This paper describes the construction of a self-report checklist designed to examine experiences of stressful routine occupational events and life events, coping responses, and psychological distress among law enforcement officers. The checklist items were derived from existing scales and are designed to examine a cognitive phenomenological model of stress and coping and testing the goodness of fit hypothesis.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AlexanderD. A.WalkerL. G. (1994) A study of methods used by Scottish police offices to cope with work-induced stress. Stress Medicine, 10, 131–138.
2.
BeehrT. A.JohnsonL. B.NievaR. (1995) Occupational stress: coping of police and their spouses. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 16, 3–25.
3.
BiggamF. H.PowerK. G.MacDonaldR. R. (1997) Coping with the occupational stressors of police work: a study of Scottish officers. Stress Medicine, 13, 109–115.
4.
BrownJ. M.CampbellE. A. (1990) Sources of occupational stress in the police. Work & Stress, 4, 305–318.
5.
ComanG. J. (1987) An analysis of factors in the resignation of Australian Federal Police Personnel. Unpublished postgraduate thesis, Chisholm Institute of Technology, Melbourne
6.
ComanG. J.EvansB. J. (1991) Stressors facing Australian police in the 1990s. Police Studies, 14, 153–165.
7.
ConwayV. J.TerryD. J. (1992) Appraised controllability as a moderator of the effectiveness of different coping strategies: a test of the goodness of fit hypothesis. Australian Journal of Psychology, 44, 1–7.
8.
CooperC. L.DavidsonM. J.RobinsonP. (1982) Stress in the police service. Journal of Occupational Medicine, 24, 30–36.
9.
CoyneJ. C.AldwinC.LazarusR. S. (1981) Depression and coping in stressful episodes. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 90, 439–447.
10.
DavidJ. P.GreenP. J.MartinR.SulsJ. (1997) Differential roles of neuroticism, extra-version, and event desirability for mood in daily life: an integrative model of top-down and bottom-up influences. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 73, 149–159.
11.
EvansB. J.ComanG. J.StanleyR. O. (1992) The police personality Type A behavior and trait anxiety. Journal of Criminal Justice, 20, 429–441.
12.
EvansB. J.ComanG. J.StanleyR. O.BurrowsG. D. (1993) Police officers' coping strategies: an Australian police surveyStress Medicine, 9, 237–246.
13.
FainD. B.McCormickG. M. (1988) Use of coping mechanisms as a means of stress reduction in North Louisiana. Journal of Police Science and Administration, 16, 21–28.
14.
FolkmanS.LazarusR. S. (1980) An analysis of coping in a middle-aged community sample. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 21, 219–239.
15.
FolkmanS.LazarusR. S. (1988) Ways of Coping Questionnaire manual.Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press/Mind Garden.
16.
FolkmanS.LazarusR. S.GruenR.DeLoncisA. (1986) Appraisal, coping, health status, and psychological symptoms. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 50, 571–579.
17.
ForsytheC. J.CompasB. E. (1987) Interaction of cognitive appraisals of stressful events and coping: testing the goodness of fit hypothesis. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 11, 473–485.
18.
HolmesT. H.RaheR. H. (1967) The Social Readjustment Rating Scale. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 11, 213–218.
19.
KirmeyerS. L.DiamondA. (1985) Coping by police officers: a study of role stress and Type A and Type B behavior patterns. Journal of Occupational Behavior, 6, 183–195.
20.
LangnerT. S. (1962) A twenty-two item screening score of psychiatric symptoms indicating impairment. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 3, 269–276.
21.
LazarusR.FolkmanS. (1984) Stress, appraisal, and coping.New York: Springer.
22.
NunnallyJ. C. (1978) Psychometric theory.New York: McGraw-Hill.
23.
NunnallyJ. C.BernsteinI. H. (1994) Psychometric theory. (3rd ed.) New York: McGraw-Hill.
24.
PattersonG. T. (1995) The development of a police stress survey: a pilot study. (Unpublished manuscript)
25.
RadloffL. S. (1977) The CES–D Scale: a self-report depression scale for research in the general population. Applied Psychological Measurement, 1, 385–401.
26.
SaveryL. K.SoutarG. N.WeaverR. (1993) Stress and the police officer: some West Australian evidence. The Police Journal, LXVI, 277–290.
27.
SewellJ. D. (1983) The development of a critical life events scale for law enforcement. Journal of Police Science and Police Administration, 11, 109–116.
28.
SpielbercerC. D.WestberryL. G.GrierK. S.GreenfieldG. (1981) The Police Stress Survey: sources of stress in law enforcement.Tampa, FL: Human Resources Institute.
29.
ValentinerD. P.HolahanC. J.MoosR. H. (1994) Social support, appraisals of event controllability, and coping: an integrative model. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 66, 1094–1102.
30.
ViolantiJ. M. (1983) Stress patterns in police work: a longitudinal study. Journal of Police Science and Administration, 11, 211–216.
31.
ViolantiJ. M. (1992) Coping strategies among police recruits in a high-stress training environment. The Journal of Social Psychology, 132, 717–729.
32.
ViolantiJ. M.AronF. (1993) Sources of police stressors, job attitudes, and psychological distress. Psychological Reports, 72, 899–904.
ViolantiJ. M.AronF. (1995) Police stressors: variations in perceptions among police personnel. Journal of Criminal Justice, 23, 287–294.
35.
VitalianoP. P.DeWolfeD. J.MaiuroR. D.RussoJ.KatonW. (1990) Appraised changeability of a stressor as a modifier of the relationship between coping and depression: a test of the goodness of fit hypothesis. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 59, 582–592.
36.
WesterinkJ. (1990) Stress and coping mechanisms in young police officers. Australian Police Journal, 44, 109–113.
37.
WordenR. E. (1990) A badge and a baccalaureate: policies, hypotheses, and further evidence. Justice Quarterly, 7, 565–592.
