Gender Differences in Law Enforcement Officer Stress and Coping Strategies

2021 ◽  
pp. 109861112110375
Author(s):  
Heidi S. Bonner ◽  
Andy Brimhall

Law enforcement officers, like many professionals, are not immune to the effect of stress on their overall health. In fact, law enforcement officers may be particularly vulnerable to these effects due to unique and sometimes traumatic stressors inherent in their work. Further, male and female officers may experience the stressors of the law enforcement profession, and the coping strategies used in response to stress, differently. Using survey data collected from a sample of law enforcement officers in a large urban police agency in the southeastern United States, this research examines the differences between male and female officers in terms of perception of stressors in policing and coping strategies used in response to stress. The findings indicate that female officers have significantly higher mean stress scores on several items (particularly those regarding safety factors) and are significantly more likely to use positive coping strategies compared to male officers.

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 106-126
Author(s):  
V.A. Rogachev ◽  
I.N. Konopleva

The article discusses the problem of studying the tolerance of uncertainty and coping behaviors among law enforcement officers. The problem of coping behavior is one of the most relevant for legal psychology in the study of psychological characteristics of work and personality of law enforcement officers. Performance is achieved not only professional knowledge and skills, but also features tolerance to ambiguity and stress overcoming behavior of employees in a busy and special conditions. Considered tolerance/intolerance (TN/INT) to uncertainty, coping behavior, its essence and main components. Defined the main directions in studying the coping strategies of law enforcement. The study involved 78 officers FDCS of Russia in the age from 20 to 50 years with different calendar length of service in bodies of drug enforcement. The results of an empirical study aimed at studying the peculiarities of tolerance for uncertainty and coping strategies of law enforcement officers, establish the specific nature of their relationship. The differences in the level of tolerance for uncertainty and the choice of coping strategies among employees depending on the experience of service in law enforcement and the level of neuropsychic stability.


2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 26-43 ◽  
Author(s):  
V.A. Rogachev ◽  
I.N. Konopleva

The paper deals with the problem of studying tolerance to uncertainty and coping behavior of law enforcement officers. The theoretical aspects of the problem are analyzed, the specificity of the use of the category "uncertainty" in psychology is revealed. The article presents the history of the formation of the construct of tolerance / tolerance to uncertainty in psychology, the current state of the problem of tolerance to uncertainty in psychology. The problem of studying the coping behavior of law enforcement officers is considered. Coping behavior, its essence and main components are characterized. The main directions in the study of coping strategies of law enforcement officers. The interrelationship and influence of tolerance to uncertainty on coping strategy of coping behavior in different spheres of activity are considered. It is shown that the coping behavior consists of coping strategies and coping resources. In psychological studies, tolerance to uncertainty is considered as one of the key resources of the individual in dealing with stressful situations.


Author(s):  
Amanda Campos Fraga MARTINS ◽  
Ana Paula dos Santos COSTA ◽  
Denise Rossi FORESTO-DEL COL

Os cursos da área da saúde possuem extensa carga horária de estágios, aulas práticas, relatórios e trabalho de conclusão de curso. Há ainda, na área da Enfermagem, inerente desgaste relacionado ao contato direto com doenças e mortes que a futura profissão lhes ocasiona nos estágios em instituições de saúde. Isso torna o ambiente acadêmico envolto em sentimentos de grande ansiedade e estresse. Dessa forma, os estudantes podem apresentar níveis elevados de estresse que podem causar o adoecimento físico e psíquico e comprometer a saúde mental deles. Por essas razões, este trabalho, por meio de pesquisa quantitativa, tem o intuito de descrever a prevalência de estresse e as estratégias de coping utilizadas nos estudantes do curso de Enfermagem. Os instrumentos utilizados foram a aplicação de um questionário sociodemográfico, escala Nível de Estresse nos Estudantes (N.I.S.E.S.T.E) e o Inventário de Resolução de Problemas (I.R.P). O maior nível de estresse encontrado foi em relação à preocupação com os estágios (2,9) e preocupação com os exames (2,73). Os universitários utilizam estratégias de coping positivas como atitude de confronto e resolução de problemas (3,67) e atitude ativa de não inferências (3,37). O nível de estresse dos universitários é considerado médio pela utilização de estratégias de coping positivas, o que colabora para que o estresse não seja alto e prejudicial.   STRESS LEVEL AND COPING STRATEGIES FOR SENIOR UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS   ABSTRACT The health degree programs bear an extensive internship workload, practical classes, reports, and final paper. There is also, in Nursing degree, inherent physical wear related to personal contact to diseases and deaths that the student’s future profession causes during the internship in Health Institutions.  As a consequence, the academic environment is surrounded by stress and anxiety feelings. Accordingly, students may present high levels of stress and result in physical and psychological illnesses and jeopardize their mental health. Thus, this paper aims through quantitative research to describe stress relevance and coping strategies used by students at Nursing school. The instruments used were the application of a sociodemographic questionnaire, for College Undergraduate Stress Scale (CUSS), and Problem Solving Inventory (PSI). The highest level demonstrated was regarding internship (2,9) and concerns with exams (2,73). Students used positive coping strategies as confront attitudes and solving problems (3,67), and non-inference active attitudes (3,37). According to positive coping strategies, the student’s stress level was considered medium; it contributes so that stress will not be high and harmful.    Descriptors: Psychological Stress. Nursing Undergraduate Students. Psychological Adaptations.


2021 ◽  
pp. 019459982110531
Author(s):  
Holly Cordray ◽  
Chhaya Patel ◽  
Kara K. Prickett

Objective Preoperative education empowers children to approach surgery with positive expectations, and providers need efficient, child-focused resources. This study aimed to evaluate an interactive pop-up book as a tool for explaining surgery, managing preoperative anxiety, and strengthening coping strategies. Study Design Prospective randomized controlled trial. Setting Pediatric outpatient surgery center. Methods Patients ages 5 to 12 undergoing outpatient surgery read a pop-up book about anesthesia (intervention) or received standard care (control). Patients self-reported their preoperative fear, pain expectations, views of the procedure and preoperative explanations, and coping strategies. Outcomes also included observer-rated behavioral anxiety and caregiver satisfaction. Results In total, 148 patients completed the study. The pop-up book had a significant, large effect in reducing patients’ fear of anesthesia induction (Cohen’s d effect size = 0.94; P < .001). Intervention patients also expected less pain than control patients from the anesthesia mask and during surgery ( d = 0.60-0.80; P < .001). The book encouraged more positive views of the procedure and preoperative explanations ( P < .005). Furthermore, the book prepared patients to cope adaptively: intervention patients were significantly more likely to generate positive active coping strategies, distraction strategies, and support-seeking strategies ( P < .001). Observer-rated behavioral anxiety at anesthesia induction did not differ between groups ( P = .75). Caregivers in the intervention group were significantly more satisfied with each aspect of the surgical experience ( P≤ .02). Conclusion The educational pop-up book offers a child-focused resource that helps alleviate children’s preoperative fears, encourages positive coping, and improves caregivers’ perceptions of the experience. This study was registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT04796077).


2019 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Seki A. Balogun ◽  
Natalie B. May ◽  
Meagan Briley ◽  
Allison Bosch ◽  
Isabelle Duerr ◽  
...  

BackgroundLittle is known about the perceptions of older adults with end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) on chronic hemodialysis (HD) even though this could potentially influence how treatment is received. This study explores the perceptions of older adults with ESKD on HD, specifically their decision to initiate HD, preconceptions and expectations of HD, perceived difficulties with HD, and coping strategies.Design: Cross–sectionalSetting: Outpatient chronic dialysis units Participants: Older adults with ESKD on HD Intervention: Open-ended interviews were conducted with 15 participants. Inclusion criteria were age 60 years and older, HD duration of at least three months, and ability to consent and participate in the interview process.Results: We report on four identified domains: decision to initiate HD; preconceptions and expectations of HD; drawback of HD; and coping strategies. All participants were reluctant to initiate HD, but made the decision on advice from their physicians for varying reasons. Trust in physicians’ opinions also played a role for some. Some participants had positive preconceptions of HD, while a few had negative preconceptions or unrealistic expectations. Even though the majority of participants identified several difficulties with being on HD, they also had positive coping strategies, and the majority indicated that they would make the same decision to initiate HD.Conclusion: As clinicians are turning more to patient-centered medicine, understanding patients’ perceptions of HD is of crucial importance. Our study highlights the importance of improving pre-hemodialysis education to ensure that patients’ expectations are realistic, as well as identifying individualized coping strategies by patients. 


Author(s):  
Shannon Harper ◽  
Angela Gover ◽  
Samara McPhedran ◽  
Paul Mazerolle

PurposeComparative research provides a mechanism to understand how justice systems throughout the world operate. McPhedran et al. (2017) conducted a comparative examination of police officer attitudes about domestic violence (DV) in the USA and Australia and reported fairly high levels of agreement among male and female officers within each country. The current study builds on these findings by examining officer attitudes toward DV among male and female officers cross-nationally. This was accomplished by examining whether American and Australian male and female officers agree with one another on a number of DV issues.Design/methodology/approachTwo-way ANOVA was used to examine the effect of two factors (gender and country) on law enforcement officer attitudes about DV.FindingsThe results suggest that male and female officers from the USA and Australia significantly differ on 14 of 24 attitudes about DV with the greatest number of attitudinal differences found between American and Australian male officers.Research limitations/implicationsScholars who conduct future research examining police officer attitudes about DV should use the instrument from this study as a springboard to develop an updated survey in terms of content and one that would be applicable to cross-national analyses. Methodological study limitations are described in depth in McPhedran et al. (2017).Originality/valueWhile gender differences in attitudes have received scholarly attention, questions remain regarding the degree to which attitudes align among male and female officers across different countries. The current study seeks to fill these gaps in knowledge by examining attitudes about DV between American and Australian law enforcement officers.


2011 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 241-251 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Thomas Kishore

Understanding the disability impact on parenting and caregiving is important for intervention. The present study was designed to understand the differences in perceived disability impact and related coping in mothers having children with intellectual disabilities alone compared to those having children with intellectual disabilities and additional disabilities. Accordingly, 30 mothers of children with intellectual disabilities and 30 mothers of children with intellectual and additional disabilities were assessed for disability impact and coping. Group differences for disability impact were present in specific domains but not overall. Despite variations in coping pattern, both positive and negative coping strategies were observed in both groups. The results may imply that the impact of intellectual disability is so pervasive that except in certain domains mothers may not perceive the further impact of additional disabilities. Positive coping does not rule out negative coping strategies. These findings have specific relevance to service delivery in a cultural context.


Author(s):  
Klara Saczuk ◽  
Barbara Lapinska ◽  
Paulina Wilmont ◽  
Lukasz Pawlak ◽  
Monika Lukomska-Szymanska

Sleep bruxism (SB) is a common phenomenon defined as a masticatory muscle activity during sleep. Untreated severe SB can have significant dental and orofacial consequences. SB has often been linked with stress and maladaptive coping strategies. Therefore, in this study, a potential correlation between SB, perceived stress and coping strategies was evaluated. A total of 60 adults were enrolled into this study. Participants underwent a detailed intra- and extraoral exam focused on detecting bruxism symptoms. Additionally, the overnight Bruxism Index was recorded using the Bruxoff device. A total of 35 participants with symptoms of bruxism were assigned to the study group, whereas 25 asymptomatic participants were assigned to the control group. The Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10) was used for stress assessment and Brief-COPE for coping strategies. Results showed that the higher the PSS-10 score, the higher the Bruxism Index was in the study group. Positive coping strategies were chosen most frequently in the control group, while maladaptive ones were chosen in the study group. It can be concluded that there is a relationship between perceived stress and sleep bruxism. Moreover, the type of coping strategies used by participants may have an impact on sleep bruxism, but the relationship should be further investigated.


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