Suicidal ideation and attempts in Norwegian police.
Studies on suicide among police show inconsistent results, thereby contributing to considerable speculation regarding why police officers commit suicide. The present paper is the first nationwide study on suicidal ideation and attempts among police. 3,272 Norwegian police completed Paykel's Suicidal Feelings in the General Population questionnaire. Lifetime prevalence of specific questionnaire items ranged from 24% for the feeling that life was not worth living, 6.4% for having seriously considered suicide, and 0.7% for attempted suicide. Independent predictors of serious suicidal ideation were marital status, subjective health complaints, reality weakness, anxiety, and depression. Serious suicidal ideation was mainly attributed to personal and family problems.
National Police Academy, Oslo, Norway. anne.m.berg@politihs.no
Anne Marie
AM
Berg
Erlend
E
Hem
Bjørn
B
Lau
Mitchell
M
Loeb
Oivind
O
Ekeberg
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D002055:Burnout, Professional / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009042:Motivation; D009664:Norway / Q000453:epidemiology; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D010555:Personality Inventory; D016495:Police / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012307:Risk Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013405:Suicide / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D013406:Suicide, Attempted / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D026712:Value of Life