Self-care mechanisms for police officers and military personnel exposed to terrorist documents : a thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Psychology at Massey University, Albany, New Zealand
Loading...
Date
2022
DOI
Open Access Location
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Massey University
Rights
The Author
Abstract
Introduction. Police officers and military personnel are exposed to a wide range of potentially traumatic incidents due to the nature of their work. These incidents include arriving first to accidents and instituting initial assessments and treatments of victims. Police and military work may involve child victims of crime and abuse, violent, individual, and mass incidents, body retrievals, search and rescue, among others. Police officers and military personnel are generally exposed to terrorist documents while on overseas deployments. Despite a growing awareness from the general public of the impact of terrorism on both victims and first responders, most of the literature has focussed directly on victims of terrorism rather than first responders. The literature has focused on acts of terrorism but not that of terrorist documents. Method. The qualitative Delphi Method was used to gain information on possible self-care mechanisms that police officers and military personnel can use to help mitigate the potentially damaging psychological effects of being exposed to terrorist documents. This information was collected via a two-part process using a questionnaire that was distributed via email. Results. A total of five participants were recruited, all of whom completed both parts one and two of the study. The results provided in-depth answers to various questions regarding exposure to terrorist documents, occupational and organisational variables and varying questions around self-care both at the individual and organisational level. The results highlighted both practical and conceptual ideas as to how psychologists who have worked with first responder populations suggest police officers and military personnel who are exposed to terrorist documents within their work can protect themselves. Discussion. The results of the study presented individuals and organisations with strategies and methods that police officers and military personnel can use to protect themselves from the potentially adverse effects of exposure to terrorist documents. Limitations and future research suggestions are discussed with a focus on how this study can be expanded to provide self-care strategies to a broader population of first responders and to support a broader range of potentially traumatic exposures.