Stressor Exposure and Methods of Coping among Senior Police Managers at a Time of Organisational and Management Change

Abstract

This paper discusses the context within which British police chief superintendents and superintendents (n = 533) were working as a background to measuring their sources of work-related stress and coping adaptations. Some comparative analyses are presented examining the internationalism of changes in police management and organisation. The results of the empirical investigation into the sources of stress and coping strategies of British police managers are then presented. Superintendents report having too much work to do with too few resources among the most significant stressors. They cope through use of secondary stress management interventions which are task orientated rather than emotion focused. The paper concludes by relating findings to organisational changes occurring within policing elsewhere and makes some recommendations to alleviate stress among police managers.