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.

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.

Introduction: Certain populations, such as public safety personnel (PSP), experience frequent exposures to potentially psychologically traumatic events and other occupational stressors, increasing their risk for mental health challenges. Social support has been evidenced as a protective factor for mental health. However, research examining perceived social support and its associations with symptoms related to mental disorders among PSP recruits is limited.Methods: RCMP cadets (n = 765, 72% male) completed self-report surveys assessing: sociodemographic information, social support, and symptoms related to posttraumatic stress disorder, major depressive disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, social anxiety disorder, panic disorder, and alcohol use disorder.Results: The results indicated statistically significant associations between higher social support and decreased odds of positive screens for generalized anxiety disorder, social anxiety disorder, and panic disorder (i.e., significant Adjusted Odds Ratios = 0.90 to 0.95).Discussion: Cadets’ perceived levels of social support are comparable to the Canadian general population and higher than serving RCMP. Social support appears to offer a protective element against anxiety-related disorders among participating cadets. Reductions in perceived levels of social support may be a function of RCMP service. Factors contributing to decreased levels of perceived social support should be considered.

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. A 16-month longitudinal design engaged serving PSP (n = 119; 34 % female; firefighters, municipal police, paramedics, public safety communicators) who completed PSP-delivered ERST. Participants were assessed for symptoms of PTSIs, including but not limited to PTSD, at pre- and post-training, and 1-year follow-up using self-report measures and clinical interviews. There were reductions in self-report and clinical diagnostic interview positive screens for PTSD and other PTSI from pre- to post-training (ps < 0.05), with mental health sustained or improved at 1-year follow-up. Improvements were observed among firefighters (Cohen's d = 0.40 to 0.71), police (Cohen's d = 0.28 to 0.38), paramedics (Cohen's d = 0.20 to 0.56), and communicators (Cohen's d = 0.05 to 0.14). Ongoing monitoring and PSP-delivered ERST, can produce small to large mental health improvements among diverse PSP, or mitigate PSP mental health challenges, with variations influenced by pre-training factors and organizational supports. ERST replication and extension research appears warranted. Hypotheses Registration: aspredicted.org, #90136. Registered 7 March 2022 - Prospectively registered. ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT05530642.

Background: 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. Methods: The current protocol paper describes the PSP PTSI Study (i.e., design, measures, materials, hypotheses, planned analyses, expected implications, and limitations), which was originally designed to evaluate an evidence-informed, proactive system of mental health assessment and training among Royal Canadian Mounted Police for delivery among diverse PSP (i.e., firefighters, municipal police, paramedics, public safety communicators). Specifically, the PSP PTSI Study will: (1) adapt, implement, and assess the impact of a system for ongoing (i.e., annual, monthly, daily) evidence-based assessments; (2) evaluate associations between demographic variables and PTSI; (3) longitudinally assess individual differences associated with PTSI; and, (4) assess the impact of providing diverse PSP with a tailored version of the Emotional Resilience Skills Training originally developed for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in mitigating PTSIs based on the Unified Protocol for the Transdiagnostic Treatment of Emotional Disorders. Participants are assessed pre- and post-training, and then at a follow-up 1-year after training. The assessments include clinical interviews, self-report surveys including brief daily and monthly assessments, and daily biometric data. The current protocol paper also describes participant recruitment and developments to date. Discussion: The PSP PTSI Study is an opportunity to implement, test, and improve a set of evidence-based tools and training as part of an evidence-informed solution to protect PSP mental health. The current protocol paper provides details to inform and support translation of the PSP PTSI Study results as well as informing and supporting replication efforts by other researchers. Trial registration: Hypotheses Registration: aspredicted.org, #90136. Registered 7 March 2022—Prospectively registered. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT05530642. Registered 1 September 2022—Retrospectively registered. The subsequent PSP PTSI Study results are expected to benefit the mental health of all participants and, ultimately, all PSP.