Diagnostic results of psychiatric evaluations of state police officers

Twenty-six state police officers referred by their department or self-referred were evaluated by a university department of psychiatry over a 28-month period. The most common primary diagnosis was adjustment disorder, followed by substance abuse and personality disorder. Sixteen of the officers were assessed to be psychiatrically capable of returning to duty; concurrent outpatient treatment was recommended for most of them. The most challenging cases for evaluation were those involving psychiatric symptoms after trauma on duty, behavioral manifestations of personality disorder, and substance abuse.