No abstract

Research has demonstrated that policing is a stressful occupation and that this stress has a negative impact on police officers' mental and physical health, performance, and interactions with citizens. Mental health at the workplace has become a concern due to the costs of depression, anxiety, burnout, and even suicide, which is high among police officers. To ameliorate occupational health, it is therefore crucial to identify stress and burnout levels on a regular basis. However, the instruments frequently used to measure stress have not valorized the specificity of policing tasks. This study aims to: (i) conduct a literature review to identify questionnaires used to assess occupational stress and burnout among police officers; (ii) analyze the psychometric characteristics of a Portuguese version of Operational Police Stress Questionnaire (PSQ-Op); and, using the PSQ-Op and other questionnaires, (iii) to identify operational stress, burnout, and distress levels among Portuguese police officers. The literature review identified 108 studies which use a multiplicity of questionnaires to measure burnout or occupational stress among police officers, but few studies use specific police stress questionnaires. Sample sizes were mostly below 500 participants and studies were mainly developed in the last decade in the USA and Brazil, but also in another 24 countries, showing the extent of the interest in this topic. This study applied to 2057 police officers from the National Portuguese Police, a force policing urban centers, and used the PSQ-Op, as well the Spanish Burnout Inventory and the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale. The results show that the psychometric properties of the Portuguese version of PSQ-Op are adequate. Factorial analysis revealed two dimensions defined as social and work issues, which were associated with measures of distress and burnout. Fit indices suggested a second-order solution called operational police stress. Overall, and considering the scale range of each questionnaire, the results showed moderate values of operational stress, distress, and burnout. However, considering their cutoff points, 85% of the sample presented high operational stress levels, 11% critical values for burnout, and 28% high distress levels, with 55% of the sample at risk of a psychological disorder. These results reinforce the need to prevent stress and to invest in police officers' occupational health.

No abstract

Abstract. Background: Police officers, as first responders to difficult situations with ready access to firearms, are frequently considered to be at increased suicide risk. Aims: We aimed to calculate the suicide rate for male officers of the Portuguese National Police (PSP) and compare it with the Portuguese general population. Method: Retrospective review of the PSP male officers' suicides between 2005 and 2014 and comparison with the suicide rate for the general Portuguese population, adjusted for sex and age. Results: A total of 39 suicides were identified, with 34 using a firearm – mostly the service one (30 cases). The average truncated (20–59 years) suicide rate for male officers was 20.6 per 100,000 person-years (95% CI =14.2–27.1). Over the same period, the rate for the general Portuguese population was 13.9 per 100,000 person-years (95% CI = 13.5–14.3). The standardized rate ratio was 1.5 (95% CI = 0.9–2.4). Limitations: Despite the 10-year period of observation, this is a small sample and there are issues with missing data, such as lack of information for retired or dismissed police officers. Denominators were converted to estimates of person-years observations and we should be mindful of the limitations in the validity of the reported rates. Conclusion: Portuguese male police officers mostly die by suicide using service firearms. The suicide rates among them were not statistically different from those of the sex- and age-adjusted general population. However, given that police officers are healthy workers, we would expect lower rates – thus, similar rates could suggest an increased risk in the study sample.

RESUMO CONTEXTO:O engagement e a satisfação no trabalho são fatores fundamentais na manutenção e aumento dos níveis de motivação dos trabalhadores, do seu bem-estar físico e psicológico e da qualidade de vida. OBJETIVO(S): Identificar os níveis de engagement e de satisfação no trabalho dos enfermeiros que trabalham nas ambulâncias Suporte Imediato de Vida (SIV) e a sua variação em função de variáveis sociodemográficas e laborais. MÉTODOS: Estudo quantitativo, descritivo-correlacional e transversal. Aplicou-se um questionário online a uma amostra de conveniência de 57 enfermeiros, com questões de caracterização sociodemográfica/laboral, de engagement (UWES, Schaufeli & Bakker, 2003) e da satisfação no trabalho (S20/23, Mélia & Peiró, 1989;Pocinho e Garcia, 2008). RESULTADOS: Encontraram-se valores médios de engagement de 4,8 (DP=1,0) e de satisfação no trabalho de 4,5 (DP=1,0). Os enfermeiros do sexo feminino e que não percecionam o seu trabalho como stressante apresentam mais engagement total e absorção; os que exercem funções nas SIV há menos de 1 ano apresentam maior dedicação. Menor perceção de stresse corresponde a mais satisfação total, satisfação com os benefícios e políticas da organização e satisfação com a participação. Engagement e a satisfação no trabalho correlacionam-se positivamente. CONCLUSÕES: Apesar de os enfermeiros apresentarem níveis elevados de engagement e moderados de satisfação no trabalho, é importante não deixar diminuir estes valores, sugerindo analisar os fatores que promovem a satisfação no trabalho de forma a ter enfermeiros motivados e comprometidos com as suas tarefas laborais.

This paper aims to understand the relationship between aggressivity and burnout among police officers, more precisely, it investigates whether burnout is a predictor of aggressivity among police officers. The study focuses on the relationship between burnout and aggressivity, using regression analysis to identify aggressivity predictors. The Maslach Burnout Inventory was used to measure burnout, while the Aggression Questionnaire was used to measure aggressivity. A cross-sectional study collected data from 274 male police officers (from PSP -Portuguese Police of Public Security) exercising urban patrol tasks in Porto or Lisbon. Low burnout and moderate aggressivity levels were found, with positive significant correlations. Regression analysis reveals that burnout, more than socio-demographic characteristics, predicts 13% to 22% of aggressivity. In particular, feelings of high depersonalisation and low personal accomplishment are the burnout dimensions that most strongly explain anger and aggressivity, whereas emotional exhaustion only explains 4% of verbal aggression. The study highlights the need to develop prevention strategies of stress, aiming to avoid the development of burnout as occupational chronic stress, and decreasing the risk of developing aggressivity among police officers. Despite the wide literature in the area of police officers' burnout and individual characteristics (e.g. aggressivity proneness as a personality trait), there is limited research on the relationship between burnout and aggressivity. Within democratic societies where excessive use of force by police officers is criticised, aggressivity predicted by burnout reinforces the need to prevent occupational stress that leads to burnout.

A profissão de bombeiro implica gerir situações stressantes e uma diversidade de emoções. Este estudo pretende compreender a influência das emoções expressas no trabalho sobre a satisfação com a profissão e perceber se esta é mediada pelas estratégias de coping. Os resultados revelaram que a combinação das emoções expressas no trabalho com as estratégias de coping pode aumentar a satisfação profissional e pode conduzir a uma melhor gestão das situações stressantes no trabalho (S. Folkman e R. Lazarus, 1991).

No abstract