Psychological Impact of COVID-19 Duties During Lockdown on Police Personnel and Their Perception About the Behavior of the People: an Exploratory Study from India

To evaluate the psychosocial issues among the police personnel during the COVID-19 pandemic. In a web-based cross-sectional survey, 623 police personnel were evaluated on Patient Health Questionnaire-4 (PHQ-4) and Perceived stress scale (PSS), and a self-designed questionnaire. 10.6% of the police personnel had significant anxiety and 18% have significant depressive symptoms with overall psychological morbidity of 22.2%. Higher age was significantly associated with higher depressive symptoms, total PHQ-4 score, and higher perceived stress. The present survey suggests that a substantial proportion of the police personnel on COVID-19 duty during the lockdown period have significant anxiety, depressive symptoms, and perceive significant stress. There is an urgent need to evaluate the mental health issues and provide psychological support to the police personnel who are considered as faceless warriors of the COVID-19.

Automated summary

A web-based cross-sectional survey was conducted to evaluate the psychosocial issues among police personnel during the COVID-19 pandemic. The survey revealed that a significant proportion of police personnel on COVID-19 duty experienced anxiety, depressive symptoms, and perceived stress. Older age was significantly associated with higher levels of depressive symptoms and perceived stress.