Peculiarities of forming psychological traumatization in law enforcement officers during COVID-19 pandemia

Introduction. The aim of the research is to reveal the peculiarities of forming psychological traumatization in law enforcement officers involved in pubic order maintenance during COVID-19 pandemia. Маterials and Methods. A complete examination of 371 officers of the Main Directorate of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs in Moscow was conducted; group 1 included 127 persons with positive test result, COVID-19 clinic symptoms and they had been treated; group 2 involved 118 persons who were healthy and without COVID-19 clinic symptoms but released from official duties due to contacting with the diseased and put in quarantine and isolated for a definite time; group 3 consisted of 126 persons who were not released from official duties and participated in public order maintenance during pandemia in crowded public places. The questioning was employed for subjective assessment of the officers’ mental state, experimental psychological method with digital electronic resources was used in a distant form. Results and Discussions. It was established that initial symptoms of psychological traumatization appear in the respondents from group 1 in the form of non-specific anxious states against somatic asthenia; in group 2 - in the form of neurotic psychic tense due to the reduced social activity; respondents from group 3 had episodic changes in the emotional state with increased anxiety for their own health. Conclusions. The peculiarities of forming psychological traumatization in law enforcement officers infected with COVID-19 are non-specific anxious states and verbal aggression against somatic asthenization. The officers who were put in quarantine due to contacting with the diseased more frequently have neurotic psychic states and risk of increased alcohol use. For police officers who serve in the usual way psychological traumatization is manifested in episodic changes in the emotional state with the increased anxiety for their own health.