Equipping Police officers with resources: perceived control of internal states and suicide tendencies among Turkish Police officers, unraveling the serial mediating roles of resilience and depression

Abstract Drawing from existing literature, this study highlights police officers’ heightened vulnerability to depression and suicidality as a result of occupational stressors and investigates the intricate associations among Turkish police officers’ perceived control of internal states (PCOIS), resilience, depression, and suicidal tendencies. The study uses a comprehensive analysis to investigate how PCOIS influences resilience and depression, which subsequently impact suicidal tendencies. A total of 628 police officers participated in the study voluntarily. The mediation analyses indicate individuals with high PCOIS levels tend to have higher resilience, thus leading to lower suicidality regardless of depression levels. High PCOIS levels have also been linked to lower depression levels, thus also leading to a decrease in suicidality independent of resilience. The study shows both resilience and depression to be affected by PCOIS levels, with resilience acting as a protective shield against suicidality, whereas depression exacerbates the likelihood of suicidality. Lastly, the study has uncovered a serial mediating effect, with higher PCOIS levels enhancing resilience and subsequently reducing depression and suicidal tendencies. Therefore, resilience and depression play crucial roles as serial mediators in the relationship between PCOIS and suicidality, underscoring PCOIS’s importance in psychological interventions aimed at bolstering resilience and mitigating depression and suicidality among police officers. This study contributes uniquely to the literature by demonstrating PCOIS’s protective role in a high-stress profession and provides practical implications for developing targeted mental health interventions.