Organizational stress: The unseen enemy of police
by Moreno, Benjamin R., Ph.D., CAPELLA UNIVERSITY, 2011, 208 pages; 3450060

Abstract:

Current research on police organizational stress suggests that it negatively affects police behavior, aggravates physical and psychological maladies, and stresses working relationships. The research seeks to question anger aggression theory (Griffin & Bernard, 2003, Angry Aggression Theory) when applied to police stress in that; social isolation is theorized to be affected by constant perceived danger experienced in the field. The present research contributed to the theoretical body of literature through a secondary analysis of data collected from the Work and Family Services for Law Enforcement Personnel in the United States study (Delprino, O.Quin, and Kennedy, 1995). To examine police social and individual factors that influence stress, such as organizational philosophy, social isolation, and enduring shift work, and physical and psychological symptoms. The findings of the present research reveal that although social isolation has an adequate reliability coefficient of (.71), self-reported stress scores were positively associated with social isolation, ( r = .20, p <.001). Although stress scores were negatively associated with organizational philosophy scores, (r= -.09, p<.001), indicating that police officers with a positive perception of their organizations' philosophy tended to have lower levels of self-reported stress and physical symptoms. However, there was found to be no relationship between police officers stress related physical symptoms and shift work. The primary conclusions drawn from this research study are that perceptions of the police organization as supportive instead of authoritative and militaristic were associated with lower levels of self-reported stress and fewer physical symptoms. Higher levels of stress and physical symptoms were associated with higher levels of social isolation, and an increased frequency of changes in shifts was associated with higher levels of self-reported stress but not with increased physical symptoms. Future research should attempt to measure social isolation variables in the work domain as well as the home environment to determine the magnitude of the source. It could develop threat-based variables experienced in the field and compare them with stress-based variables experienced in the organization. The implications of the present study also suggest that future research focus on further examining Griffin and Bernard's (2003) feedback loop theory.

 
AdviserStephen Verrill
SchoolCAPELLA UNIVERSITY
SourceDAI/A 72-06, p. , May 2011
Source TypeDissertation
SubjectsCriminology
Publication Number3450060
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