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Stress in policing: research and practice
Edited by Professor Ronald Burke [York University, Canada]
It is believed that suicide is a leading cause of death among police officers ([7] Janik and Kravitz, 1994) and that policing, as an occupational group is dangerous, stressful and associated with high levels of suicide ([6] Hill and Clawson, 1988; [19] Violanti, 1995a, [20] b; [12] Mohandie and Hatcher, 1999).
Methodological problems limit the usefulness of many of the studies concluding that suicide rates are higher among police officers than in the general population ([5] Hem et al. , 2001). These limitations include small sample sizes, different time periods covered, a failure to consider the type of police work being done and regional variations in the general suicide rate. In addition, it is difficult to specify an appropriate comparison group. [5] Hem et al. (2001) conducted a systematic review of the published literature and conclude that the data on rates of police suicide compared to other groups are inconclusive. They advocate continued but improved research on this topic as well as systemic studies on attempted suicide and suicidal ideation among police.
It is still important to better understand suicide, attempted suicide and suicidal ideation among police officers ([2] Baker and Baker, 1996; [19] Violanti, 1995a). As [21] Violanti (1996) has observed, the sometimes violent nature of police work and the attitudes needed to protect officers from such violence affects their psychological makeup, firearms are readily available and the rigid nature of police organizations and the police role reduces flexibility.
This study considers the role of various predictors of suicidal ideation among a large sample of police officers in Norway. Suicidal ideation is likely to be associated with suicide attempts ([22] Weismann et al. , 1999; [18] Vandivorte and Locke, 1979). Most previous studies have been undertaken in North America and Europe ([1] Abdollahi, 2002). It has been suggested that models of policing differ in various countries, with Norway reflecting an approach to policing that is different from the prevailing North American approach.
This study examines predictors of suicidal ideation among police officers. A research model was developed based on the police suicide literature ([14] Rudd, 1990) to both guide the selection of variables to be included in the study and...