Article 5
Comparative Study of the Attitudes of Police Recruits and In- Service Police Officers Toward the Mentally Ill in Trinidad
Linda Lila Mohammed
University of Trinidad and Tobago
Randy Seepersad.
University of the West Indies, St. Augustine
Abstract
The current study examined the attitudes of in-service police officers and those of new recruits toward the mentally ill, and factors associated with these attitudes. One hundred-and-one new recruits and 337 in-service police officers from 8 police divisions in Trinidad and Tobago were administered the Mental Health Attitude Survey for Police Officers (MHASP) developed by Clayfield, Fletcher, and Grundzinskas (2011). Inservice officers had more negative attitudes toward the mentally ill than did new recruits. Willingness to seek psychological help, job stress, job satisfaction, training and social support were significant predictors of officers’ attitudes toward the mentally ill. Implications for improving the attitudes of police officers are discussed.