Year: 2016
Type: dissertation
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Working in the police service can be very demanding on a physical and emotional level. \nMany police offers often experience stress, trauma and anxiety which even sometimes leads \nto suicide. In order to deal with the stressors they face, officers have to use various coping \nmethods. This present study aims to analyse the coping strategies used by police officers in \nthe SAPS and whether these coping strategies change over a period of time. The main \npurpose is to investigate which coping responses are used most by police officers in the \nSAPS and to determine how the prominence of these coping responses change over a period \nof time. This study has a longitudinal approach and will add value to the body of research \nsince no longitudinal study has previously been conducted on coping within the SAPS. Three \nsamples, collected at three different points in time, were used in this study. The first sample \n(n = 1277) was collected while the officers were newly enrolled, the second sample (n = 463) \nwas taken whilst they were undergoing practical training in the college and the last sample (n \n= 120) was collected when the police officers had spent two years in the field. The Ways of \nCoping (WoC) questionnaire was used as measuring instrument. The results of this study \nsuggest that police officers predominantly use seeking social support, planful problem \nsolving and positive reappraisal to deal with their daily stress. These responses are mainly \nseen as adaptive ways of dealing with stress. The coping responses used least includes escape \navoidance, accepting responsibility and confrontive coping. There are clear indications that \nthe way in which police officers use coping responses change over time spent in the SAPS. \nOver time, police officers accepted significantly less responsibility, and made less use of \nconfrontive coping. Police officers also relied more on planful problem solving, positive \nreappraisal and escape avoidance. On a practical level it is suggested to conduct interventions \nin all units, divisions and on all levels to reinforce and refresh positive coping strategies in \norder to enhance the emotional well-being throughout the SAPS.
Author: Ariami Wassermann
Language: English
Topic: Stress and Burnout Research
Subfield: Social Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2555641019