Level of Depression, Anxiety and Stress among the Police Professionals in Bangladesh: A Nationwide Cross-sectional Study.

Regular exposure to stressful situations makes police professionals more susceptible to mental health disorders. Despite the vital role in upholding law and order, the frequency of psychological problems among police professionals in Bangladesh is under-explored. This study aimed to assess the mental health status of the police professionals working at different level across Bangladesh by measuring the level of depression, anxiety and stress. A nationwide cross-sectional survey was carried out between January 2022 and December 2022, with 413 police professionals from all eight divisions and 27 districts of Bangladesh, who were purposively chosen to participate. Data were collected through a semi-structured questionnaire including the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21), personal and professional information. Descriptive statistics and bivariate analyses were conducted in SPSS version 26.0. According to DASS-21 score the results showed that 40.0% police personnel had 'normal' level of depression; 29.3% had 'normal' level of anxiety and 65.6% had 'normal' level of depression. While significant number of police personnel had severe to extremely severe symptoms of depression (29.6%), anxiety (48.7%) and stress (18.4%). Unintentional joining to the police force was associated with much greater levels of stress, anxiety and depression than joining by own choice or parental choice. Overall, the study showed that Bangladeshi police professionals have a significant mental health burden, with higher prevalence rates than other countries. That seems to be worsened by organizational stresses, stigma and a lack of welfare support, highlighting the necessity for structural changes, routine screening and counseling interventions.