Sources of acute stress and their appraisals and reappraisals among Australian police as a function of previous experience

Abstract

Two studies investigated possible factors that are associated with experiencing acute stress in police work. Occupational acute stressors in law enforcement were identified by police officers in Study 1 (N = 39). Using standardized mean (Z) scores as the dependent variable, MANOVA indicated that four of the 17 acute stressors identified in Study 1 were significantly different than the remaining stressors in terms of their combined intensity and frequency. The purpose of Study 2 was to examine the intensity of primary and secondary appraisal and reappraisal of police officers (N = 95) related to these previously identified stressful events, and the extent to which these measures differed as a function of experience in the police force. An adapted version of the Stress Appraisal Measure (SAM) measured police officers' primary appraisals, secondary appraisals, reappraisals, and overall stress perceptions that were associated with these four acute stressors. Multiple regression analyses indicated that two primary appraisal dimensions, threat and challenge, were significant predictors of overall stressfulness, with centrality found as an important appraisal dimension. MANOVA revealed that years of experience as a police officer influenced the extent of the officers' beliefs that they could cope with stressful events.