An exploration of stress in police officers, a study of the predictive value of pre-employment psychological measures in the development of stress reactions in a sample of Ontario police officers
grantor:
University of TorontoThis study examines self-reported levels of stress and coping in a sample of 102 newly-hired police officers. Specifically, the domains of Occupational Stress, Psychological Strain, and Coping Resources as measured by the Occupational Stress Inventory were examined both independently and in relation to scores on select scales of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory, Revised and the 16 Personality Factors Questionnaire. At the time of the study, 53% of the sample indicated experiencing some degree of occupationally-related stress, with 17% indicating the presence of significant levels of occupational stress. The majority of respondents (83.4%) indicated no difficulty within the psychological strain domain. On the coping domain, 25.5% of the sample indicated experiencing mild deficits in their coping resources while 6.9% indicated significant deficits. As expected, participants' scores on the measure of personal coping were significantly negatively correlated with both the Occupational Stress and Psychological Strain categories. For the MMPI-2, significant negative correlations were found between the K scale (Subtle Defensiveness) and both the Occupational Stress and Psychological Strain scales. A significant positive correlation was also found between Scale 9 (Hypomania) and the Occupational Stress scale. For the 16 PF, significant correlations were found between the Psychological Strain scale and the Ego Strength and Rebelliousness factors. Gender differences were examined with respect to scores on both the stress inventory and the measures of personality. The results indicate that male police officers identified the presence of more occupational stress than did their female counterparts. Male police officers also tended to obtain significantly higher scores on Scale 1 (Hypochondriasis), Scale 2 (Depression), and Scale 7 (Psychastenia). Female officers had higher scores on Scale 5 (Masculinity-Femininity). Last, a median split on the total measure of occupational stress was performed in order to identify any significant differences between higher and lower scorers on this variable, Significant results were found on the K (Subtle Defensiveness) scale and on Scale 6 (Paranoia). The relationship between stress levels and the career stage of police officers is discussed, as is the impact of stress on the recruitment, training, and management of police officers.Ed.D
