The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on European police officers: Stress, demands, and coping resources. (January 2021)
- Record Type:
- Journal Article
- Title:
- The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on European police officers: Stress, demands, and coping resources. (January 2021)
- Main Title:
- The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on European police officers: Stress, demands, and coping resources
- Authors:
- Frenkel, Marie Ottilie
Giessing, Laura
Egger-Lampl, Sebastian
Hutter, Vana
Oudejans, Raoul R.D.
Kleygrewe, Lisanne
Jaspaert, Emma
Plessner, Henning - Abstract:
- Abstract: Purpose: Facing the COVID-19 pandemic, police officers are confronted with various novel challenges, which might place additional strain on officers. This mixed-method study investigated officers' strain over a three-month-period after the lockdown. Methods: In an online survey, 2567 police officers (77% male) from Austria, Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands, and Spain participated at three measurement points per country in spring, 2020. Three-level growth curve models assessed changes in strain and its relation to stressor appraisal, emotion regulation, and preparedness through training. To add context to the findings, free response answers about officers' main tasks, stressors, and crisis measures were coded inductively. Results: On average, officers seemed to tolerate the pandemic with slight decreases in strain over time. Despite substantial variance between countries, 66% of the variance occurred between individuals. Sex, work experience, stressor appraisal, emotion regulation, and preparedness significantly predicted strain. Risk of infection and deficient communication emerged as main stressors. Officers' reports allowed to derive implications for governmental, organizational, and individual coping strategies during pandemics. Conclusion: Preparing for a pandemic requires three primary paths: 1) enacting unambiguous laws and increasing public compliance through media communication, 2) being logistically prepared, and 3) improving stress regulation skillsAbstract: Purpose: Facing the COVID-19 pandemic, police officers are confronted with various novel challenges, which might place additional strain on officers. This mixed-method study investigated officers' strain over a three-month-period after the lockdown. Methods: In an online survey, 2567 police officers (77% male) from Austria, Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands, and Spain participated at three measurement points per country in spring, 2020. Three-level growth curve models assessed changes in strain and its relation to stressor appraisal, emotion regulation, and preparedness through training. To add context to the findings, free response answers about officers' main tasks, stressors, and crisis measures were coded inductively. Results: On average, officers seemed to tolerate the pandemic with slight decreases in strain over time. Despite substantial variance between countries, 66% of the variance occurred between individuals. Sex, work experience, stressor appraisal, emotion regulation, and preparedness significantly predicted strain. Risk of infection and deficient communication emerged as main stressors. Officers' reports allowed to derive implications for governmental, organizational, and individual coping strategies during pandemics. Conclusion: Preparing for a pandemic requires three primary paths: 1) enacting unambiguous laws and increasing public compliance through media communication, 2) being logistically prepared, and 3) improving stress regulation skills in police training. Highlights: The mixed-method study assessed officers' strain over ten weeks after the lockdown. On average, officers seemed to tolerate the strain with slight decreases over time. Demography and coping factors explained variance between countries and individuals. Risk of infection and deficient communication emerged as main stressors. Crisis management requires clear laws, logistic precautions, and individual coping. … (more)
- Is Part Of:
- Journal of criminal justice. Volume 72(2021)
- Journal:
- Journal of criminal justice
- Issue:
- Volume 72(2021)
- Issue Display:
- Volume 72, Issue 2021 (2021)
- Year:
- 2021
- Volume:
- 72
- Issue:
- 2021
- Issue Sort Value:
- 2021-0072-2021-0000
- Page Start:
- Page End:
- Publication Date:
- 2021-01
- Subjects:
- COVID-19 -- ssstress -- coping -- crisis management -- pandemics -- law enforcement
Criminal justice, Administration of -- Periodicals
Justice pénale -- Administration -- Périodiques
364.05 - Journal URLs:
- http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/00472352 ↗
http://www.elsevier.com/journals ↗ - DOI:
- 10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2020.101756 ↗
- Languages:
- English
- ISSNs:
- 0047-2352
- Deposit Type:
- Legaldeposit
- View Content:
- Available online (eLD content is only available in our Reading Rooms) ↗
- Physical Locations:
- British Library DSC - 4965.530000
British Library DSC - BLDSS-3PM
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