Date of Conferral

2023

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Psychology

Advisor

Jana Price-Sharps

Abstract

Law enforcement officers are plagued by a variety of traumatic incidents and organizational stressors. As a result, officers are more likely to use maladaptive coping skills and develop stress-related disorders. The purpose of this study was to identify the predictive relationship between substance use, alcohol use, and posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS)/dissociation symptoms in 107 law enforcement officers using the Personal Observation Wellness and Evaluation Report- POWER Portfolio survey through an archival dataset. Lazurus and Folkman’s transactional model of stress and coping was used for the theoretical understanding of the current study. The independent variable for this study was PTSS as measured by the Dissociation/PTSD scale of the POWER Portfolio survey. The dependent variables for this study included substance abuse and alcohol use as measured by the Substance Use scale of the POWER Portfolio survey. Two simple regression analyses were used to identify any predictive relationships between PTSS, alcohol use, and substance use. Data used in this study were archival data provided by a nonprofit company. The results of this study indicated a statistically significant relationship between PTSS, alcohol use, and substance use. While this does not indicate causality, it does indicate the officers’ PTSS were likely to impact their use of substances and alcohol. Implications for positive social change include the development and access to mental health services and programs, focusing not only on PTSS but on substance use and other mental health disorders for law enforcement officers.

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