Mental Illness Stigma Expressed by Police to Police

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Criminology
• Public Health

Background:

• Mental health stigma within law enforcement is a critical issue impacting officer well-being and organizational dynamics.
• Existing stigma scales may not adequately capture the unique cultural nuances of police environments.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce and validate the 11-item Police Officer Stigma Scale (POSS) for measuring mental health stigma among police officers.
• To assess the psychometric properties, including factor structure and internal reliability, of the newly developed POSS.

Main Methods:

• The POSS was adapted from the Perceived Devaluation and Discrimination Scale, incorporating police-specific themes.
• Data were collected from officers attending a mandatory workshop, achieving a 90.5% response rate.
• Responses were measured on a 5-point agreement scale with a 'don't know' option.

Main Results:

• Exploratory factor analysis confirmed a unidimensional structure for the POSS, demonstrating strong internal reliability (Cronbach's alpha = 0.82).
• High agreement (85%) was found regarding avoiding disclosure of mental health issues to supervisors or colleagues.
• A majority of officers (62%) anticipated workplace discrimination and expressed reluctance (62%) to have a supervisor with a mental illness.

Conclusions:

• Police-to-police mental health stigma is a prominent characteristic within police cultures.
• Police officers represent a key demographic for the development and implementation of targeted anti-stigma initiatives.
• The POSS provides a reliable tool for quantifying mental health stigma in law enforcement settings.