Police officer occupational health: a model of organizational constraints, trauma exposure, perceived resources, and agency.

BACKGROUND

Police officers constitute a work force at high risk due to their highly demanding work conditions. In a realistic paradigm, these conditions, and other determinants of their psychological health, can be linked to a multitude of variables that interplay altogether. However, current literature that simultaneously models-quantitatively from observed data-such a multitude of variables is sparse. This study took upon this objective to further theoretical and applied understandings through a measurement framework on empirical data, and allow the data to drive some features of model development, such as variable groupings into factors, and paths between factors.

METHODS

A total of 1312 officers from various police bureaus fully responded to a questionnaire composed of validated instruments for assessing factors related to psychological and occupational health, consisting of more than 25 variables. Statistical analyses were performed in progressing complexity, namely t-tests, correlations, multiple regression, factor analysis, and path analysis with latent factors.

RESULTS

The regression analysis identified 10 significant variables, in which decision latitude, organizational justice, and work recognition/meaning were the most protective, and these 10 variables coincided with those found significant in the t-test and correlational results. In higher complexity, the latent path analysis resulted in a model of 6 factors: Psychological Health, Organizational Constraints, Trauma Exposure, Perceived Resources, Sense of Agency, and Esteem. Organizational Constraints (β = -0.32, inferred by psychological demands and role conflict), Perceived Resources (β = 0.31, social support, a self/work-esteem subfactor, and organizational justice), Sense of Agency (β = 0.30, decision latitude, hierarchical position, right to carry a firearm), and Trauma Exposure (β = -0.14, frequency/time since event, used a firearm, years of service) were found significantly associated with Psychological Health. Within each factor, specific variables could be identified as the most associated, such as role conflict for constraints, self/work-esteem for resources, decision latitude for agency, and frequency of and time since trauma for trauma exposure. Our results therefore encourage us to take into account not only agency, but also past professional experiences in models for managing well-being.

CONCLUSIONS

Providing police officers with social support at work, recognition, work meaning, fair proceedings and pay (organizational justice, especially for female and young officers), decision-making power (decision latitude), and minimizing conflictual information and procedures (role conflict) is of utmost importance. Officers with higher years of service, working in lower population cities, and who recently used their firearm, should be considered for trauma counseling. The degree of psychological demands of police officers should be regularly assessed, and reduced if possible. Reminders of support and integration in the force for officers with variables linked to a perceived lack of agency may be useful in their facing work challenges. Future integrative modeling research may be crucial to better understanding the relative contribution of each variable and their interplay in realistic settings, providing also a framework for measurement.