Slide
Centre Interdisciplinaire
de Recherche et d’Innovation
en Cybersécurité et Société
de Recherche et d’Innovation
en Cybersécurité et Société
1.
António, H.; Albuquerque, S.; de Castro, M. Vieira; Bouchard, S.; Gamito, P.; Pinto, R. J.
In: Psychiatry International, vol. 7, no. 4, 2026, ISSN: 26735318 (ISSN).
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: adult, Anxiety, article, cross-sectional study, decision making, Depression, DSM-5, female, Global Severity Index, hostility, human, human experiment, Latent Class Analysis, LEC-5, major clinical study, male, paranoia, phobia, police, Positive symptom distress index, Positive symptom total, posttraumatic stress disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder checklist, Proximal Traumatic Exposure, psychological distress, psychosis, PTSD, questionnaire, receiver operating characteristic, Security, security professionals, self report, sociodemographics, trauma exposure
@article{antonioLatentClassesProximal2026,
title = {Latent Classes of Proximal Traumatic Exposure Among Portuguese Police and Security Professionals: Associations with PTSD Symptoms and Psychological Distress},
author = {H. António and S. Albuquerque and M. Vieira de Castro and S. Bouchard and P. Gamito and R. J. Pinto},
url = {https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105048524559?origin=resultslist},
doi = {10.3390/psychiatryint7040173},
issn = {26735318 (ISSN)},
year = {2026},
date = {2026-01-01},
journal = {Psychiatry International},
volume = {7},
number = {4},
publisher = {Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (MDPI)},
abstract = {Background: Police and security professionals are routinely exposed to potentially traumatic events as part of occupational duties, placing them at increased risk for post-traumatic stress and broader psychological difficulties. This study aimed to identify latent classes of proximal traumatic exposure among Portuguese police/security professionals and examine their associations with PTSD symptoms and general psychological distress. Methods: A cross-sectional online survey was conducted with Portuguese police/security professionals (N = 644). Latent class analysis (LCA) was applied to 17 indicators of potentially traumatic events coded as directly experienced or witnessed, derived from the Life Events Checklist for DSM-5. PTSD symptoms were assessed using the PTSD Checklist for DSM-5, and general psychological distress was assessed using the Brief Symptom Inventory. Exploratory receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analyses examined whether counts of proximal traumatic events could approximate the LCA-derived classes. Results: A three-class solution was identified, comprising low proximal exposure (37.3%), moderate proximal exposure (40.7%), and high proximal/cumulative exposure (22.0%) classes. The classes reflected a graded cumulative pattern of exposure across traumatic event categories, rather than clearly distinct qualitative configurations defined by specific event types. Higher exposure classes were associated with progressively higher PTSD symptoms and psychological distress, and these associations remained significant after adjustment for sociodemographic and occupational variables. Exploratory receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analyses showed that a simple count of proximal traumatic event categories closely approximated the empirically derived class structure within the present sample. However, the resulting thresholds are sample-specific, exploratory, and should not be interpreted as validated screening cutoffs. Conclusions: Proximal traumatic exposure among police/security professionals appears to follow a graded cumulative structure associated with increased PTSD symptoms and psychological distress. The person-centered analysis provided an empirical test of whether exposure was organized according to qualitatively distinct event configurations or primarily along a cumulative gradient. In this sample, cumulative exposure burden emerged as the dominant organizing dimension. The count-based approximation requires external validation before any screening or decision-making application can be considered. © 2026 by the authors.},
keywords = {adult, Anxiety, article, cross-sectional study, decision making, Depression, DSM-5, female, Global Severity Index, hostility, human, human experiment, Latent Class Analysis, LEC-5, major clinical study, male, paranoia, phobia, police, Positive symptom distress index, Positive symptom total, posttraumatic stress disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder checklist, Proximal Traumatic Exposure, psychological distress, psychosis, PTSD, questionnaire, receiver operating characteristic, Security, security professionals, self report, sociodemographics, trauma exposure},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
Background: Police and security professionals are routinely exposed to potentially traumatic events as part of occupational duties, placing them at increased risk for post-traumatic stress and broader psychological difficulties. This study aimed to identify latent classes of proximal traumatic exposure among Portuguese police/security professionals and examine their associations with PTSD symptoms and general psychological distress. Methods: A cross-sectional online survey was conducted with Portuguese police/security professionals (N = 644). Latent class analysis (LCA) was applied to 17 indicators of potentially traumatic events coded as directly experienced or witnessed, derived from the Life Events Checklist for DSM-5. PTSD symptoms were assessed using the PTSD Checklist for DSM-5, and general psychological distress was assessed using the Brief Symptom Inventory. Exploratory receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analyses examined whether counts of proximal traumatic events could approximate the LCA-derived classes. Results: A three-class solution was identified, comprising low proximal exposure (37.3%), moderate proximal exposure (40.7%), and high proximal/cumulative exposure (22.0%) classes. The classes reflected a graded cumulative pattern of exposure across traumatic event categories, rather than clearly distinct qualitative configurations defined by specific event types. Higher exposure classes were associated with progressively higher PTSD symptoms and psychological distress, and these associations remained significant after adjustment for sociodemographic and occupational variables. Exploratory receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analyses showed that a simple count of proximal traumatic event categories closely approximated the empirically derived class structure within the present sample. However, the resulting thresholds are sample-specific, exploratory, and should not be interpreted as validated screening cutoffs. Conclusions: Proximal traumatic exposure among police/security professionals appears to follow a graded cumulative structure associated with increased PTSD symptoms and psychological distress. The person-centered analysis provided an empirical test of whether exposure was organized according to qualitatively distinct event configurations or primarily along a cumulative gradient. In this sample, cumulative exposure burden emerged as the dominant organizing dimension. The count-based approximation requires external validation before any screening or decision-making application can be considered. © 2026 by the authors.
2.
Maïano, C.; Morin, A. J. S.; Aimé, A.; Lepage, G.; Bouchard, S.
In: Assessment, vol. 28, no. 2, pp. 632–646, 2021, ISSN: 10731911, (Publisher: SAGE Publications Inc.).
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Adolescent, adult, body image, cognition, human, Humans, Latent Class Analysis, Psychometrics, psychometry, questionnaire, reproducibility, Reproducibility of Results, Surveys and Questionnaires
@article{maiano_psychometric_2021,
title = {Psychometric Properties of the Body Checking Questionnaire (BCQ) and of the Body Checking Cognitions Scale (BCCS): A Bifactor-Exploratory Structural Equation Modeling Approach},
author = {C. Maïano and A. J. S. Morin and A. Aimé and G. Lepage and S. Bouchard},
url = {https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85070217501&doi=10.1177%2f1073191119858411&partnerID=40&md5=2a1f68168c4042203964144f7eef8dae},
doi = {10.1177/1073191119858411},
issn = {10731911},
year = {2021},
date = {2021-01-01},
journal = {Assessment},
volume = {28},
number = {2},
pages = {632–646},
publisher = {SAGE Publications Inc.},
abstract = {This research sought to assess the psychometric properties of the French versions of the Body Checking Questionnaire and the Body Checking Cognitions Scale among community samples. A total sample of 922 adolescents and adults was involved in a series of two studies. The results from the first study supported factor validity and reliability of responses obtained on these two measures, and showed that both measures were best represented by a bifactor-exploratory structural equation modeling representation of the data. The results from the second study replicated these conclusions, while also supporting the measurement invariance of the bifactor-exploratory structural equation modeling solution and the equivalence of the correlations among the two measures (i.e., convergent validity) across samples. This second study also supported the criterion-related validity of ratings on both measures with measures of global self-esteem, physical appearance, social physique anxiety, fear of negative appearance evaluation, and disturbed eating attitudes and behaviors. Finally, the results of this last study also supported the measurement invariance and lack of differential item functioning of both measures in relation to sex, age, diagnosis of eating disorders, and body mass index. © The Author(s) 2019.},
note = {Publisher: SAGE Publications Inc.},
keywords = {Adolescent, adult, body image, cognition, human, Humans, Latent Class Analysis, Psychometrics, psychometry, questionnaire, reproducibility, Reproducibility of Results, Surveys and Questionnaires},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
This research sought to assess the psychometric properties of the French versions of the Body Checking Questionnaire and the Body Checking Cognitions Scale among community samples. A total sample of 922 adolescents and adults was involved in a series of two studies. The results from the first study supported factor validity and reliability of responses obtained on these two measures, and showed that both measures were best represented by a bifactor-exploratory structural equation modeling representation of the data. The results from the second study replicated these conclusions, while also supporting the measurement invariance of the bifactor-exploratory structural equation modeling solution and the equivalence of the correlations among the two measures (i.e., convergent validity) across samples. This second study also supported the criterion-related validity of ratings on both measures with measures of global self-esteem, physical appearance, social physique anxiety, fear of negative appearance evaluation, and disturbed eating attitudes and behaviors. Finally, the results of this last study also supported the measurement invariance and lack of differential item functioning of both measures in relation to sex, age, diagnosis of eating disorders, and body mass index. © The Author(s) 2019.