Department of Nursing, Hungkuang University, Taichung, Taiwan.
Department of Medical Research, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan.
Sci Rep. 2024 May 1;14(1):10015. doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-60746-8.
Police officers often face emotionally challenging interpersonal situations and numerous studies have demonstrated that policing is a stressful occupation. A study revealed a significant positive correlation between emotional demands among police officers and emotional dissonance, as well as burnout. Health-promoting behaviors can contribute to better overall health outcomes and reduce the risk of developing health problems, but there is limited research evaluating the association of job strain and health behaviors with mental health outcomes in police officers. The objective of this study was to assess the job strain associated with mental health mediated by health behaviors in Taiwanese police officers. This was a cross-sectional quantitative study conducted in Oct 2016. A total of 41,871 police officers (response rate was 79.7%) participated questionnaire that consisted of demographic information, job characteristics, health behaviors, and mental component summary (MCS) scores of the Short-Form Health Survey. Independent t-tests and one-way analysis of variance (One-way ANOVA) were conducted to assess the differences in mean MCS scores across various demographics, health behavior, and job characteristics. Multivariate regression analyses were used to assess the relationship between job strain and health behaviors with mental health outcomes. MCS scores were associated with job characteristics and health behaviors among police officers except for gender. After adjusting for covariates, multivariate analysis indicated that police officers with high job demands and high job strain index exhibited poor MCS scores. Job strain was significantly associated with MCS mediated by health behaviors (consumption of fruits and vegetables, and physical activity) in Taiwanese police officers. Since regular physical activity and increased vegetable and fruit consumption might alleviate the effects of job strain on mental health status, it is recommended that institutional policies be established to promote health-enhancing behaviors among police officers.
警察经常面临情绪挑战的人际情境，许多研究表明警察是一个有压力的职业。一项研究表明，警察的情绪需求与情绪不和谐以及倦怠之间存在显著正相关。促进健康的行为可以促进更好的整体健康结果，并降低出现健康问题的风险，但评估工作压力和健康行为与警察心理健康结果之间的关联的研究有限。本研究的目的是评估与健康行为中介的心理健康相关的工作压力在台湾警察中的作用。这是一项 2016 年 10 月进行的横断面定量研究。共有 41871 名警察（回应率为 79.7%）参与了问卷调查，问卷内容包括人口统计学信息、工作特征、健康行为以及健康调查短表的心理成分综合评分。独立样本 t 检验和单因素方差分析（One-way ANOVA）用于评估不同人口统计学、健康行为和工作特征的平均 MCS 评分差异。多变量回归分析用于评估工作压力和健康行为与心理健康结果之间的关系。除性别外，MCS 评分与警察的工作特征和健康行为相关。在调整了协变量后，多变量分析表明，工作需求高和工作压力指数高的警察 MCS 评分较差。工作压力与健康行为中介的 MCS 显著相关（水果和蔬菜的摄入以及身体活动）在台湾警察中。由于定期进行身体活动和增加蔬菜和水果的摄入可能会减轻工作压力对心理健康状况的影响，因此建议制定机构政策，促进警察的健康促进行为。
