Duty-Related Stressors and PTSD Symptoms in Suburban Police Officers

This study examined the effects of duty-related stress on police officers. Using a sample of 100 suburban police officers, an anonymous questionnaire requested demographic information and included a measure of duty-related stressors, SCL-90–R, the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder scale of the Impact of Events Scale-Revised, and a locus of control scale. Also assessed was whether Critical Incident Stress Debriefing was experienced. The results showed significant correlations between scores on duty-related stress, somatization, and symptoms of PTSD. 13% of the sample met the DSM-IV (1994) diagnostic criteria for PTSD. Results of the regression analysis showed the best predictors for the diagnosis of PTSD were associated with the factor of Exposure to Death and Life Threat, which corresponds to the DSM-IV AI criteria. Finally, 63% of the respondents stated that a critical incident debriefing would be beneficial following an extremely stressful event related to duty.

“Angels in Marble”: Problems in Stimulating Community Involvement in Community Policing

In 1990 the Bureau of Justice Assistance awarded grants to eight urban and suburban police departments for the purpose of establishing innovative neighborhood-oriented drug demand reduction projects. The projects varied in design and implementation, but all encountered the same implementation problems. The most perplexing of these problems was the inability of the police departments to organize and maintain active community involvement in their projects. The research examines the reasons for the inability of police departments to establish effective partnerships with community residents. The results of this analysis suggest that despite the apparent popularity of the community policing approach, community residents may not want closer interaction with the police nor the responsibility for maintaining social control.

The Effects of Hardiness, Police Stress, and Life Stress on Police Officers' Illness and Absenteeism

A total of 60 police officers from seven suburban police departments were given a questionnaire twice over a six-month period. The results of four time-lagged hierarchical regression analyses showed that high levels of police stress and life stress (measured at Time 1) were significantly related to illness (measured at Time 2). Police stress (Time 1) was significantly associated with absenteeism (Time 2). Further, hardy police officers with a high level of police stress tended to have a high level of absenteeism than hardy officers with a low level of police stress, whereas nonhardy officers experienced a high level of absenteeism regardless of their level of police stress. Implications concerning the results of this study are discussed.

The Police Stress Survey: Reliability and Relation to Job Satisfaction and Organizational Commitment

The 1981 Police Stress Survey of Spielberger, Westbury, Grier, and Greenfield was administered to 99 metropolitan and suburban police officers. Internal consistency reliabilities were in the .90s for both the total scale and two subscales which measure administrative/organizational and physical/psychological stressors. The administrative/organizational, but not the physical/psychological, subscale was significantly related to measures of job satisfaction and organizational commitment.