Communication with police supervisors and peers as a buffer of work-related traumatic stress

Traumatic events are a particular type of stressor that may affect police officers engaged in front line duties. In this study, specific types of social support predicted to buffer the psychological and physical health effects of trauma are drawn from theory and empirical evidence in the area of post-traumatic stress. Social support, measured as the content of communication, and the ease of talking about trauma was tested with 527 working police officers who responded to a questionnaire survey. Hierarchical regression analysis showed that the communication variables contributed to the variance in post-traumatic stress disorder and physical symptoms with differential effects for different aspects of communication. Analysis of the effects of traumatic stress on symptoms for sub-groups at different levels of communication showed that some types of communication, such as the ease of talking about trauma or positive communications about work, moderate the effects of stress for police officers, in that higher levels are associated with a weaker trauma-strain relationship. However, some types of communication buffered stress only at moderate levels and other types may not be protective. These results are discussed in terms of the types and sources of social support that are likely to buffer post-traumatic stress at work. Copyright (C) 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.