title: Violence and psychological distress among police officers and security guards.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Police officers and security guards are more exposed to violence during their work duties than the general workforce and it can damage their psychological health. Still research on specific forms of violence and a potential pathway through which violence may affect distress is scarce.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study was to investigate the association of two forms of violence with distress among police officers and security guards and whether personal worry about future violence mediates this association.
  
  
  METHODS
  Violence was specified as physically violent acts and threats or assaults with a deadly weapon. Symptoms of psychological distress were measured using the General Health Questionnaire-12 scale.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Analyses of 1993 completed responses (response rate 58%) showed that the odds ratio of distress for 'physically violent acts was' 1.67 (95% CI = 1.11-2.51) and for 'threats or assaults with a deadly weapon' 1.62 (95% CI = 1.20-2.17). When personal worry about future violence was taken into account, the association between exposure to physically violent acts and distress was completely broken. Instead, with the same adjustment, the association between exposure to threats or assaults with a deadly weapon and distress held. The results indicate that the association between physically violent acts and distress is mediated by personal worry about future violence, while threats or assaults with a deadly weapon had a stronger and independent association with distress.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  It is concluded that there is association between violence and distress. Personal worry about future violence mediates this association.
authors.affiliation: Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, Topeliuksenkatu 41aA, FI-00250 Helsinki, Finland. tuula.leino@ttl.fi
authors.forename: T M
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Leino
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Selin
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Summala
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Virtanen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D005387:Finland / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D016273:Occupational Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects*; D016017:Odds Ratio; D016495:Police; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014754:Violence; D055815:Young Adult