Browsing by Author "Brunet, Alain"

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    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, J. Patrick; Lix, Lisa M.; Fletcher, Amber J.; Camp, 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.
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    Daily survey participation and positive changes in mental health symptom scores among Royal Canadian Mounted Police Cadets
    (Frontiers, 2023-08-04) Shields, Robyn, E.; Teckchandani, Taylor A.; Asmundson, Gordon J.G.; Nisbet, Jolan; Krakauer, Rachel L.; Andrews, Katie L.; Maguire, Kirby Q.; Jamshidi, Laleh; Afifi, Tracie O.; Lix, Lisa M.; Brunet, Alain; Sauer-Zavala, Shannon; Krätzig, Gregory P.; Neary, J. Patrick; Sareen, Jitender; Carleton, R. Nicholas
    Introduction: Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) officers self-report high levels of mental health disorder symptoms, such as alcohol use disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, major depressive disorder, panic disorder, and posttraumatic stress disorder. Participation in regular mental health monitoring has been associated with improved mental health disorder symptom reporting and may provide an accessible tool to support RCMP mental health. The current study assessed relationships between self-reported mental health disorder symptoms and the completion of daily surveys (i.e., daily mental health disorder symptom monitoring) by RCMP cadets during the Cadet Training Program (CTP). Methods: Participants were RCMP cadets (n = 394; 76.1% men) in the Standard Training Program who completed the 26-week CTP and daily self-monitoring surveys, as well as full mental health assessments at pre-training (i.e., starting the CTP) and pre-deployment (i.e., ~2 weeks prior to deployment to the field). Symptoms of alcohol use disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, major depressive disorder, panic disorder, and posttraumatic stress disorder were assessed. Changes in mental health disorder symptom reporting from pre-training to pre-deployment were calculated. Spearman’s rank correlations were estimated for number of daily surveys completed and change in mental health disorder symptom scores between pre-training and pre-deployment. Results: There were statistically significant inverse relationships between number of daily surveys completed and number of mental health disorder symptoms reported; specifically, cadets who completed more daily surveys during CTP reported fewer symptoms of alcohol use disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, major depressive disorder, panic disorder, and posttraumatic stress disorder. Conclusion: An inverse correlation between number of daily surveys completed and mental health disorder symptom scores indicated that participation in daily mental health monitoring was associated with improvements in self-reported mental health disorder symptoms between pre-training and pre-deployment. Regular self-monitoring of mental health disorder symptoms may help to mitigate mental health challenges among RCMP cadets and officers.
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    Mental Disorder Symptoms among Public Safety Personnel in Canada
    (SAGE Publications, 2017-08-28) Carleton, R. Nicholas; Afifi, Tracie O.; Turner, Sarah; Taillieu, Tamara L.; Duranceau, Sophie; LeBouthillier, Daniel, M.; Sareen, Jitender; Ricciardelli, Rosemary; MacPhee, Renée, S.; Groll, Dianne; Hozempa, Kadie; Brunet, Alain; Weekes, John R.; Griffiths, Curt T.; Abrams, Kelly J.; Jones, Nicholas A.; Beshai, Shadi; Cramm, Heidi; Dobson, Keith S.; Hatcher, Simon; Keane, Terence M.; Stewart, Sherry H.; Asmundson, Gordon J.G.
    Canadian public safety personnel (PSP; e.g., correctional workers, dispatchers, firefighters, paramedics, police officers) are exposed to potentially traumatic events as a function of their work. Such exposures contribute to the risk of developing clinically significant symptoms related to mental disorders. The current study was designed to provide estimates of mental disorder symptom frequencies and severities for Canadian PSP.
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    Mental health disorder symptom changes among public safety personnel after emotional resilience skills training.
    (Elsevier Inc., 2025-02-05) Carleton, R. Nicholas; Sauer-Zavala, Shannon; Teckchandani, Taylor A.; Maguire, Kirby Q.; Jamshidi, Laleh; Shields, Robyn, E.; Afifi, Tracie O.; Nisbet, Jolan; Andrews, Katie L.; Stewart, Sherry H.; Fletcher, Amber J.; Martin, R; MacPhee, Renée, S.; MacDermid, J.C.; Keane, Terence M.; Brunet, Alain; McCarron, Michelle C. E.; Lix, Lisa M.; Jones, N.A.; Krätzig, Gregory P.; Neary, J. Patrick; Anderson, Gregory S.; Ricciardelli, Rosemary; Cramm, Heidi; Sareen, Jitender; Asmundson, Gordon J.G.
    Public safety personnel (PSP) are frequently exposed to psychologically traumatic events. The exposures potentiate posttraumatic stress injuries (PTSIs), including posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) Protocol was designed to mitigate PTSIs using ongoing monitoring and PSP-delivered Emotional Resilience Skills Training (ERST) based on the Unified Protocol for the Transdiagnostic Treatment of Emotional Disorders. The current study pilot-tested ERST effectiveness among diverse PSP.
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    Mental Health of Royal Canadian Mounted Police at the Start of the Cadet Training Program
    (SAGE Publications, 2023-05-02) Carleton, R. Nicholas; Jamshidi, Laleh; Maguire, Kirby Q.; Lix, Lisa M.; Stewart, Sherry H.; Afifi, Tracie O.; Sareen, Jitender; Andrews, Katie L.; Jones, Nicholas A.; Nisbet, Jolan; Sauer-Zavala, Shannon; Neary, J. Patrick; Brunet, Alain; Krätzig, Gregory P.; Fletcher, Amber J.; Teckchandani, Taylor A.; Keane, Terence M.; Asmundson, Gordon J.G.
    Objective Serving Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) have screened positive for one or more mental disorders based on self-reported symptoms with substantial prevalence (i.e., 50.2%). Mental health challenges for military and paramilitary populations have historically been attributed to insufficient recruit screening; however, cadet mental health when starting the Cadet Training Program (CTP) was unknown. Our objective was to estimate RCMP Cadet mental health when starting the CTP and test for sociodemographic differences. Method Cadets starting the CTP completed a survey assessing self-reported mental health symptoms (n = 772, 72.0% male) and a clinical interview (n = 736, 74.4% male) with a clinician or supervised trainee using the Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview to assess current and past mental health. Results The percentage of participants screening positive for one or more current mental disorders based on self-reported symptoms (15.0%) was higher than the diagnostic prevalence for the general population (10.1%); however, based on clinical interviews, participants were less likely to screen positive for any current mental disorder (6.3%) than the general population. Participants were also less likely to screen positive for any past mental disorder based on self-report (3.9%) and clinical interviews (12.5%) than the general population (33.1%). Females were more likely to score higher than males (all ps<.01; Cohen's ds .23 to .32) on several self-report mental disorder symptom measures. Conclusions The current results are the first to describe RCMP cadet mental health when starting the CTP. The data evidenced a lower prevalence of anxiety, depressive, and trauma-related mental disorders than the general population based on clinical interviews, contrasting notions that more rigorous mental health screening would reduce the high prevalence of mental disorders among serving RCMP. Instead, protecting RCMP mental health may require ongoing efforts to mitigate operational and organizational stressors.
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    Potentially Psychologically Traumatic Event Exposure Histories of new Royal Canadian Mounted Police Cadets
    (SAGE Publications, 2023-02-05) Andrews, Katie L.; Jamshidi, Laleh; Nisbet, Jolan; Brunet, Alain; Afifi, Tracie O.; Asmundson, Gordon J.G.; Fletcher, Amber J.; Maguire, Kirby Q.; Teckchandani, Taylor A.; Lix, Lisa M.; Sauer-Zavala, Shannon; Sareen, Jitender; Keane, Terence M.; Neary, J. Patrick; Carleton, R. Nicholas
    Objective Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) report extremely frequent and varied exposures to potentially psychologically traumatic events (PPTEs). While occupational exposures to PPTEs may be one explanation for the symptoms of mental disorders prevalent among serving RCMP, exposures occurring prior to service may also play a role. The objective of the current study was to provide estimates of lifetime PPTE exposures among RCMP cadets in training and assess for associations with mental disorders or sociodemographic variables. Methods RCMP cadets (n  =  772; 72.0% male) beginning the Cadet Training Program (CTP) completed a survey assessing self-reported PPTE exposures as measured by the Life Events Checklist for the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders Fifth Edition-Extended. Binomial tests were conducted to compare the current results to previously collected data from the general population, a diverse sample of public safety personnel (PSP) and serving RCMP. Results Cadets reported statistically significantly fewer PPTE exposures for all PPTE types than serving RCMP (all p’s < 0.001) and PSP (all p’s < 0.001) but more PPTE exposures for all PPTE types than the general population (all p’s < 0.001). Cadets also endorsed fewer PPTE types (6.00  ±  4.47) than serving RCMP (11.64  ±  3.40; p < 0.001) and other PSP (11.08  ±  3.23) but more types than the general population (2.31  ±  2.33; p < 0.001). Participants who reported being exposed to any PPTE type reported the exposures occurred 1–5 times (29.1% of participants), 6–10 times (18.3%) or 10  +  times (43.1%) before starting the CTP. Several PPTE types were associated with positive screens for one or more mental disorders. There were associations between PPTE types and increased odds of screening positive for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), major depressive disorder (MDD), generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) and social anxiety disorder (SAD) (all p’s < 0.05). Serious transport accident (11.1%), physical assault (9.5%) and sudden accidental death (8.4%) were the PPTEs most identified as the worst event, and all were associated with positive screens for one or more mental disorders. Conclusion The current results provide the first information describing PPTE histories of cadets, evidencing exposure frequencies and types much higher than the general population. PPTE exposures may have contributed to the cadet's vocational choices. The current results support the growing evidence that PPTEs can be associated with diverse mental disorders; however, the results also suggest cadets may be uncommonly resilient, based on how few screened positive for mental disorders, despite reporting higher frequencies of PPTE exposures prior to CTP than the general population.
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    Royal Canadian Mounted Police cadets’ exposure to potentially psychologically traumatic events during the Cadet Training Program
    (Wiley, 2024-12-20) Andrews, Katie L.; Maguire, Kirby Q.; Jamshidi, Laleh; Afifi, Tracie O.; Nisbet, Jolan; Shields, Robyn, E.; Teckchandani, Taylor A.; Asmundson, Gordon J.G.; Brunet, Alain; Lix, Lisa M.; Sauer-Zavala, Shannon; Sareen, Jitender; Keane, Terence M.; Neary, J. Patrick; Carleton, R. Nicholas
    Lifetime exposures to potentially psychologically traumatic events (PPTEs) among Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) cadets starting the Cadet Training Program (CTP) appear lower than exposures reported by serving RCMP, but the prevalence of PPTE exposures during the CTP remains unknown. The current study assessed PPTE exposures during the CTP and examined associations with mental disorders among RCMP cadets. Participants were cadets (n = 449, 24.7% women) from the larger RCMP Longitudinal Study who self-reported critical incidents, PPTE exposures, and mental health disorder symptoms at pretraining and predeployment. Most participants reported no exposures to a PPTE (n = 374, 83.3%) during the CTP. Participants who reported any PPTE exposure (n = 75, 16.7%; i.e., direct or indirect) most commonly reported serious transport accidents, physical assault, and sudden accidental death. The most common direct PPTEs (i.e., “happened to me”) during the CTP were physical assault (n = 13), other unwanted or uncomfortable sexual experience (n = 11), and serious transportation accident (n = 8). The total number of PPTE types reported at predeployment was associated with increased odds of screening positive for any mental health disorder, aOR = 1.22, 95% CI [1.01, 1.49], p = .049, and positively associated with mental health disorder symptoms, ps < .001. These results provide the first assessment of PPTE exposure among RCMP cadets during the CTP, indicating that 16.7% of cadets experience PPTEs directly or indirectly. The PPTEs reported by cadets may help inform additional opportunities to further increase safety during training.
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    Suicidal Ideation, Planning, and Attempts Among new Royal Canadian Mounted Police Cadets
    (SAGE Publications, 2023-02-03) Nisbet, Jolan; Jamshidi, Laleh; Maguire, Kirby Q.; Afifi, Tracie O.; Brunet, Alain; Fletcher, Amber J.; Asmundson, Gordon J.G.; Sareen, Jitender; Shields, Robyn, E.; Andrews, Katie L.; Sauer-Zavala, Shannon; Neary, J. Patrick; Lix, Lisa M.; Stewart, Sherry H.; Krätzig, Gregory P.; Carleton, R. Nicholas
    Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) report diverse occupational stressors and repeated exposures to potentially psychologically traumatic events, which may increase the odds of screening positive for a mental disorder, and increase the risk of death by suicide. The current study was designed to provide prevalence information regarding suicidal behaviours (i.e., ideation, planning, attempts) and assess for sociodemographic differences among cadets at the start of the RCMP Cadet Training Program (CTP)
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    Supplemental Tables and References for, “The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) Study: Protocol for a Prospective Investigation of Mental Health Risk and Resilience Factors”
    (Health Promotion and Chronic Disease Prevention in Canada: Research, Policy and Practice, 2022-04-11) Carleton, R. Nicholas; Krätzig, Gregory P; Sauer-Zavala, Shannon; Neary, J. Patrick; Lix, Lisa M; Fletcher, Amber J; Afifi, Tracie O; Brunet, Alain; Martin, R; Hamelin, K. S; Teckchandani, Taylor A; Jamshidi, Laleh; Maguire, Kirby Q; Gerhard, D; McCarron, M; Hoeber, O; Jones, N.A; Stewart, Sherry H; Keane, Terence M; Sareen, J; Dobson, Ken; Asmundson, Gordon J.G
    The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), like all public safety personnel (PSP), are frequently exposed to potentially psychologically traumatic events that contribute to posttraumatic stress injuries (PTSIs). Addressing PTSI is impeded by the limited available research. In this protocol paper, we describe the RCMP Study, part of the concerted efforts by the RCMP to reduce PTSI by improving access to evidence-based assessments, treatments and training, as well as participant recruitment and RCMP Study developments to date. The RCMP Study has been designed to (1) develop, deploy and assess the impact of a system for ongoing annual, monthly and daily evidence-based assessments; (2) evaluate associations between demographic variables and PTSI; (3) longitudinally assess individual differences associated with PTSI; (4) augment the RCMP Cadet Training Program with skills to proactively mitigate PTSI; and (5) assess the impact of the augmented training condition (ATC) versus the standard training condition (STC). Participants in the STC (n = 480) and ATC (n = 480) are assessed before and after training and annually for 5 years on their deployment date; they also complete brief monthly and daily surveys. The RCMP Study results are expected to benefit the mental health of all participants, RCMP and PSP by reducing PTSI among all who serve.