Mental Health and Well-Being among Children of Public Safety Personnel in Canada

Andrea M. Stelnicki (), Laleh Jamshidi, Tamara L. Taillieu, R. Nicholas Carleton and Tracie O. Afifi
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Andrea M. Stelnicki: Department of Psychology, University of Regina, Regina, SK S4S 0A2, Canada
Laleh Jamshidi: Department of Psychology, University of Regina, Regina, SK S4S 0A2, Canada
Tamara L. Taillieu: Department of Community Health Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB R3E 0W3, Canada
R. Nicholas Carleton: Department of Psychology, University of Regina, Regina, SK S4S 0A2, Canada
Tracie O. Afifi: Department of Community Health Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB R3E 0W3, Canada

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 21, 1-11

Abstract: Public safety personnel (PSP) often experience stress due to their occupational demands that affect the family environment (e.g., work-family conflict, marital breakdown, disruption to home routines, and holidays). A substantial base of research has focused on the impact of PSP work on the marital relationship, but fewer studies have focused specifically on children’s functioning within PSP families. The current study investigated mental health, well-being, and functioning among children of PSP in Canada, as reported by PSP. Data were collected between 2016 and 2017 as part of a large pan-Canadian study of PSP. Participants ( n = 2092; 72.5% women) were PSP parents who responded to questions about their 4- to 17-year-old children. Overall, a substantial proportion of PSP parents reported their children have at least some difficulties with sadness (15.4%), worries and fear (22.0%), disobedience or anger (22.0%), attention (21.0%), and friendships (11.4%). Firefighters reported the fewest problems among their children compared to other PSP groups. Almost 40% of participants indicated that their child’s problems were related to their work as a PSP. The results highlight the need to find ways to identify children that are struggling and provide support to those families. Organizations and PSP leadership should develop and prioritize efforts to support families of PSP members, with the likely outcome of enhancing PSP member well-being.

Keywords: public safety personnel; families; mental health; child well-being (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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