Demographic and clinical characteristics of study participants
| Characteristic | Group; mean ± SD or no. (%) | Group differences | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PTSD (n = 38) | Trauma-exposed controls (n = 39) | Men | Women | |||||
| Men (n = 21) | Women (n = 27) | Men (n = 20) | Women (n = 19) | Statistic | p value | Statistic | p value | |
| Age, yr | 42.29 ± 9.83 | 38.84 ± 9.70 | 41.35 ± 10.62 | 38.06 ± 9.69 | t39 = −0.293 | 0.36 | t34 = 0.242 | 0.81 |
| Length of police service, yr | 16.29 ± 10.82 | 14.19 ± 10.47 | 18.42 ± 10.05 | 19.05 ± 9.90 | t39 = 0.926 | 0.36 | t34 = 1.692 | 0.10 |
| Educational level | χ2 = 0.928 | 0.12 | χ2 = 0.122 | 0.73 | ||||
| Low | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | ||||
| Middle | 14 (67) | 14 (88) | 16 (80) | 16 (84) | ||||
| High | 7 (33) | 2 (12) | 4 (20) | 3 (16) | ||||
| Symptom severity | ||||||||
| CAPS total score | 68.05 ± 15.62 | 67.35 ± 11.49 | 4.70 ± 4.79 | 4.68 ± 4.67 | t39 = −17.36 | < 0.001 | t34 = −21.87 | < 0.001 |
| CAPS re-experiencing | 20.95 ± 6.45 | 21.00 ± 5.30 | 0.70 ± 1.17 | 1.10 ± 1.97 | U < 0.001 | < 0.001 | U < 0.001 | < 0.001 |
| CAPS avoidance | 21.57 ± 7.97 | 22.65 ± 5.65 | 1.20 ± 2.35 | 0.68 ± 1.83 | U < 0.001 | < 0.001 | U < 0.001 | < 0.001 |
| CAPS hyperarousal | 25.71 ± 5.79 | 23.59 ± 4.37 | 2.80 ± 3.68 | 3.00 ± 3.07 | U < 0.001 | < 0.001 | U < 0.001 | < 0.001 |
| IES-R total score | 44.57 ± 14.51 | 39.82 ± 23.43 | 1.10 ± 1.85 | 1.72 ± 3.41 | U < 0.001 | < 0.001 | U = 4.000 | < 0.001 |
| Current comorbidity | ||||||||
| MDD | 4 (19) | 4 (24) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | — | — | — | — |
| Dysthymia | 2 (10) | 1 (6) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | — | — | — | — |
| Panic disorder | 1 (5) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | — | — | — | — |
| Specific phobia | 1 (5) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | — | — | — | — |
| HADS anxiety | 11.52 ± 0.71 | 12.47 ± 1.20 | 1.60 ± 0.39 | 3.02 ± 0.42 | t39 = −12.19 | < 0.001 | t34 = −7.41 | < 0.001 |
| HADS depression | 10.40 ± 1.01 | 10.01 ± 1.23 | 0.95 ± 0.35 | 0.47 ± 0.18 | t39 = −9.91 | < 0.001 | t34 = −12.95 | < 0.001 |
| Trauma history and alcohol use | ||||||||
| PLES | ||||||||
| No. of work-related traumatic experiences | 22.50 ± 5.95 | 13.47 ± 9.17 | 20.45 ± 6.42 | 19.74 ± 7.31 | t38 = −1.047 | 0.30 | t34 = 2.279 | 0.029 |
| No. of violent incidents | 9.65 ± 3.45 | 5.06 ± 4.46 | 8.30 ± 3.57 | 6.74 ± 3.63 | t38 = −1.215 | 0.23 | t34 = 1.242 | 0.22 |
| No. of confrontations with tragic incidents | 12.85 ± 3.38 | 8.41 ± 5.32 | 12.15 ± 3.33 | 13.00 ± 4.18 | t38 = −0.660 | 0.51 | t34 = 2.895 | 0.007 |
| ETI no. of different childhood traumatic experiences | 6.09 ± 4.55 | 5.12 ± 5.05 | 3.65 ± 2.35 | 4.42 ± 4.89 | t39 = −2.18 | 0.037 | t34 = −0.457 | 0.65 |
| AUDIT total score | 3.52 ± 3.40 | 4.06 ± 4.64 | 3.40 ± 1.67 | 3.10 ± 1.79 | U = 194 | 0.67 | U = 153.50 | 0.79 |
AUDIT = Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test; CAPS = Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale; ETI = Early Trauma Inventory; HADS = Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale; IES-R = Impact of Events Scale – Revised; MDD = major depressive disorder; PLES = Police Life Event Scale; PTSD = posttraumatic stress disorder; SD = standard deviation.