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Wu J, Wu Q, Xia M, Xiao J, Yan X, Li D. A study on mental health and its influencing factors among police officers during the COVID-19 epidemic in China. Front Psychiatry 2023; 14:1192577. [PMID: 37351005 PMCID: PMC10284273 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1192577] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/23/2023] [Accepted: 05/17/2023] [Indexed: 06/24/2023] Open
Abstract
Background The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has had a tremendous impact on people's health and well-being. The crisis also threw into sharp relief the fact that police officers faced an increased risk of developing mental health problems. The main purpose of this study was to explore the effects of work stress and risk perception on the mental health of police officers during the epidemic. Methods We conducted a cross-sectional online survey among police officers in Wuhan city, China, and data were collected from 11 March to 12 May 2022. A total of 358 questionnaires were received, of which 302 were considered valid. The questionnaires included demographic information, work stress scale, Symptom Checklist 90 (SCL-90) and epidemic risk perception scale. Descriptive analyses, one-way analysis of variance and linear regression were used to analyze the data. Results The prevalence of mental health problems was 38.74% among the surveyed police officers. The results indicated that the total score of SCL-90 and its subdimensions were positively correlated with work stress and risk perception. Moreover, we found that three factors were relevant to the police's mental health: age, marital status, and education. Conclusion Front-line police officers tend to show a higher prevalence of symptoms of mental disorders during the COVID-19 pandemic. We found that increased work stress and risk perception may adversely affect police officers' mental health. Consequently, policy-makers and police organizations should establish an internal mental health problem coping team to improve police officers' mental health resilience.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ji Wu
- Faculty of Medicine, Wuhan City College, Wuhan, China
| | - Qiong Wu
- Faculty of Medicine, Wuhan City College, Wuhan, China
| | - Minghui Xia
- Hospital of Stomatology of Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
| | - Jing Xiao
- Xiantao Vocational College, Xiantao, China
| | - Xin Yan
- Yangtze River Engineering Vocational College, Jingzhou, China
| | - Dao Li
- Faculty of Medicine, Wuhan City College, Wuhan, China
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Effects of Acute Stress on Psychophysiology in Armed Tactical Occupations: A Narrative Review. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2022; 19:ijerph19031802. [PMID: 35162825 PMCID: PMC8834678 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph19031802] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/24/2021] [Revised: 01/31/2022] [Accepted: 02/01/2022] [Indexed: 01/23/2023]
Abstract
The ability to perform under extreme pressure is one of the most sought-after qualities in both sports and tactical (military, law enforcement, fire, and rescue, etc.) occupations. While tactical performance relies on both physical and mental capabilities to achieve a desired outcome, it is often hampered by the stressful environments in which these personnel work. The acute stress experienced by tactical personnel can interfere with occupational performance, impacting both physical execution of tasks and decision-making. This narrative review discusses the implications of acute stress on the psychophysiology and physical performance of personnel serving in armed tactical occupations.
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Wu Y, Sun IY, Ivkovich SK, Maskaly J, Shen S, Neyroud P. Explaining Stress during the COVID-19 Pandemic among Chinese Police Officers. POLICING: A JOURNAL OF POLICY AND PRACTICE 2022. [PMCID: PMC8499967 DOI: 10.1093/police/paab053] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Policing can be stressful, especially during public crises such as the coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19) pandemic. Using survey data from 600 police officers in a large city in West China, this study examines the prevalence of police stress increase during the pandemic’s peak month, compared pre-pandemic, and assesses a range of personal and work-related risk and protective factors of police stress. We found that Chinese officers suffered widespread, increased levels of stress during the peak pandemic month. Sources of police stress primarily came from changes in workloads and fear of contracting COVID-19. Perceived effectiveness of agency protection of officers against the COVID-19 risk, sufficient amount of sleep, and increased family time significantly reduced stress. These results bear important research and policy implications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuning Wu
- Yuning Wu, Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI 48202, USA
| | - Ivan Y Sun
- Ivan Y. Sun, Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716, USA
| | - Sanja Kutnjak Ivkovich
- Sanja Ivković Kutnjak, School of Criminal Justice, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
| | - Jon Maskaly
- Jon Maskaly, Department of Criminal Justice, University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, ND 58202, USA
| | - Shan Shen
- Shan Shen, School of Public Affairs, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400044, China
| | - Peter Neyroud
- Peter Neyroud, Institute of Criminology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB3 9DA, England
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Baldwin S, Bennell C, Blaskovits B, Brown A, Jenkins B, Lawrence C, McGale H, Semple T, Andersen JP. A Reasonable Officer: Examining the Relationships Among Stress, Training, and Performance in a Highly Realistic Lethal Force Scenario. Front Psychol 2022; 12:759132. [PMID: 35111100 PMCID: PMC8803048 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.759132] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/15/2021] [Accepted: 11/09/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Under conditions of physiological stress, officers are sometimes required to make split-second life-or-death decisions, where deficits in performance can have tragic outcomes, including serious injury or death and strained police-community relations. The current study assessed the performance of 122 active-duty police officers during a realistic lethal force scenario to examine whether performance was affected by the officer's level of operational skills training, years of police service, and stress reactivity. Results demonstrated that the scenario produced elevated heart rates (i.e., 150 beats per minute), as well as perceptual and cognitive distortions, such as tunnel vision, commensurate with those observed in naturalistic use of force encounters. The average performance rating from the scenario was 59%, with 27% of participants making at least one lethal force error. Elevated stress reactivity was a predictor of poorer performance and increased lethal force errors. Level of training and years of police service had differential and complex effects on both performance and lethal force errors. Our results illustrate the need to critically reflect on police training practices and continue to make evidence-based improvements to training. The findings also highlight that while training may significantly improve outcomes, flawless performance is likely not probable, given the limits of human performance under stress. Implications for the objective reasonableness standard, which is used to assess the appropriateness of force in courts of law, are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simon Baldwin
- Department of Psychology, Carleton University, Ottawa, ON, Canada
- Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Craig Bennell
- Department of Psychology, Carleton University, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | | | - Andrew Brown
- Department of Psychology, Carleton University, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Bryce Jenkins
- Department of Psychology, Carleton University, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Chris Lawrence
- Police Research Lab, Carleton University, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Heather McGale
- Department of Psychology, Carleton University, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Tori Semple
- Department of Psychology, Carleton University, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Judith P. Andersen
- Department of Psychology, University of Toronto Mississauga, Mississauga, ON, Canada
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Queirós C, Passos F, Bártolo A, Faria S, Fonseca SM, Marques AJ, Silva CF, Pereira A. Job Stress, Burnout and Coping in Police Officers: Relationships and Psychometric Properties of the Organizational Police Stress Questionnaire. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2020; 17:E6718. [PMID: 32942672 PMCID: PMC7557776 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph17186718] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/22/2020] [Revised: 09/09/2020] [Accepted: 09/11/2020] [Indexed: 02/02/2023]
Abstract
Policing is a stressful occupation, which impairs police officers' physical/mental health and elicits burnout, aggressive behaviors and suicide. Resilience and coping facilitate the management of job stress policing, which can be operational or organizational. All these constructs are associated, and they must be assessed by instruments sensitive to policing idiosyncrasies. This study aims to identify operational and organizational stress, burnout, resilient coping and coping strategies among police officers, as well to analyze the psychometric properties of a Portuguese version of the Organizational Police Stress Questionnaire. A cross-sectional study, with online questionnaires, collected data of 1131 police officers. With principal components and confirmatory factor analysis, PSQ-org revealed adequate psychometric properties, despite the exclusion of four items, and revealed a structure with two factors (poor management and lack of resources, and responsibilities and burden). Considering cut-off points, 88.4% police officers presented high operational stress, 87.2% high organizational stress, 10.9% critical values for burnout and 53.8% low resilient coping, preferring task-orientated than emotion and avoidance coping. Some differences were found according to gender, age and job experience. Job stress and burnout correlated negatively with resilient coping, enthusiasm towards job and task-orientated coping. Results reinforce the importance to invest on police officers' occupational health.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cristina Queirós
- Faculty of Psychology and Education Sciences, University of Porto, 4200-135 Porto, Portugal
| | - Fernando Passos
- Psychology Unit of the Portuguese National Police, 2605-000 Belas-Sintra, Portugal
| | - Ana Bártolo
- Center for Health Technology and Services Research (CINTESIS), Department of Education and Psychology, University of Aveiro, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal
| | - Sara Faria
- Faculty of Psychology and Education Sciences, University of Porto, 4200-135 Porto, Portugal
| | | | | | - Carlos F Silva
- Department of Education and Psychology, University of Aveiro, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal
| | - Anabela Pereira
- Department of Education and Psychology, University of Aveiro, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal
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Queirós C, Passos F, Bártolo A, Marques AJ, da Silva CF, Pereira A. Burnout and Stress Measurement in Police Officers: Literature Review and a Study With the Operational Police Stress Questionnaire. Front Psychol 2020; 11:587. [PMID: 32457673 PMCID: PMC7221164 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00587] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2020] [Accepted: 03/12/2020] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
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 cut-off 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.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cristina Queirós
- Faculty of Psychology and Education Sciences, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal
| | - Fernando Passos
- Psychology Unit of the Portuguese National Police, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Ana Bártolo
- Center for Health Technology and Services Research (CINTESIS), Department of Education and Psychology, University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal
| | | | | | - Anabela Pereira
- Department of Education and Psychology, University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal
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