Conceptualizing Traumatic Stress in Police Officers: Preemployment, Critical Incident, and Organizational Influences

The nature of police work exposes officers to the prospect of repetitive experience of critical incidents that can affect their well-being. A progressive move from an almost total focus on tertiary intervention to one that advocates proactive primary intervention and recognition that traumatic events can elicit growth outcomes has highlighted a need to expand both the range of predictor variables assessed and sequelae that they predict. Recognition that repeat exposure may complicate reactions and the fact that officers may enter police work with a prior history of traumatic experience also call for an expansion in the scope of traumatic stress research in police officers. This article examines how preemployment traumatic experience, multiple-duty versus offduty events, and the organizational context influence traumatic stress symptoms and posttraumatic growth. It examines the role of these factors during the 1st year of police life and commences at officers' point of entry into police work. © 2006 Sage Publications.