Psychology Faculty

Permanent URI for this communityhttps://hdl.handle.net/10294/6517

Browse

Browsing Psychology Faculty by Author "Afifi, Tracie, O."

Filter results by typing the first few letters
Now showing 1 - 8 of 8
  • Thumbnail Image
    ItemOpen Access
    Assessing the impact of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) protocol and Emotional Resilience Skills Training (ERST) among diverse public safety personnel
    (BMC, 2022-12-09) Carleton, R. Nicholas; McCarron, Michelle; Krätzig, Gregory, P.; Sauer-Zavala, Shannon; Neary, Patrick, J.; Lix, Lisa, M.; Fletcher, Amber, J.; Camp II, Ronald, D.; Shields, Robyn, E.; Jamshidi, Laleh; Nisbet, Jolan; Maguire, Kirby, Q.; MacPhee, Renée, S.; Afifi, Tracie, O.; Jones, Nicholas, A.; Martin, Ronald, R.; Sareen, Jitender; Brunet, Alain; Beshai, Shadi; Anderson, Gregory, S.; Cramm, Heidi; MacDermid, Joy, C.; Ricciardelli, Rosemary; Rabbani, Rasheda; Teckchandani, Taylor, A.; Asmundson, Gordon, J. G.
    Public safety personnel (PSP; e.g., border services personnel, correctional workers, firefighters, paramedics, police, public safety communicators) are frequently exposed to potentially psychologically traumatic events. Such events contribute to substantial and growing challenges from posttraumatic stress injuries (PTSIs), including but not limited to posttraumatic stress disorder.
  • Thumbnail Image
    ItemOpen Access
    Assessing the Relative Impact of Diverse Stressors Among Public Safety Personnel
    (Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute, 2020-02-14) Carleton, R. Nicholas; Afifi, Tracie, O.; Taillieu, Tamara; Turner, Sarah; Mason, Julia, E.; Ricciardelli, Rosemary; McCreary, Donald, R.; Vaughan, Adam, D.; Anderson, Gregory, S.; McCreary, Rachel; Donnelly, Elizabeth, A.; Camp II, Ronald, D.; Groll, Dianne; Cramm, Heidi, A.; MacPhee, Renée, S.; Griffiths, Curt, T.
    Public Safety Personnel (PSP; e.g., correctional workers and officers, firefighters, paramedics, police officers, and public safety communications officials (e.g., call center operators/dispatchers)) are regularly exposed to potentially psychologically traumatic events (PPTEs). PSP also experience other occupational stressors, including organizational (e.g., staff shortages, inconsistent leadership styles) and operational elements (e.g., shift work, public scrutiny). The current research quantified occupational stressors across PSP categories and assessed for relationships with PPTEs and mental health disorders (e.g., anxiety, depression). The participants were 4820 PSP (31.7% women) responding to established self-report measures for PPTEs, occupational stressors, and mental disorder symptoms. PPTEs and occupational stressors were associated with mental health disorder symptoms (ps < 0.001). PSP reported substantial difficulties with occupational stressors associated with mental health disorder symptoms, even after accounting for diverse PPTE exposures. PPTEs may be inevitable for PSP and are related to mental health; however, leadership style, organizational engagement, stigma, sleep, and social environment are modifiable variables that appear significantly related to mental health.
  • Thumbnail Image
    ItemOpen Access
    Chronic pain among public safety personnel in Canada
    (Taylor and Francis Group, 2017-12-18) Carleton, R. Nicholas; Afifi, Tracie, O.; Turner, Sarah; Taillieu, Tamara; El-Gabalawy, Renée; Sareen, Jitender; Asmundson, Gordon, J. G.
    Chronic pain is highly prevalent in the general population and may be even higheramong public safety personnel (PSP; e.g., correctional officers, dispatchers, firefighters, paramedics,police). Comprehensive data on chronic pain among diverse Canadian PSP are relatively sparse.Aims: The current study was designed to provide initial estimates of chronic pain frequencyand severity among Canadian PSP.
  • Thumbnail Image
    ItemOpen Access
    Mental Health and Well-Being among Children of Public Safety Personnel in Canada
    (Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute, 2022-10-28) Stelnicki, Andrea, M.; Jamshidi, Laleh; Taillieu, Tamara; Carleton, R. Nicholas; Afifi, Tracie, O.
    Public safety personnel (PSP) often experience stress due to their occupational demands that affect the family environment (e.g., work-family conflict, marital breakdown, disruption to home routines, and holidays). A substantial base of research has focused on the impact of PSP work on the marital relationship, but fewer studies have focused specifically on children’s functioning within PSP families. The current study investigated mental health, well-being, and functioning among children of PSP in Canada, as reported by PSP. Data were collected between 2016 and 2017 as part of a large pan-Canadian study of PSP. Participants (n = 2092; 72.5% women) were PSP parents who responded to questions about their 4- to 17-year-old children. Overall, a substantial proportion of PSP parents reported their children have at least some difficulties with sadness (15.4%), worries and fear (22.0%), disobedience or anger (22.0%), attention (21.0%), and friendships (11.4%). Firefighters reported the fewest problems among their children compared to other PSP groups. Almost 40% of participants indicated that their child’s problems were related to their work as a PSP. The results highlight the need to find ways to identify children that are struggling and provide support to those families. Organizations and PSP leadership should develop and prioritize efforts to support families of PSP members, with the likely outcome of enhancing PSP member well-being.
  • Thumbnail Image
    ItemOpen Access
    Mental Health Training, Attitudes Towards Support, and Screening Positive for Mental Disorders
    (Taylor and Francis Group, 2019-02-22) Carleton, R. Nicholas; Afifi, Tracie, O.; Turner, Sarah; Taillie, Tamara; Vaughan, Adam, V.; Anderson, Gregory, S.; Ricciardelli, Rosemary; MacPhee, Renée, S.; Cramm, Heidi; Czarnuch, Stephen; Hozempa, Kadie; Camp, Ronald, D.
    Public Safety Personnel (PSP; e.g. correctional workers, dispatchers, firefighters, paramedics, police) are frequently exposed to potentially traumatic events (PTEs). Several mental health training program categories (e.g. critical incident stress management (CISM), debriefing, peer support, psychoeducation, mental health first aid, Road to Mental Readiness [R2MR]) exist as efforts to minimize the impact of exposures, often using cognitive behavioral therapy model content, but with limited effectiveness research. The current study assessed PSP perceptions of access to professional (i.e. physicians, psychologists, psychiatrists, employee assistance programs, chaplains) and non-professional (i.e. spouse, friends, colleagues, leadership) support, and associations between training and mental health. Participants included 4,020 currently serving PSP participants. Data were analyzed using cross-tabulations and logistic regressions. Most PSP reported access to professional and non-professional support; nevertheless, most would first access a spouse (74%) and many would never, or only as a last resort, access professional support (43–60%) or PSP leaders (67%). Participation in any mental health training category was associated with lower (p < .01) rates for some, but not all, mental disorders, with no robust differences across categories. Revisions to training programs may improve willingness to access professional support; in the interim, training and support for PSP spouses and leaders may also be beneficial.
  • Thumbnail Image
    ItemOpen Access
    Pervasive Uncertainty under Threat: Mental Health Disorders and Experiences of Uncertainty for Correctional Workers
    (SAGE Publications, 2022-07) Ricciardelli, Rosemary; Mitchell, Meghan; Taillieu, Tamara; Angehrn, Andreanne; Afifi, Tracie, O.
    Exposure to potentially psychologically traumatic events for correctional workers is high. However, the mechanisms driving the high prevalence are relatively unexplained. Using data from a cross-sectional, online survey of correctional service workers (n = 845) in Ontario, Canada, collected in 2017–2018, we assess the prevalence of mental disorders with a specific focus on uncertainty in the workplace and between correctional roles. We find that correctional officers, institutional governance, and probation/parole officers appear most at risk of mental disorders (prevalence of any mental disorder was 56.9%, 60.3%, and 59.2%, respectively). We argue slightly lower prevalence among institutional wellness, training, and administrative staff may result in part from their more predictable work environment, where they have more control. The results reaffirm a need for evidence-based proactive mental health activities, knowledge translation, and treatment and a need to explore how authority without control (i.e., unpredictability at work) can inform employee mental health.
  • Thumbnail Image
    ItemOpen Access
    Provincial Correctional Service Workers: The Prevalence of Mental Disorders
    (Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute, 2020-03-25) Carleton, R. Nicholas; Ricciardelli, Rosemary; Taillieu, Tamara; Mitchell, Meghan, M.; Andres, Elizabeth; Afifi, Tracie, O.
    Correctional service employees in Ontario, Canada (n = 1487) began an online survey available from 2017 to 2018 designed to assess the prevalence and correlates of mental health challenges. Participants who provided data for the current study (n = 1032) included provincial staff working in institutional wellness (e.g., nurses) (n = 71), training (e.g., program officers) (n = 26), governance (e.g., superintendents) (n = 82), correctional officers (n = 553), administration (e.g., record keeping) (n = 25 ), and probation officers (n = 144, parole officers). Correctional officers, workers in institutional administration and governance positions, and probation officers reported elevated risk for mental disorders, most notably posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and major depressive disorder. Among institutional correctional staff, 61.0% of governance employees, 59.0% of correctional officers, 43.7% of wellness staff, 50.0% of training staff, and 52.0% of administrative staff screened positive for one or more mental disorders. In addition, 63.2% of probation officers screened positive for one or more mental disorders. Women working as correctional officers were more likely to screen positive than men (p < 0.05). Across all correctional occupational categories positive screens for each disorder were: 30.7% for PTSD, 37.0% for major depressive disorder, 30.5% for generalized anxiety disorder, and 58.2% for one or more mental disorders. Participants between ages 40 and 49 years, working in institutional governance, as an institutional correctional officer, or as a probational officer, separated or divorced, were all factors associated (p < 0.05) with screening positive for one or more mental disorders. The prevalence of mental health challenges for provincial correctional workers appears to be higher than federal correctional workers in Canada and further supports the need for evidence-based mental health solutions.
  • Thumbnail Image
    ItemOpen Access
    Public Safety Personnel's interpretations of potentially traumatic events
    (Oxford University Press, 2020-02-10) Ricciardelli, Rosemary; Czarnuch, Stephen; Afifi, Tracie, O.; Taillieu, Tamara; Carleton, R. Nicholas
    Background Many public safety personnel (PSP) experience trauma directly or indirectly in their occupational role, yet there remain barriers to accessing care or seeking help.