This study controls for officer characteristics (i.e., age, race, children living in the home, relationship status, time in policing, military experience, community size, and country) while examining the effects of critical incidents, social stressors, and coping on alcohol use and posttraumatic stress disorder among men (N = 1,144) and women (N = 309) using self-report surveys from an international sample of police. Gender differences were found in the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test but not in posttraumatic stress disorder models. The critical incidents by coping by social stressors three-way interaction was significantly associated with men’s, but not women’s, drinking, and the effects of critical incidents were positive for men but negative for women.
AikenL. S.WestS. G. (1991) Multiple regression: Testing and interpreting interactions, Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
2.
AnshelM. H. (2000) A conceptual model and implications for coping with stressful events in police work. Criminal Justice and Behavior27: 375–400. doi:10.1177/0093854800027003006.
3.
ArnetzB. B.ArbelE.BackmanL.LynchA.LublinA. (2013) Assessment of prevention program for work-related stress among urban police officers. International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health86: 79–88.
4.
ArnetzB. B.NevedalD. C.LumleyM. A.BackmanL.LublinA. (2009) Trauma resilience training for police: Psychophysiological and performance effects. Journal of Police Criminal Psychology24(1): 1–9.
5.
Arter, M. L. (2005). Undercover and under stress: The impact of undercover assignments on police officers (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from Dissertation Abstracts International. (UMI No. 3163323).
6.
ArterM. L. (2008) Stress and deviance in policing. Deviant Behavior29: 43–69. doi:10.1080/01639620701457774.
7.
ArterM. L.MénardK. S. (2012) The social blues: Examining social stressors in policing. Law Enforcement Executive Forum12(2): 1–14.
8.
BaborT. F.Higgins-BiddleJ. C.SaundersJ. B.MonteiroM. G. (2001) The alcohol use disorders identification test: Guidelines for use in primary care, 2nd ed. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization.
9.
BallengerJ. F.BestS. R.MetzlerT. J.WassermanD. A.MohrD. C.LibermanA.MarmarC. R. (2010) Patterns and predictors of alcohol use in male and female urban police officers. The American Journal on Addictions20: 21–29. doi:10.1111/j.1521-0391.2010.00092.x.
10.
Ben-ZurH. (2009) Coping styles and affect. International Journal of Stress Management16: 87–101. doi:10.1037/a0015731.
11.
BerkingM.MeierC.WuppermanP. (2010) Enhancing emotion-regulation skills in police officers: Results of a pilot controlled study. Behavior Therapy41: 329–339.
12.
BlauT. H. (1994) Psychological services for law enforcement, New York, NY: Wiley.
13.
BowlerR. M.HarrisM.LiJ.GochevaV.StellmanS. D.WilsonK.ConeJ. E. (2012) Longitudinal mental health impact among police responders to the 9/11 terrorist attack. American Journal of Industrial Medicine55: 297–312. doi:10.1002/ajim.22000.
14.
BukerH.WieckoF. (2007) Are causes of police stress global? Testing the effects of common police stressors on the Turkish National Police. Policing30: 291–309. doi:10.1108/13639510710710753270.
Bureau of Justice Statistics (2010) Women in law enforcement, 1987–2008, Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice.
17.
CarlierJ.LambertsR.GersonsB. (1997) Risk factors for posttraumatic stress symptomatology in police officers: A prospective analysis. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease185: 498–506.
18.
CarverC. S.ScheierM. F.WeintraubJ. K. (1989) Assessing coping strategies: A theoretically based approach. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology56: 267–283.
19.
DaveyJ. D.ObstP. L.SheehanM. C. (2000) Developing a profile of alcohol consumption patterns of police officers in a large scale sample of an Australian police service. European Addition Research6: 205–212. doi:10.1159/000052047.
20.
DawsonD. A.GrantB. F.ChouS. P.PickeringR. P. (1995) Subgroup variation in U.S. drinking patterns: Results of the 1992 National Longitudinal Alcohol Epidemiologic Study. Journal of Substance Abuse7: 331–344. doi:10.1016/0899-3289(95)90026-8.
21.
DempseyJ. S.ForstL. S. (2010) An introduction to policing (6th ed.), Clifton Park, NY: Cengage.
22.
Federal Bureau of Investigation (2013) Crime in the United States, 2012, Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice.
23.
FolkmanS.LazarusR. S. (1985) If it changes it must be a process: Study of emotion and coping during three stages of a college examination. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology48: 150–170.
24.
ForemanL. (1978) At the Crossroads? The functions of policewomen in Victoria, Australia, Canberra, ACT: Criminology Research Council.
25.
HeN.ZhaoJ.ArchboldC. A. (2002) Gender and police stress: The convergent and divergent impact of work environment, work-family conflict, and stress coping mechanisms of female and male police officers. Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies & Management25: 687–708. doi:10.11-8/13639510210450631.
26.
HeN.ZhaoJ.RenL. (2005) Do race and gender matter in police stress? A preliminary assessment of the interactive effects. Journal of Criminal Justice33: 535–547. doi:10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2005.08.003.
Home Office (2012) Police service strength, London, England: Home Office Statistical Bulletin.
29.
KesslerR. C.BerglundP.DelmerO.JinR.MerikangasK. R.WaltersE. E. (2005) Lifetime prevalence and age-of-onset distributions of DSM-IV disorders in the National Comorbidity Survey Replication. Archives of General Psychiatry62: 593–602.
30.
KoenenK. C.WidomC. S. (2009) A prospective study of sex differences in the lifetime risk of posttraumatic stress disorder among abused and neglected children. Journal of Traumatic Stress22: 566–574. doi:10.1002/jts.20478.
31.
KurtzD. L. (2008) Controlled burn: The gendering of stress and burnout in modern policing. Feminist Criminology3: 216–238. doi:10.1177/1557085108321672.
32.
LazarusR. S.FolkmanS. (1984) Stress, appraisal, and coping, New York, NY: Springer.
33.
LeBeufM.-E. (1996) Three decades of women in policing: A literature review, Ottawa, ON: Canadian Police Executive Institute.
34.
LillyM. M.PoleN.BestS. R.MetzlerT.MarmarC. R. (2009) Gender and PTSD: What we can learn from female police officers?Journal of Anxiety Disorders23: 767–774. doi:10.1016/j.janxdis.2009.02.015.
35.
LindsayV.ShelleyK. (2009) Social and stress-related influences of police officers’ alcohol consumption. Journal of Police Criminal Psychology24: 87–92. doi:10.1007/s11896-009-9048-9.
36.
MarmarC. R.McCaslinS. E.MetzlerT. J.BestS.WeissD. S.FaganJ.NeylanT. (2006) Predictors of posttraumatic stress in police officers and other first responders. Annals New York Academy of Sciences1071(1): 1–18. doi:10.1196/annals.1364.001.
37.
MartinS. E.JurikN. C. (2007) Doing justice, doing gender: Women in law and criminal justice occupations, Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
38.
McCartyW. P.ZhaoJ.GarlandB. E. (2007) Occupational stress and burnout between male and female police officers: Are there any gender differences?Policing30: 672–685. doi:10.1108/13639510710833938.
39.
MénardK. S.ArterM. L. (2013) Police officer alcohol use and trauma symptoms: Associations with critical incidents, coping, and social stressors. International Journal of Stress Management20: 37–56. doi:10.1037/a0031434.
40.
MorashM.KwakD.HaarrR. (2006) Gender differences in the predictors of police stress. Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies & Management29: 541–563. doi:10.1108/13639510610684755.
41.
MossmanE.MayhewP.RoweM.JordanJ. (2008) Literature reviews about the barriers to recruiting a diverse police workforce, Wellington, New Zealand: New Zealand Police.
PasillasR. M.FolletteV. M.Perumean-ChaneyS. E. (2006) Occupational stress and psychological functioning in law enforcement officers. Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology21: 41–53.
44.
PaternosterR.BrameR.MazerolleP.PiqueroA. (1998) Using the correct statistical test for equality of regression coefficients. Criminology36: 859–866.
45.
PiqueroN. L. (2005) Understanding police stress and coping resources across gender: A look toward general strain theory. In: CopesH. (ed) Policing and stress, Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, pp. 126–139.
46.
PoleN.BestS. Z.WeissD. S.MetzlerT.LibermanA. M.FaganJ.MarmarC. R. (2001) Effects of gender and ethnicity on duty-related posttraumatic stress symptoms among urban police officers. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disorder189(7): 442–448.
47.
PriceB. F.SokoloffN. J. (2004) The criminal justice system and women: Offenders, prisoners, victims, & workers, New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
48.
Productivity Commission (2013) Report on government services, Canberra, Australia: Australian Government.
49.
RobertsA. L.GilmanS. E.BreslauJ.BreslauN.KoenenK. C. (2011) Race/ethnic differences in exposure to traumatic events, development of post-traumatic stress disorder, and treatment-seeking for post-traumatic stress disorder in the United States. Psychological Medicine41: 71–83. doi:10.1017/S0033291710000401.
50.
SegraveK. (2014) Policewomen: A history, 2nd ed. Jefferson, NC: McFarland.
51.
ShochetI. M.Shakespeare-FinchJ.CraigC.RoosC.WurflA.HogeR.BroughP. (2011) The development and implementation of the Promoting Resilient Officers (PRO) Program. Traumatology17: 43–51. doi:10.1177/1534765611429080.
52.
StephensC.LongN.MillerI. (1997) The impact of trauma and social support on posttraumatic stress disorder: A study of New Zealand police officers. Journal of Criminal Justice25: 303–314.
53.
SullivanP. K. (1979) Role of women in the police service – The effects of the Sex Discrimination Act 1975 – A comparison of respective positions. Police Journal52: 336–343.
54.
SwansonC. R.TerritoL.TaylorR. W. (2012) Police administration: Structures, processes, and behaviors, New York, NY: Prentice Hall.
55.
SwattM. L.GibsonC. L.PiqueroN. L. (2007) Exploring the utility of general strain theory in explaining problematic alcohol consumption by police officers. Journal of Criminal Justice35: 596–611. doi:10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2007.09.005.
56.
TamresL. K.JanickiD.HelgesonV. S. (2002) Sex differences in coping behavior: A meta-analytic review and an examination of relative coping. Personality and Social Psychology Review6: 2–30. doi:10.1207/S15327957PSPR0601_1.
57.
ThompsonB. M.KirkA.BrownD. F. (2005) Work based support, emotional exhaustion, and spillover of work stress to the family environment: A study of policewomen. Stress and Health21: 199–207. doi:10.1002/smi.1056.
58.
TolinD. F.FoaE. B. (2006) Sex differences in trauma and posttraumatic stress disorder: A quantitative review of 25 years of research. Psychology Bulletin132: 959–992. doi:10.1037/0033-2909.132.6.959.
59.
VanasscheS.SwicegoodG.MatthijsK. (2013) Marriage and children as a key to happiness? Cross-national differences in the effects of marital status and children on well-being. Journal of Happiness Studies14: 501–534. doi:10.1007/s10902-012-9340-8.
60.
ViolantiJ. M.SlavenJ. E.CharlesL. E.BurchfielC. M.AndrewM. E.HomishG. G. (2011) Police and alcohol use: A descriptive analysis and associations with stress outcomes. American Journal of Criminal Justice36: 344–356. doi:10.1007/s12103-011-9121-7.
61.
WeathersF. W.HuskaJ. A.KeaneT. M. (1991) PCL-C for DSM-IV, Boston, MA: National Center for PTSD, Behavioral Science Division.
62.
WeissD. S.BrunetA.BestS. R.MetzlerT. J.LibermanA.PoleN.MarmarC. R. (2010) Frequency and severity approaches to indexing exposure to trauma: The critical incident history questionnaire for police officers. Journal of Traumatic Stress23: 734–743. doi:10.1002/jts.20576.
