Stress, Organizational Culture and Coping Strategies in the Police: An Empirical Investigation.<o:p></o:p>

Daniela Gutschmidt; Antonio Vera

<o:p></o:p>Many researchers describe police culture as a consequence of stressors in policing and as a determinant of police officers’ mental health. Investigation of such relationships requires a quantitative approach. In our online survey, 152 German police officers described their workgroups in terms of stressors (using the Police Stress Questionnaire), prevalent coping strategies (e.g., exercising, drinking, seeking help), and shared values (e.g., masculinity, solidarity, justice). Multiple regression models were tested to examine a) the effect of group characteristics and stressors on police culture and b) the effect of stressors and police culture on coping strategies. Conservative-male culture is stronger in workgroups with low average age, high percentage of male officers and high levels of operational stress. Team culture is stronger in younger workgroups. Significant predictors of maladaptive coping are organizational (but not operational) stressors and conservative-male culture. Diligence culture is negatively associated with maladaptive coping. Our findings have important implications for leadership and psychological intervention within the police.

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