Exposure to traumatic incidents including natural and human-initiated disasters may be an important precipitant for suicide. This article explores suicide ideation in police officers, a reportedly high suicide risk group, who worked in the proximity of the September 11, 2001 (9/11), World Trade Center terrorist attack. Data were obtained for a period of 4 years (2001-2004) from Cop 2 Cop, a statewide New Jersey confidential phone hotline provided exclusively for police officers and their families. Results suggested that calls related to suicide ideation increased from pre-9/11 through 3 years post-9/11 and that the risk for urgent care suicide calls post-9/11 increased 1.65 times (95% confidence interval = 0.54-5.04) more quickly over time when compared to pre-9/11 urgent calls. Qualitative as well as descriptive statistical data are presented on suicide ideation and the impact of 9/11 on the personal and occupational lives of officers who called. © 2006 Sage Publications.

Item Type:	Refereed Article
Research Division:	Psychology
Research Group:	Social and personality psychology
Research Field:	Social psychology
Objective Division:	Law, Politics and Community Services
Objective Group:	Justice and the law
Objective Field:	Law enforcement
UTAS Author:	Paton, D (Professor Douglas Paton)
ID Code:	42812
Year Published:	2006
Deposited By:	Psychology
Deposited On:	2006-08-01
Last Modified:	2007-12-18
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