Mental health among policemen of different nationality in Xinjiang：a comparative study

Objective To examine mental health,personality,and coping style among Han,Uygur,and Kazak public security policemen in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region(Xinjiang) and to provide references for effective psychological intervention in the population.Methods With random sampling,4 255 Han,Uygur,and Kazak policemen were recruited from 15 prefectures or prefecture-level cities in Xinjiang and surveyed with Eysenck Personality Questionnaire(EPQ),Coping Style Questionnaire(CSQ),and Symptom Checklist-90(SCL-90) from August to October,2013.Results Among the policemen,the SCL-90 scores for somatization,obsessive-compulsive,interpersonal sensitivity,depression,anxiety,hostility,terror,paranoia,and psychosis were 1.70±0.76,1.86±0.73,1.69±0.72,1.65±0.74,1.62±0.71,1.67±0.76,1.38±0.61,1.62±0.71,and 1.52±0.63,respectively,and all the scores were higher than those of the national norm,with statistically significant differences(P<0.05 for all); the scores also showed significant differences among the policemen of different nationality(P<0.05) except for the scores of obsessive-compulsive and paranoia.Among the male policemen,the EPQ scores for psychoticism(5.21±3.22) and neuroticism(10.77±6.070) were lower than those of national norm(P<0.05 for all) and the scores for introversion and extroversion(12.12±4.44) and lies(12.43±3.94) were higher than those of the national norm(P<0.05 for all); whereas,among the female policemen,the scores for psychoticism(5.04±3.03),neuroticism(10.48±5.87),and lies(12.56±3.80) were lower than those of the national norm(P<0.05 for all),but the scores for introversion and extroversion(12.15±4.29) were higher than that of the national norm(P<0.05).No significant differences in personality were observed among the policemen of different nationality(P>0.05).The Uighur policemen had significantly higher scores of fantasy and retreat compared to those of Han and Kazak policemen(P<0.05).Conclusion The mental health level of policemen in Xinjiang is lower than the national norm and there are differences in the status of mental health and coping style among the policemen of different nationalities.