This study is the first attempt to systematically examine the impact of prior military service and childhood adversity on physical and psychological health outcomes during subsequent law enforcement employment. Given that at least one in five US law enforcement officers (LEOs) is a military veteran, and many law enforcement agencies provide preferential status for veterans in the hiring process, understanding the effects of prior military service on LEO physical and psychological well-being is important for supporting officer safety and wellness. Using nationally representative data, we examine the interrelationships between prior military service, combat deployments, childhood adversity, and three health outcomes during subsequent LE employment—PTSD, sleep problems, and suicidality. Contrary to prior research and our hypotheses, we found that prior military service and combat experience were not associated with an increased risk of PTSD, sleep problems, or suicidality. Furthermore, while greater exposure to adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) among non-veteran LEOs was linked with increased odds of PTSD, among veteran LEOs, greater ACE exposure was significantly linked with reduced odds of PTSD. We offer several possible explanations to account for these findings.

这项研究是系统地检查先前的兵役和童年逆境对随后的执法工作期间身体和心理健康结果的影响的首次尝试。鉴于至少有五分之一的美国执法人员（LEO）是退伍军人，并且许多执法机构在招聘过程中为退伍军人提供了优先身份，因此了解先前的兵役对LEO身心健康的影响是对于支持官员的安全和健康非常重要。使用具有国家代表性的数据，我们研究了在随后的LE就业期间，先前的兵役，战斗部署，童年逆境以及三种健康结局之间的相互关系，即PTSD，睡眠问题和自杀倾向。与先前的研究和我们的假设相反，我们发现，先前的兵役和战斗经验与PTSD，睡眠问题或自杀倾向的增加没有关联。此外，尽管非经验丰富的LEO暴露于不利的儿童期经历（ACEs）与PTSD几率增加有关，而经验丰富的LEO暴露于ACE暴露与PTSD降低几率显着相关。我们提供了几种可能的解释来解释这些发现。