Introduction

Police force interaction rates with individuals with mental health conditions are on the rise. International research reveals that the presence of a mental health condition increases the risk for detention and use of force by police officers. Stigmatization of individuals with mental health conditions as dangerous and unpredictable is assumed to have an impact on the likelihood of police use of force. The following study examines a trialogical intervention to reduce stigmatization of individuals with a diagnosis of schizophrenia in a police officer sample.

Method

1318 police officers participated in a trialogical contact-based intervention with the aim to reduce stigmatizing attitudes and beliefs. Emotional reactions, stereotypes and social distance were assessed prior to and after the intervention in a one-group design.

Results

Negative stereotypes were positively associated with social distance in individuals with a diagnosis of schizophrenia and were positively associated with anxiety. Dependent sample t-test revealed reduced anxiety towards individuals with a diagnosis of schizophrenia, less negative stereotypes, and less social distance post intervention. All results were significant, and all effect sizes showed a small to moderate effect.

Conclusions

Trialogical contact-based, short-term anti-stigma interventions appear to reduce stigmatizing attitudes towards individuals with mental health conditions in a large police force sample. A missing control group is a key study limitation. Further research is needed to examine the effectiveness of the intervention in a randomized-controlled trial. However, the results clearly suggest that anti-stigma interventions could be beneficially introduced into police training.

中文翻译：

---

基于接触的反污名干预对警察的有效性

介绍

警察与有心理健康问题的人的互动率正在上升。国际研究表明，精神健康状况的存在会增加警察拘留和使用武力的风险。将有心理健康状况的个人污名化为危险和不可预测被认为会对警察使用武力的可能性产生影响。以下研究检查了一种三元干预，以减少对警察样本中精神分裂症患者的污名化。

方法

1318 名警官参与了一项基于接触的三联干预，旨在减少污名化的态度和信念。在一组设计干预之前和之后评估情绪反应、刻板印象和社会距离。

结果

负面刻板印象与精神分裂症患者的社交距离呈正相关，与焦虑呈正相关。相关样本t检验显示，对诊断为精神分裂症的个体的焦虑减少，负面刻板印象减少，干预后社交距离减少。所有结果都是显着的，并且所有效果大小都显示出小到中等的效果。

结论

在大型警察部队样本中，基于三重接触的短期反污名干预似乎可以减少对有心理健康状况的个人的污名态度。缺少对照组是一个关键的研究限制。需要进一步的研究来检验干预在随机对照试验中的有效性。然而，结果清楚地表明，反污名干预可以有益地引入警察培训。