Mediating role of coping style on the relationship between job stress and subjective well-being among Korean police officers

Strategies for Coping with Occupational Trauma: A Scoping Review of the Police Officer Context

BACKGROUND

Occupational trauma is heightened among police officers due to their exposure to physical, biological, chemical, and psychological hazards. Sustained occupational trauma results in mental illness among members of the police, which is a public health issue of concern. This study aimed to report a scoping review of the literature on strategies employed by police officers for coping with occupational trauma around the globe.

METHODS

A search string, formulated from the review question of what is known about the strategies of police officers for coping with occupational trauma, was used to search for articles from databases. A total of 588 hits were screened against inclusion criteria, resulting in 36 full-text studies between 1983 and 2022 being included in this review. Data were extracted using a standardised data extraction tool. The multi-step process was used to analyse the extracted data, integrating quantitative and qualitative approaches.

RESULTS

From this review, 'adaptive coping mechanisms', involving confrontation; 'maladaptive coping mechanisms', such as self-isolation, distancing and substance use; 'resilience', relating to mental preparation, and 'seeking support systems' from family, colleagues and professionals reflected the strategies used by police officers to cope with occupational trauma. Social stigma related to mental health disorders impacts the strategies used by police officers to cope with occupational trauma.

CONCLUSIONS

the police management and healthcare practitioners must collaborate towards providing constructive environments that support and strengthen police officers' strategies for coping with occupational trauma.

Work for the Prison Service: selected health consequences - investigating the role of personal resources, job demands, work stress, and burnout

OBJECTIVES

The specific job demands of the Prison Service (PS) may affect the health of officers. The job demands-resources model (JD-R) model was used to design a survey of the consequences of working subject to particular job demands. The aim was to gain an insight into the relationship between job demands, personal resources, occupational stress and burnout and selected health consequence indicators (such as behaviors associated with the consumption of alcohol, stress symptoms).

MATERIAL AND METHODS

A total of 1732 PS officers in Poland were surveyed. The following tools were used as part of the survey: the Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire (COPSOQ II), the Multidimensional Inventory for Assessing Coping Responses (COPE), the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) and a form with a respondent's particulars. Path analysis using partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) was performed.

RESULTS

The assumed hypotheses were partially confirmed by the results. Out of 4 job demands categories only work pace turned out not to be a significant predictor of burnout and stress. For alcohol related behaviors, stress level was the only significant predictor, both as a direct and indirect effect taking into account job demands. It transpired that support from superiors rather than support from colleagues or self-efficacy was a significant moderator in the emotional demands - stress relationship. Limitations of the study and perspectives for its continuation are also presented herein.

CONCLUSIONS

Based on the obtained results it may be concluded that job demands and support from superiors do have an impact on stress in the PS group. This is also consistent with available reports in literature. At the same time stress is a significant predictor of alcohol related behaviors. Coping through the use of psychoactive substances was not a significant factor in statistical analyses and it has still not been subject to sufficient scientific analysis. Int J Occup Med Environ Health. 2023;36(6):744-60.

Associations of Occupational Stress and Coping Styles with Well-Being Among Couriers - Three Cities, Zhejiang Province, China, 2021

What is already known about this topic?

Prior research has primarily concentrated on occupational health concerns, including injuries and heatstroke, among couriers. Nevertheless, there has been a scarcity of emphasis on mental health aspects, with existing studies predominantly addressing the risk factors associated with occupational stress.

What is added by this report?

The present study demonstrated a significant association between occupational stress and well-being among couriers, with positive coping strategies acting as a mediating factor. Furthermore, the results indicate that implementing a positive coping style may mitigate the impact of occupational stress on well-being.

What are the implications for public health practice?

Future public policy initiatives should focus on promoting the well-being of couriers by fostering improvements in the workplace environment, reevaluating the organization of work, and delivering support to couriers in managing occupational stress.

Individual and Work-Related Psychological Characteristics Contributing to Subjective Well-Being in Air Rescue Employees

OBJECTIVE

Air rescue staff are subject to stressors, including frequent traumatic events, shift work, and unfavorable conditions during rescue missions. We investigated subjective well-being among employees of the Swiss Air-Rescue organization and the potential determining factors, such as sense of coherence, self-esteem, coping, stress, and mental health status.

METHODS

All employees (N = 142) received a questionnaire battery composed of the Trier Inventory for the Assessment of Chronic Stress, the Salutogenic Subjective Work Analysis, the Stress Coping Questionnaire, the Health and Stress Questionnaire, the Sense of Coherence Scale 13-item scale, the Inventory for the Measurement of Self-Efficacy and Externality, the Brief Symptom Inventory, the 12-item General Health Questionnaire, and the Posttraumatic Stress Diagnostic Scale. A discriminant analysis was conducted (input: subjective well-being, output: potential determining factors). A total of 48 participants provided complete data.

RESULTS

The discriminant analysis was significant (χ² = 40.80, P < .001; correct classification: 89.4%) and revealed that sense of coherence (F_1,45 = 40.46) and self-esteem (F_1,45 = 36.20) were the most important discriminating factors for subjective well-being.

CONCLUSION

Sense of coherence and self-esteem play an important role in the subjective well-being of emergency and rescue personnel. Fostering these traits should be included in preventive programs.

Exploring links between Chinese military recruits' psychological stress and coping style from the person-environment fit perspective: The chain mediating effect of self-efficacy and social support

The choice of coping style of recruits under psychological stress in the process of military task execution has been an important topic in the promotion of military operations and cohesion of military forces. Taking a positive coping style under psychological stress can help recruits overcome the negative effects of stress and improve military morale and group combat effectiveness. Although soldiers' psychological stress in the process of military mission execution having an impact on coping style has been studied by a large body of literature, very little literature has focused on the mechanism of self-efficacy and social support between recruits' psychological stress and coping style from the person-environment fit perspective. Therefore, this study was conducted to analyze the impact of recruits' psychological stress on coping style through a chain mediation model and to discuss the role of self-efficacy and social support in this relationship. Two waves of survey data were utilized to test the research hypotheses on a sample of 1028 Chinese recruits performing military tasks. The results indicated that recruits' psychological stress negatively impacted positive coping styles and positively correlated with negative ones. In addition, self-efficacy and social support mediated the relationship between psychological stress and positive coping style, and self-efficacy mediated the relationship between psychological stress and negative coping style. More importantly, self-efficacy and social support play the chain mediating effect between psychological stress and positive coping style.

Coping among public safety personnel: A systematic review and meta–analysis

Public safety personnel (PSP) are routinely exposed to potentially psychologically traumatic events (PPTEs) that, in turn, can result in posttraumatic stress injuries (PTSI), including burnout and increased symptoms of depression and anxiety. However, the longitudinal impact of PPTEs on PSP coping remains unclear. Coping can be operationalized as various strategies (i.e., behaviours, skills, thought and emotion regulation) for dealing with stressors, which are broadly categorized as either approach (adaptive, positive, social support) or avoidant coping strategies (maladaptive withdrawal, avoidance, substance use). This systematic review and meta-analysis aims to evaluate longitudinal coping outcomes among PSP. Thirteen eligible repeated-measures studies explicitly evaluated coping in 1854 police officers, firefighters, and rescue and recovery workers. Study designs included randomized-control trials, within-subject interventions and observational studies. Effect sizes (Cohen's d) at follow-up were described in 11 studies. Separate meta-analyses reveal small (d < 0.2) but non-significant improvements in approach and avoidant coping. Studies were of moderate quality and low risk of publication bias. Heterogeneity in outcome measures, follow-up durations, and study types precluded subgroup analyses. The current findings can inform the development and evaluation of organizational training programs that effectively promote sustained adaptive coping for PSP and mitigate PTSIs.

Cognitive theory of stress and farmers' responses to the COVID 19 shock; a model to assess coping behaviors with stress among farmers in southern Iran

Better understanding the capacity of farmers to react to the COVID-19 pandemic shock requires analyzing their coping mechanisms. This study investigates the relationship between coping style and coping behaviors with COVID-19, identifying the psychological factors affecting them based on the cognitive theory of stress. Perceived government support is added to the original model as a predictor for coping style and behavior. Cross sectional survey data was collected among farmers living in Dashtestan county of Bushehr province in southern Iran (N = 377). To determine the strength of the model, structural equation modeling (SEM) was performed. We find that demand appraisal and perceived collective efficacy have a positive, direct, and significant effect on coping style and an indirect effect on behaviors. Coping style and perceived government support are significantly related to behavior. The research model predicts 63% and 31% of variance changes in coping style and behavior, respectively. The results of this study provide empirical evidence on how people cope with the COVID-19 shock as well as useful information for designing and implementing health and social programs and policies in the agricultural communities.

Emotional Intelligence and Social Support: Two Key Factors in Preventing Occupational Stress during COVID-19

Emotional intelligence (EI) and social support are among the most investigated hypothesized variables that affect stress at work. The current study aims to evaluate the direct association between EI and occupational stress and its indirect relationship mediated by three sources of social support during the spread of the COVID-19. The total sample was composed of 367 individuals (53.7% males), aged from 20 to 68 (M = 37.84, SD = 10.39), who filled out an online questionnaire. A mediation analysis was performed to test the hypothesized relationships. Our findings showed that EI has a direct effect on psychological effects and an indirect effect on almost all the facets of occupational stress. The significant mediators were social support from both family and friends. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed and directions for future studies are suggested.

The Interactive Effects of Cognition on Coping Styles among Chinese during the COVID-19 Pandemic

BACKGROUND

The outbreak of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) has seriously affected people's life. The main aim of our investigation was to determine the interactive effects of disease awareness on coping style among Chinese residents during the COVID-19 pandemic.

METHODS

A total of 616 Chinese residents from 28 provinces were recruited to participate in this investigation. A questionnaire was used to collect demographic characteristics, cognition of COVID-19, and disease-related stress sources. Coping styles were assessed via the Simplified Coping Style Questionnaire (SCSQ).

RESULTS

The survey showed that the main source of information on COVID-19 was different in relation to gender, age, educational level, and occupation (p < 0.001). People's knowledge of the disease, preventive measures, and stress factors were different in relation to demographic characteristics (p < 0.001). Compared with the baseline values, the scores of positive coping and negative coping based on SCSQ in relation to gender, age, educational level, and occupation were statistically significant (p < 0.001, except for participants older than 60 years). Different educational levels corresponded to statistical significant differences in positive coping (p = 0.004) but not in negative coping.

CONCLUSIONS

During the pandemic, people with different characteristics had different levels of preventive measures' awareness, which influenced their coping styles. Therefore, during public health emergencies, knowledge of prevention and control measures should be efficiently provided to allow more effective coping styles.

Job Stress, Burnout and Coping in Police Officers: Relationships and Psychometric Properties of the Organizational Police Stress Questionnaire

Policing is a stressful occupation, which impairs police officers' physical/mental health and elicits burnout, aggressive behaviors and suicide. Resilience and coping facilitate the management of job stress policing, which can be operational or organizational. All these constructs are associated, and they must be assessed by instruments sensitive to policing idiosyncrasies. This study aims to identify operational and organizational stress, burnout, resilient coping and coping strategies among police officers, as well to analyze the psychometric properties of a Portuguese version of the Organizational Police Stress Questionnaire. A cross-sectional study, with online questionnaires, collected data of 1131 police officers. With principal components and confirmatory factor analysis, PSQ-org revealed adequate psychometric properties, despite the exclusion of four items, and revealed a structure with two factors (poor management and lack of resources, and responsibilities and burden). Considering cut-off points, 88.4% police officers presented high operational stress, 87.2% high organizational stress, 10.9% critical values for burnout and 53.8% low resilient coping, preferring task-orientated than emotion and avoidance coping. Some differences were found according to gender, age and job experience. Job stress and burnout correlated negatively with resilient coping, enthusiasm towards job and task-orientated coping. Results reinforce the importance to invest on police officers' occupational health.