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)
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:unisa/oai:umkn-dsp01.int.unisa.ac.za:10500/2116 |
| Date | 11 1900 |
| Creators | Louw, Gerrit Johannes |
| Contributors | Viviers, A.M. |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | 1 online resource (xviii, 348 leaves) |
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