LEOSS-R: Four Types of Police Stressors and Negative Psychosocial Outcomes Associated with Them

Abstract

The present study developed the Law Enforcement Officer Stress Survey-Revised (LEOSS-R) to identify types of police stressors, then it examined which stressors were most associated with negative psychosocial outcomes for police officers. Participants included 232 Turkish police officers who completed anonymous surveys to describe work and home characteristics, to rate the 25 police stressors included in the LEOSS ( Van Hasselt et al. , 2008 ), and to report negative psychosocial outcomes that might be associated with exposure to police stressors. Factor analysis produced the 18-item LEOSS-R with four dimensions of police stressors: Critical Incidents, Department Politics, Daily Hassles, and Work–Home Conflicts. The LEOSS-R subscales showed goodness-of-fit, strong internal reliability, and support for validity in expected associations with work and home variables (work hours, police support, marital status, family support). Critical Incidents and Work–Home Conflicts were unrelated to negative psychosocial outcomes, perhaps because police officers expect and train for them. The stressor of Department Politics was associated with more police partner aggression. Daily Hassles were associated with more anger, poor self-esteem, and more romantic partner aggression. Future research could examine how departmental policy or leadership may reduce the negative impact of Daily Hassles for its officers.