Abstract
Police-induced deaths have disproportionately involved individuals with serious mental illness (SMI). This study examined factors that may decrease police aggression toward those with SMI. Using a mixed methods approach with 107 male officers, this study examined officers' mental health, social justice attitudes, and stigma toward individuals with schizophrenia and explored officers' qualitative perceptions on how to improve interactions with individuals with SMI in crisis. In line with study hypotheses, psychological distress (Depression, Anxiety, Stress Scales-21) and suicidality (Suicide Behaviors Questionnaire-Revised) were both associated with higher stigma (Day's Mental Illness Stigma Scale) toward individuals with schizophrenia. Contrary to expectations, there was no main effect linking police officers' social justice attitudes to their stigma toward people with schizophrenia. However, psychological distress and suicidal ideation both moderated the link between social justice attitudes and stigma. Specifically, when police officers' distress and suicidal ideation were low, social justice attitudes were associated with lower stigma toward individuals with schizophrenia. However, when police officers' distress and suicidal ideation were average and high, social justice attitudes were not associated with stigma. As stigma toward others is a form of nonphysical aggression that can be highly correlated with physical aggression, our findings suggest that bolstering officers' own mental health may be one indirect way to reduce stigma and, subsequently, aggression toward people with SMI. Lowering distress and suicidal ideation/behaviors is also important as our findings indicate that high levels of distress may weaken the prosocial benefits of officers' social justice attitudes. The implications of our qualitative findings are also discussed.