Stressors, coping resources and strategies, and police stress in South Korea

A Study on South Korea’s Public Confidence Regarding Its Police Authority

“…According to the research of Hwang (2009) a fear of losing face that is indicated by a fear of ridicule is the highest for the most collectivist country of Singapore, whereas it is the lowest for the individualist country the United States. Morash et al (2008) also argued that the finding that a perceived public disrespect was a rather significant factor of stress in South Korea is consistent with the -maintaining face‖ value of its culture. According to the finding of Morash et al that a perceived lack of public confidence is one of the main factors of police-officer stress, the public's distrust toward its police authority can therefore seriously undermine police officers' job satisfaction and motivation.…”

“…While numerous empirical studies (Wexler and Logan, 1983;White and Marino, 1983;Crank et al, 1995;Kirkcaldy et al, 1995;Brown et al, 1996;Juniper, 1996) have been conducted on the stress factors for police officers in the developed countries, there is a dearth of studies regarding the connection between a perceived lack of public respect and police-officer stress. Morash et al (2008) however, conducted valuable research to understand the police-stress factors that are both common across nations and unique to South Korea including a perceived public disrespect. Morash et al (2008) identified the following 12 independent variables that might have a considerable influence on police officers' stress by reviewing previous research on the subject: -sexual harassment‖; -invisibility‖; -language harassment‖; -public disrespect toward police‖; -attitudes toward women working outside of the home‖; -ridicule and set-ups‖; -superiors' support‖; -expressed feelings‖; -changed jobs‖; -get others to like me‖; -keep written records‖; and -stay in a group.‖ They adapted the items to measure the perceived disrespect of police officers in South Korea from Moon and Maxwell (2004) which introduced a novel method of measuring the relation between a perceived public disrespect of correctional officers and their stress in South Korea.…”

“…Morash et al (2008) however, conducted valuable research to understand the police-stress factors that are both common across nations and unique to South Korea including a perceived public disrespect. Morash et al (2008) identified the following 12 independent variables that might have a considerable influence on police officers' stress by reviewing previous research on the subject: -sexual harassment‖; -invisibility‖; -language harassment‖; -public disrespect toward police‖; -attitudes toward women working outside of the home‖; -ridicule and set-ups‖; -superiors' support‖; -expressed feelings‖; -changed jobs‖; -get others to like me‖; -keep written records‖; and -stay in a group.‖ They adapted the items to measure the perceived disrespect of police officers in South Korea from Moon and Maxwell (2004) which introduced a novel method of measuring the relation between a perceived public disrespect of correctional officers and their stress in South Korea. Morash et al collected questionnaires from 676 police officers and examined the data using an ordinary least-squares analysis.…”

“…Alternatively, in Western countries, harassment regarding racial, ethnic, and gender biases are strong predictors of police stress, whereas ridicule and set-ups is not particularly strong. Morash et al (2008) claimed that cultural differences could be the explanation for why particular stress factors were more important in South Korea. The country's culture values a collectivism that emphasizes harmony, conformity, group cohesion, and interdependence, whereas Western countries value an individual culture wherein the emphasis is on individual rights and independence.…”

Job Satisfaction among South Korean Police Officers: A Qualitative Approach

“…Under the supervision of a national police headquarters, each provincial police headquarters is in charge of administering police departments in its geographic district. It means individual police officers are more likely to share common characteristics and experiences and to work in very similar circumstances, and transfers are common [41]. In addition, they are transferred to different department regularly.…”