Psychological risks in the professional activities of private security officers

Abstract

Introduction. The work specifics of Russian private security officers contribute to the employees’ psychological risks development. There are not enough scientific studies devoted to the study of private security officers’ functional states and professional deformations as criteria for their psychological risks. Materials and methods. The study involved 74 private security officers. The study purpose was to evaluate and describe the functional states and professional deformations, and their relationship as criteria for psychological risks of Russian private security officers. To solve the tasks set, the author’s questionnaire was used to study the professional deformation types of law enforcement officers and instrumental psychophysiological testing methods of the employees’ functional state and operator performance. Statistical methods are multivariate analysis of variance, contingency tables using Pearson’s χ2 tests. Results. Against the background of sufficient internal resources, employees of private security have a reduced functional state level when working on night shifts, as well as on weekends. The employees are characterized by an optimal operator performance level in day and night shifts, due to the volitional regulation of their state. The prevailing professional deformation types for employees are overcontrol, conservatism and authoritarianism, which are expressed at an average level. A statistically significant relationship was established between the professional deformation of conservatism and the functional state level of private security officers. Limitations. The present study limitations are the relatively small sample size and the lack of comparison with units in other regions. Prospective studies on larger samples collected in other units and regions could help us explore this topic in more depth. Conclusion. The results and conclusions obtained make it possible to expand the options for assessing psychological risks of private security officers and develop practical recommendations for their reduction.