2/100,000 (SD 11.0), which was comparable to the suicide rate in the adjusted general population (30.5/100,000; SD 2.9). The female police officer suicide rate was 1.8/100,000, while the corresponding suicide rate of the adjusted female general population was 12.5/100,000 (SD 1.7). Firearms were the most frequent suicide method (77.8%), and the incidence of suicide notes was 30.8%.
Conclusions:
Suicide rates among police officers seem comparable to those of the age-adjusted general population. Given the healthy-worker effect, these results still suggest an increased risk of suicide among police officers. These findings should stimulate further research on stressors and risk factors for suicide among officers and should also encourage departments to increase awareness regarding suicidal signs among officers.
Related Concept Videos
Obedience
Healthcare Agencies II
Parish nursing is a growing specialty nursing profession that focuses on holistic healthcare, health promotion, and illness prevention. It blends professional nursing practice with a health ministry, focusing on health and healing within the context of a Christian community. Parish nurses serve as health educators, referral sources, and lay...
Deindividuation
Stress Prevention and Stress Management Techniques II
Type A Personality: Driven and Easily Stressed
Individuals with Type A personalities are often highly competitive and ambitious and operate with a strong sense of urgency. Commonly labeled as "workaholics," they...
Bystander Effect
The Stanford Prison Experiment
