Police and Alcohol Use: A Descriptive Analysis and Associations with Stress Outcomes

Alcohol misuse is a significant problem in police work. This study describes alcohol use correlates and examines psychological outcomes of stress associated with the use and level of alcohol by police officers. Measures: (1) AUDIT-Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test; (2) demographics; (3) Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression scale; (4) Impact of Events Scale (PTSD); and (5) life events scale. The mean AUDIT score was M=5.64 (low risk <8). Male officers had significantly higher scores in overall AUDIT total, hazardous alcohol use domain, and dependent symptoms domain (p=0.004, 0.002, 0.031, respectively). Women officers in the hazardous drinking range on the AUDIT were significantly younger than women officers in the lower AUDIT range (p=0.050). Males in the hazardous drinking range had significantly higher external life event scores than females (p=0.037), suggesting a need for increased attention to the spillover effect of police work.