Inevitable Loss and Prolonged Grief in Police Work: An Unexplored Topic

Frontiers in Psychology

article

Konstantinos Papazoglou¹  Daniel M. Blumberg²  Peter I. Collins³  Michael D. Schlosser⁵  George A. Bonanno⁶ 

[1] Yale School of Medicine, United States;California School of Professional Psychology at Alliant International University, United States;Division of Forensic Psychiatry, University of Toronto;Criminal Behaviour Analysis Section;Police Training Institute of Illinois, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, United States;Teachers College, Columbia University of New York, United States

关键词: death;    loss;    prolonged grief;    bereavement;    law enforcement;    health;    wellbeing;    performance;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01178

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: Frontiers

【 摘 要 】

The present manuscript presents foundational constructs related to death and loss (i.e., grief, bereavement, prolonged grief) providing empirical findings from recent research on the impact of death and loss on police officers’ health, behavior, and overall functioning. Police officers are routinely exposed to death. In many instances, officers’ contact with decedents includes, among others, victims of accidents, catastrophes, or violent crimes and witnessing the intense emotional suffering of relatives of the deceased. Additionally, it is not uncommon for officers to experience the loss of fellow officers from on-duty deaths and permanent, career-ending injuries. Simultaneously, like everyone, police officers have to cope with deaths of loved ones in their personal lives. The result is that officers’ health and well-being are likely compromised because of the systematic exposure to on- and off-duty deaths. In this perspective paper, death and loss in law enforcement are explored in an attempt to raise awareness and increase attention to this area of police work. In addition, the authors list a number of prophylactic intervention strategies that would support officers cope with the impact of loss and death and promote their own resilience.

【 授权许可】

CC BY