Mental health and wellbeing of Australian police and emergency services employees.

Answering the Call, the Australian National Police and Emergency Services Mental Health and Wellbeing Study, surveyed 14,868 Australian ambulance, fire and rescue, police, and state emergency service employees. Emergency services personnel had lower rates of mental wellbeing and higher rates of psychological distress and probable PTSD than the general adult population. Overall 30% had low wellbeing, 21% had high and 9% had very high psychological distress, and 10% had probable PTSD. An estimated 5% had suicidal ideation and 2% had a suicide plan in the past 12 months, while 16% binge drink at least weekly. Only one in five of those with very high psychological distress or probable PTSD felt they received adequate support for their condition. These findings highlight the risk of mental health conditions associated with work in the emergency services sector.

Pets Are Associated with Fewer Peer Problems and Emotional Symptoms, and Better Prosocial Behavior: Findings from the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the longitudinal association between pet ownership and children's social-emotional development. STUDY DESIGN: Two time-points of data from the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children were analyzed for children at ages 5 (n = 4242) and 7 (n = 4431) years. The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) measured children's social-emotional development. Pet ownership status and type (dog, cat, other) as well as sociodemographic and other potential confounders were collected. Longitudinal panel regression models were used. RESULTS: Overall, 27% of children had abnormal scores on 1 or more SDQ scales. By age 7, 75% of children had pets with ownership highest in single-child households. Owning any type of pet was associated with decreased odds of abnormal scores for emotional symptoms (OR, 0.81; 95% CI, 0.67-0.99), peer problems (OR, 0.71; 95% CI, 0.60-0.84), and prosocial behavior (OR, 0.70; 95% CI, 0.38-0.70), compared with non-pet owners. Dog ownership was associated with decreased odds of abnormal scores on any of the SDQ scales (OR, 0.81; 95% CI, 0.71-0.93). For children without any siblings, only the prosocial behavior scale was significantly associated with pet ownership (OR, 0.21; 95% CI, 0.07-0.66). In longitudinal models, cat-only and dog-only groups were associated with fewer emotional symptoms and peer problems compared with non-pet owners. CONCLUSIONS: Early school age is an important period for family pet acquisition. Pets may protect children from developing social-emotional problems and should be taken into account when assessing child development and school readiness. Children without siblings may benefit most in terms of their prosocial behavior.