Stress among Police Officers - Paper Sample

Introduction

The concern is whether stress among police officers negatively affects both the person and their organization. It’s no secret that a police officer's job is stressful due to the uncertainty of danger, the increase of firearms in urban areas, and countless other things. Christina et al., (2020) suggest that the stress on an officer has a negative impact on their mental and physical health, performance, and interactions with citizens. Not only does stress affect an officer at work, but it also can interrupt their personal lives and relationships. If mental health is not taken into consideration in the workplace the results may lead to depression, anxiety, burnout, or even suicide. With police officers being first responders, they must know how to handle stress for the safety of the community. Therefore, it is important to identify stress and burnout levels regularly.

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Purpose of the Study

The purpose of the study is to obtain a detailed understanding of stress among police officers. The research has found it crucial to study the reasons why police officers get stressed. The study focuses on evaluating the work conditions involved in the police department that would make them stressed. Secondly, it is crucial to conduct the study to assess the impact of stress among police officers on their personal lives and in the organizations that they work in. Thirdly, the purpose of the study is also to offer recommendations on how police officers can handle their stress to ensure that they diligently serve the members of society. The recommendations would also offer suggestions on how police officers can avoid stress.

Research Questions

The following are the research questions that guide the study. They also help in developing the literature review.

1. What are the main causes of stress among police officers?
2. How has stress affected police officers both at the individual level?
3. How has stress affected police officers in their organizations and while carrying out their duties?
4. What recommendations can be offered to reduce stress among police officers?

Definition of Terms

The following are some of the terms that would be used in the study.

Stress: It refers to a situation where an individual has a feeling of either emotional or physical tension as a result of anger, frustration, or because of being nervous (Fink, 2010).

Depression: It is a medical illness characterized by a mood disorder that causes a persistent feeling of anger, sadness, and rejection (Gaynes et al., 2020).

Anxiety: It is a feeling of being uneasy and experiencing tension because of the uncertainty concerning what may arise in the future (Zhang et al., 2017).

Burnout: It refers to physical, emotional, and mental exhaustion that is caused by stress that has been experienced over a long period (Lin et al., 2019). It causes one to be overwhelmed, drained, and unable to do anything constructive.

References

Fink, G. (2010). Stress: definition and history. Stress science: neuroendocrinology, 3-9.

Gaynes, B. N., Lux, L., Gartlehner, G., Asher, G., FormanHoffman, V., Green, J. & CokerSchwimmer, E. (2020). Defining treatmentresistant depression. Depression and anxiety, 37(2), 134-145.

Lin, M., Battaglioli, N., Melamed, M., Mott, S. E., Chung, A. S., & Robinson, D. W. (2019). High prevalence of burnout among US emergency medicine residents: results from the 2017 National Emergency Medicine Wellness Survey. Annals of emergency medicine, 74(5), 682-690.

Queiros, C., Passos, F., Bartolo, A., Marques, A., Fernandes da Sailva, C., & Pereira, A. (2020, May 7). Burnout and stress measurement in police officers: Literature review and a study with the operational police stress questionnaire. PubMed Central (PMC). https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7221164/Zhang, L., Fu, T., Yin, R., Zhang, Q., & Shen, B. (2017). Prevalence of depression and anxiety in systemic lupus erythematosus: a systematic review and meta-analysis. BMC psychiatry, 17(1), 70.