Scholars have validated both the damaging presence of police officer stress and separately, their increasing obese condition in the United States. Previous studies of police officers focus on stress or body weight, but not these variables conjointly. The purpose of this study was to inform policy creation by examining the problem of officer stress in relation to the calculated body mass index (BMI) values and to gain insight into stress outcomes. Lazarus and Folkman's stress-coping theory served as the research lens to examine if BMI would significantly contribute to the percent change of R2 variance accounted for in the predictive effect of self-reported organizational and operational stress in the past 6 months after controlling for age, gender, rank, marital status, shift work, and seniority. This quantitative research consisted of survey data that were collected from 132 volunteer officers using McCreary's Police Stress Questionnaires. Multiple regression analysis tested the predictive relationship between BMI and stress and regression model outputs illustrated no statistically significant relationship between officer stress and BMI; however, post hoc analyses found shift work to be a significant stress predictor (p = .01). Based on regression results and this body of research, social change implications include police administrators promoting policies and training which protects officers from the harmful effects of stress and BMI. Lessened stress can have a positive influence on the police and the entire public they serve.

How police officers deal with stress greatly affects how they carry out their daily lives and how they treat family and friends. In this study 2 police departments were issued surveys to see how the police officers experienced stress. Questions on the survey asked the officers about the sources of stress, sources of support, and which methods they used to alleviate the stress. The surveys were given to the respective departments over a period of 2 months, and 132 surveys were returned. The statistical analysis performed showed danger was a factor when examining stress. Administration support was found to be a source of support.

The most recent research in police domestic violence has shown that officers may perpetrate domestic violence at a higher rate than the general population, 28% versus 16%, respectively (Sgambelluri, 2000). Traditional police sub-culture has been identified, in several studies, as contributing to higher work stress, and using force on the job (Alexander et al., 1993; Drummond, 1976; Johnson et al, 2005; Kop and Euwema, 2001; Sgambelluri, 2000; Wetendorf, 2000). This research, however, has not fully examined the link between adherence to the traditional police sub-culture and officer involvement in domestic violence. This study attempts to identify whether officers who adhere to the aspects of the traditional police sub-culture are more likely to use violence against their intimate partner using two types of domestic violence-physical assault and psychological violence-as well as examine gender's moderating influence on police domestic violence and traditional police sub-culture. Using a survey created from existing scales, 250 officers were contacted within several departments in Central Florida, of these, 90 officers responded. Using Tobit and Logistic Regression the study found that officers who adhere to aspects of the traditional police subculture are more likely to engage in psychological domestic violence. There was no relationship found between traditional police culture and physical domestic violence. A thorough discussion of the results and future research directions is also included.

Studies on the career paths of municipal police officers have revealed an emergence of four distinct phases which officers pass through during their professional careers, phases where the perception of their profession changes. These phases are more constant at the patrol officer level where most officers begin and finish their career. Among these four phases is the disillusion phase (between 6 and 13 years), where the expectations at work are not met. The perception of the police administration, the public and the criminal justice system, all become negative and the hope for promotions diminish. These studies were mainly conducted in a period where there were very few or no women in policing. Through a feminist perspective and a social constructionist theoretical framework, this thesis makes the hypothesis that because women have different expectations at work, a varying work/life balance and a contrasting aspiration to attain positions of power, women will live this second phase differently. To explore this hypothesis, data was collected from ten semi-structured interviews with female patrol officers having worked between 6 and 13 years in municipal police departments. A discourse analysis effectively shows significant differences for the reasons underlying our hypotheses. Even if they have some frustrations about certain aspects of their work, we did not see any disillusionment from any women in this phase.

Studies on the career paths of municipal police officers have revealed an emergence of four distinct phases which officers pass through during their professional careers, phases where the perception of their profession changes. These phases are more constant at the patrol officer level where most officers begin and finish their career. Among these four phases is the disillusion phase (between 6 and 13 years), where the expectations at work are not met. The perception of the police administration, the public and the criminal justice system, all become negative and the hope for promotions diminish. These studies were mainly conducted in a period where there were very few or no women in policing. Through a feminist perspective and a social constructionist theoretical framework, this thesis makes the hypothesis that because women have different expectations at work, a varying work/life balance and a contrasting aspiration to attain positions of power, women will live this second phase differently. To explore this hypothesis, data was collected from ten semi-structured interviews with female patrol officers having worked between 6 and 13 years in municipal police departments. A discourse analysis effectively shows significant differences for the reasons underlying our hypotheses. Even if they have some frustrations about certain aspects of their work, we did not see any disillusionment from any women in this phase.

Police officers provide emergency services to the public, while being simultaneously exposed to various organisational and social stressors over which they have little or no control. The outcome of this may be that highly committed and loyal police officers become psychologically and physically burned-out. Adversely, others may accept the same conditions and situations as a challenge and live an energetic and proactive life while experiencing a positive affective state (vigour) toward their duties. Officers who are burned-out may fail to meet their goal to protect the public, but eventually may suffer. The general objective of this study was to investigate vigour and burnout as obliquely related outcomes of the stress and coping process in terms of its dynamic relationship with challenges or threats, and the mediating role of personal factors, social resources and coping resources in the police context. The research is a qualitative explication of theoretical concepts and constructs, followed by a quantitative empirical survey design. The survey led to a Structural Equation Model (SEM) fit between empirical data and the Moos (1994) hypothesised stress and coping model. Seven measuring instruments were used to collect data. Job demands, work overload and uncertainty were identified as causes of work stress originating within the work situation. Respondents indicated that family members play a role in social support, although it decreases when stress increases. The SEM procedure revealed that social support and personality has a limited and direct effect on well-being when experiencing a positive affective state (vigour), with coping strategies deleted from the experimental model. Adversely, stress has a direct effect on well-being (and eventually burnout) with no moderating effects by the hypothesised variables. The study proposes a new Police Vigour and Burnout Model (PVBM) as an alignment to the Moos (1994) model. It is recommended that vigour and burnout, as outcomes of the stress and coping process, be included in future studies as obliquely related variables in other spheres of society. An additional proposal is that stress inducing features within the police organisation should be scrutinized and critically addressed to prevent negative psychological affects. / Industrial Psychology / D.Litt. et Phil. (Industrial and Organisational Psyschology)

Police officers provide emergency services to the public, while being simultaneously exposed to various organisational and social stressors over which they have little or no control. The outcome of this may be that highly committed and loyal police officers become psychologically and physically burned-out. Adversely, others may accept the same conditions and situations as a challenge and live an energetic and proactive life while experiencing a positive affective state (vigour) toward their duties. Officers who are burned-out may fail to meet their goal to protect the public, but eventually may suffer. The general objective of this study was to investigate vigour and burnout as obliquely related outcomes of the stress and coping process in terms of its dynamic relationship with challenges or threats, and the mediating role of personal factors, social resources and coping resources in the police context. The research is a qualitative explication of theoretical concepts and constructs, followed by a quantitative empirical survey design. The survey led to a Structural Equation Model (SEM) fit between empirical data and the Moos (1994) hypothesised stress and coping model. Seven measuring instruments were used to collect data. Job demands, work overload and uncertainty were identified as causes of work stress originating within the work situation. Respondents indicated that family members play a role in social support, although it decreases when stress increases. The SEM procedure revealed that social support and personality has a limited and direct effect on well-being when experiencing a positive affective state (vigour), with coping strategies deleted from the experimental model. Adversely, stress has a direct effect on well-being (and eventually burnout) with no moderating effects by the hypothesised variables. The study proposes a new Police Vigour and Burnout Model (PVBM) as an alignment to the Moos (1994) model. It is recommended that vigour and burnout, as outcomes of the stress and coping process, be included in future studies as obliquely related variables in other spheres of society. An additional proposal is that stress inducing features within the police organisation should be scrutinized and critically addressed to prevent negative psychological affects. / Industrial Psychology / D.Litt. et Phil. (Industrial and Organisational Psyschology)