Intrapersonal and Organisational Predictors of Psychological Help-Seeking in a UK Police Force

Abstract

Police officers experience multiple operational, organisational, and contextual stressors, which impact wellbeing and have significant repercussions for the economy and public safety. However, officers often feel unable to seek psychological help. Quantitative research has investigated over 100 potential correlates and predictors of police help-seeking attitudes, but most variables have been examined only once, or results are inconsistent across studies. The current cross-sectional study investigated the role of current psychological distress, mental health literacy, distress disclosure, organisational stigma, and length of service as predictors of help-seeking attitudes in one UK police force. Ninety-seven officers completed an online survey. Multiple regression analyses indicated that all variables except length of service were significant predictors of police help-seeking attitudes, with distress disclosure having the largest effect. The current findings are broadly consistent with existing literature. The high proportion of variance explained by the predictors suggests that it may be worth researching interventions which target mental health literacy, distress disclosure, and organisational stigma. Moreover, the finding that participants experiencing greater distress were less likely to seek help highlights the importance of organisational proactivity to ensure police officers access psychological support.