Date of Conferral

2021

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Psychology

Advisor

Michael Plasay

Abstract

The purpose of this quantitative, correlational nonexperimental research was to examine the relationship between the mental health education received through Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) training and the perceptions of public mental health stigma, self-stigma, and attitudes toward seeking mental health services among law enforcement officers. The study’s theoretical framework integrated gender-role conflict theory and Goffman’s stigma theory in explaining the influence of the police culture on officers’ adoption of more traditional masculine roles. This research used three instruments: the Attitudes to Mental Illness questionnaire to measure perceptions of public stigma, the Self-Stigma of Seeking Help Scale to measure self-stigma, and the Inventory of Attitudes Toward Seeking Mental Health Services to measure attitudes toward seeking mental health services. The sample consisted of 48 law enforcement officers from across the United States who completed an online 60-question survey. A multivariate analysis of variance revealed no mean differences in perceptions of public stigma, self-stigma, and attitudes toward seeking mental health between CIT-trained and non-CIT-trained officers. This finding indicated that mental health education received through CIT training did not predict perceptions of stigma or attitudes toward seeking mental health services. Future research could compare law enforcement departments and employ longitudinal designs. Research findings have the potential to effect positive social change by bringing awareness of the need for improving mental health training for law enforcement. Such efforts are likely to enrich the mental health quality of officers and the communities they serve.

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