Ranking Police Stressors

Abstract

Police stressors were measured using Spielberger's Police Stress Survey with a sample of 103 police officers. Rankings of police stressors are discussed.

Negative self-regard at work – Frustrating the need for self-enhancement and self-consistency

“…The immediate affective responses to negative social feedback from the community and media included feelings of anger, fear, and frustration, findings that are similar to those of Alkus and Padesky (1980); Burke (1993); Violanti and Aron (1994); Waters and Martelli (1989). All three of these emotions indicate a short-term change in the manner in which the individual perceives the social context in which he/she is located at that moment.…”

“…In addition, police interact with a population that is, at best, fearful and, at worst, insulting and abusive (e.g. Alkus & Padesky, 1980;Burke, 1993;Violanti, 1992;Violanti & Aron, 1994;Violanti & Marshall, 1983;Waters & Martelli, 1989). Such negative feedback comes not only from the criminal elements within communities but also from minority groups (Belson, 1975), social workers, and lawyers (Flanagan & Vaughn, 1996).…”

Child Abuse Investigation: Police Officers and Secondary Traumatic Stress

“…Incidents included murders, suicides and accidental deaths, road traffic deaths, Lockerbie disaster (bombing of Pan Am flight 103, December 21, 1988), the RAF Chinook helicopter disaster (Chinook helicopter ZD516, crashed on the Mull of Kintyre, killing all 29 people on board), threatening and dangerous situations, abuse and cruelty. When considered with Violanti and Aron's findings, it could be argued that child protection and domestic incidents are two occurrences that police officers consider the most stressful and traumatic [23]. However, the limitations of both studies should not be overlooked (such as the sample of respondents, their location and number), nor should the findings be taken as wholly representative of all police officers around the world.…”

“…Other studies conducted by Sewell [27] and Coman and Evans [28] have concentrated on firearms incidents and their impact on officers. According to Violanti and Aron, police officers rank situations such as battered children, high speed car chases, the use of force and aggressive crowds as amongst the most stressful situations attended [23].…”

“…Most literature on police officers focusses on the psychological effects of police work and the stresses connected with the job. A growing number of publications has focussed on the negative aspects of policing, namely traumatic stressors [23], organisational stressors [24] and individual factors, i.e., personality and coping [25] arguing that all or any of those variables can have an impact on police officers and their experience of secondary trauma.…”