Factors of Stress in the Oklahoma City Police Department - A Consideration Thereof

• NCJ Number: 72100
• Author(s): F J Zausmer
• Date Published: 1976
• Length: 169 pages
• Sale Source: UMI Dissertation Services
• Publication Type: Thesis/Dissertation
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: *This document is currently unavailable from NCJRS. University of Oklahoma - doctoral dissertation.

Annotation

A study of 310 law enforcement personnel in the Okalhoma City Police Department investigated the relationships between certain personality variables, the occupational policing environment and worker health.

Abstract

The volunteer participants were subjected to a three-phase investigation from January to October, 1975, including physiological testing to measure degrees of hypertension; written personality tests to ascertain indices of Machiavellianism, authoritarianism, and risk-taking; and administration of a personal data questionnaire to study demographic details and perceptions of work environment, managerial attitudes, job stress, and employee health. Relationships among the variables were studied utilizing the Chi Square statistical method. Some of the findings included: (1) a relationship does exist in several selected areas between Machiavellianism and risk-taking, the police environment as depicted by subjects' perception of management, and health; (2) the largest single generator of stress as perceived by the subjects is poor management; (3) indigestion and frequent headaches are ranked as the second and third job-related functional illness health problems; (4) 122 subjects had indications of some degree of hypertension, and many subjects had diastolic and systolic blood pressure readings associated with increased insurance premiums and increased mortality; and (5) 82.4 percent of the subjects reported job satisfaction, yet a larger number also describe their policing activity as unhealthy and frustrating. The implications of the study suggest increased emphasis on management and stress training, revision of management and organizational techniques, hiring of a staff psychologist or psychiatrist, and further study to increase police efficiency while at the same time preserving the quality of life for law enforcement personnel. A total of 57 footnotes and 33 tables are included. Three appendices provide authorization for the study, procedures and forms used, and the tabulated data.