ArticleBMC psychiatry2021
Mental health screening amongst police officers: factors associated with under-reporting of symptoms.
Article in BMC psychiatry, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 25 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
25 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 61 citations in OpenAlex.
- Comparing the molecular correlates of PTSD in first responders and the broader molecular PTSD literature: a hybrid review.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Pooled it
- Assessment of the Mental Health of Police Officers: A Systematic Review of Specific Instruments.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2024Pooled it
- Workplace mental health screening: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Occupational and environmental medicine · 2023Pooled it
- Disclosure of Mental Health Problems or Suicidality at Work: A Systematic Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Pooled it
- A multisite feasibility randomized clinical trial of mindfulness-based resilience training for aggression, stress, and health in law enforcement officers.BMC complementary medicine and therapies · 2024Trial
- Mental Health of First Responders in Rural Australia: A Qualitative Exploration of Intersecting Individual, Organisational and Contextual Factors on Psychological Wellbeing.International journal of mental health nursing · 2026Article
- Disclosing depressive symptoms: perceived sensitivity of PHQ-9 items in a general population sample.BMC psychology · 2026Article
- Trauma exposure, post-traumatic stress disorder and alcohol and other drug use among Australian public safety personnel.The Australian and New Zealand journal of psychiatry · 2025Article
- Rural Contexts: Digital Interventions and Strategies for First Responders' Mental Health.International journal of mental health nursing · 2025Article
- Social Determinants of Suicide and Suicidality in Serving Military Personnel: A Global Scoping Review.Health promotion journal of Australia : official journal of Australian Association of Health Promotion Professionals · 2025Article
- Royal Canadian Mounted Police cadets' exposure to potentially psychologically traumatic events during the Cadet Training Program.Journal of traumatic stress · 2025Article
- A Self-Assessment Tool for Helping Identify Police Burnout Among Investigators of Child Sexual Abuse Material.AJPM focus · 2024Article
- Healthy educators need healthy schools: Supporting educator work-related well-being through multitiered systems of support.School psychology (Washington, D.C.) · 2024Article
- Mental Disorders and Mental Health Promotion in Police Officers.Health psychology research · 2024Article
- Development of a stepped care intervention model of evidence-based interventions for the management of posttraumatic stress in the Belgian Police.European journal of psychotraumatology · 2024Article
- The mental health of officials who regularly examine child sexual abuse material: strategies for harm mitigation.BMC psychiatry · 2023Article
- Trends in Collegiate Student-Athlete Mental Health in the National College Health Assessment, 2011-2019.Journal of athletic training · 2023Article
- Correlates of intimate relationship satisfaction among investigators of child sexual abuse material.Frontiers in public health · 2023Article
- Posttraumatic stress disorder in Belgian police officers: prevalence and the effects of exposure to traumatic events.European journal of psychotraumatology · 2023Article
- Prevalence and correlates of suicidal ideation in World Trade Center responders: Results from a population-based health monitoring cohort.Journal of affective disorders · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundMental health screening in the workplace aims to identify employees who are becoming symptomatic, in order to provide timely support and evidence-based interventions to those affected. Given the stigma associated with mental illness, accurate disclosure of mental health symptoms cannot be assumed. The present study sought to investigate factors associated with the accurate reporting of mental health symptoms amongst police officers.
methodsA total of 90 serving police officers completed identical mental health screening surveys, one administered by the employer and the other anonymously by an independent organisation. Responses were then linked to compare differences in the number and severity of mental health symptoms reported on each questionnaire.
resultsComparisons of matched self-report scores indicated that employees under-reported symptoms of mental health disorders when completing screening administered by their employer, with only 76.3% of symptoms declared. Under-reporting occurred regardless of gender and symptom type. Less senior staff (p = 0.05) and those with the most severe post-traumatic stress disorder and common mental disorder symptoms (p = 0.008) were significantly more likely to under-report symptoms.
conclusionsEmployer-administered mental health screening is not able to accurately capture all mental health symptoms amongst first responders. The fact that the severity of symptoms predicted the level of under-reporting means that simple changes to cut-off values cannot correct this problem.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.