A Scoping Review of Stress Measurements and Psychometry in Police Research

Abstract

Despite a growing body of research, there is no systematic body of evidence that establishes the rigour of existing measures of stress among police. The aim of this scoping review was to investigate (1) the diversity of stress measures used in police research and (2) the psychometric properties of such measures and the ways in which they are utilised. The systematic literature search discovered 16,216 records, which were reduced to 442 records of relevance. A total of 20 qualitative and 422 quantitative studies were found to be relevant, including a total of 129 unique measures, of which the majority showed satisfactory reliability (Cronbach’s alpha ≥ 0.80). The identified measures pertain to four main categories: police-specific, perceived stress, psychological and physiological outcomes (including mood and affect changes), and assessment batteries. The measures have a general tendency to emphasise illness, and police-specific stressors pertain mostly to traditional police work. Measures should be chosen based on the aspect of the stress phenomenon that is to be investigated. This study provides detailed recommendations concerning how to use these measures to advance research concerning stress among police.

Physical Activity, Occupational Stress, and Cardiovascular Risk Factors in Law Enforcement Officers

“…Each PSQ item corresponds to a specific stressor related to law enforcement (eg, feeling like you always have to prove yourself to the organization) to which participants are asked to indicate how much stress the stressor has caused them within the past 6 months using a seven-point Likert-type scale, ranging from 1 (no stress at all) to 7 (a lot of stress). Both subscales have constantly demonstrated good to excellent internal consistency with Cronbach α values ranging from 0.85 to 0.94 for the PSQ-Op and 0.88 to 0.94 for the PSQ-Org 6,38 . In the present study, excellent internal consistency was found for both the PSQ-Op (α = 0.92) and PSQ-Org (α = 0.93).…”

“…Both subscales have constantly demonstrated good to excellent internal consistency with Cronbach α values ranging from 0.85 to 0.94 for the PSQ-Op and 0.88 to 0.94 for the PSQ-Org. 6,38 In the present study, excellent internal consistency was found for both the PSQ-Op (α = 0.92) and PSQ-Org (α = 0.93). The PSS-14 is a widely used questionnaire with acceptable psychometric properties.…”

Upper and lower musculoskeletal back pain, stress, physical activity, and organisational work support: An exploratory study of police investigative interviewers

“…Studies on police stress indicate that organisational job demands take a greater toll on police officers’ health than operational job demands ( Rabbing et al, 2022 ; Shane, 2020 ; Wolter et al, 2019 ). Employees’ alignment with their organisation’s strategic objectives is highly connected to wellbeing and engagement ( Biggs et al, 2014 ).…”

“…Acute and enduring stress in the police is an inevitable part of the police profession ( Violanti et al, 2017 ; Webster, 2014 ). Despite the systematic finding that organisational factors contribute to ill health to a larger extent than work tasks ( Purba and Demou, 2019 ; Shane, 2020 ; Violanti et al, 2017 ), police stress research has mainly emphasised so-called traditional types of police work and acute types of stress in operational settings ( Kroes, 1976 ; Larsen et al, 2019 ; Rabbing et al, 2022 ). A growing literature, however, investigates the impact of the work organisation and strain on police investigators ( Baeriswyl et al, 2016 ; Fyhn et al, 2016 ).…”