Abstract
The objective of this study was to determine if coping strategies could moderate the relationship between occupational stress and burnout in a sample of police officers. A cross-sectional design was used. A stratified random sample (n=340) was taken of police members in the Western Cape. The Police Stress Invesntory, Maslach Burnout Inventory - General Survey and COPE questionnaire were administered. Structural equation modelling showed that occupational stress due to job demands and a lack of resources leads to burnout. Two coping strategies were identified, namely avoidance coping and approach coping (consisting of active coping, emotional support and turning to religion). Avoidance coping moderated the relationship between occupational stress and burnout. Approach coping had an independent effect on burnout.
Highlights
Police work is usually pictured as highly stressful, with police officers showing high levels of work stress and burnout
With Item 13 deleted, the fit statistics indicate a good fit for the 15-item MBI General Survey (MBI-GS) model (c2 = 222.76; c2 / df = 2.59; Goodness of Fit Index (GFI) = 0.92; Adjusted Goodness-of-Fit Index (AGFI) = 0.89; Normed Fit Index (NFI) = 0.91; Tucker-Lewis Index (TLI) = 0.93; Comparative Fit Index (CFI) = 0.94; Root Mean Square Error of Approximation (RMSEA) = 0.07)
The objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between occupational stress and burnout in a sample of police officers in the Western Cape, and to determine if coping strategies could act as a moderating variable in the relationship between job stress and burnout
Summary
Police work is usually pictured as highly stressful, with police officers showing high levels of work stress and burnout. Other researchers describe police work as one of societys most stressful occupations (Alexander, 1999; Anshel, 2000; Paton & Violanti, 1999). This is true for police officers in the South African Police Service (SAPS), where the socioeconomic and political turmoil of the past three decades is characterised by high levels of crime and violence (Gulle, Tredoux & Foster, 1998; Marks, 1995; Nel & Burgers, 1996). The SAPS has undergone tremendous social change and transformation since the first democratic election in 1994. Transformation from a police force to a police service and community policing took place, the rank structure was changed from a military structure to more police-orientated terminology, and an affirmative action policy was implemented (Van der Walt, 2002)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callMore From: South African Journal of Economic and Management Sciences
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
