Gender, Stress and Self in the Work-Family Role System - Role Inconsistency Among Police Officers

• NCJ Number: 74554
• Author(s): J L Wehrle-Einhorn
• Date Published: 1980
• Length: 281 pages
• Sponsoring Agency: University of Kansas
• Publication Format: Dissertation/Thesis
• Publication Type: Thesis/Dissertation
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: *This document is currently unavailable from NCJRS. University of Kansas - doctoral dissertation

Annotation

This dissertation examines the interactions of male and female police officers, their civilian roles, and the interaction of their family and work lives.

Abstract

The study sample was 223 sworn police officers (140 males, 83 females) in 19 midwestern cities, who responded to a questionnaire and an open-ended interview. The data were examined for any roles not required by the job which female officers must play at work, and for any tendency or requirement of female officers to deny their womanhood. Female officers' visibility within the organization was considered, as were the male officers' acceptance of female colleagues and any attempts to exclude women. Because certain occupations tend to affect the worker's entire social constellation, the effects of a police officer's job on off-duty relationships were explored. Study questions asked whether the officer avoids or is shunned by civilians; whether styles of police interaction are carried into the off-duty arena; and to what extent work roles conflict with other social roles, especially in the family. Officers' self-concepts were inferentially examined to evaluate departures from sex roles. Considered were the sources and extent of the perceived stress by both male and female officers and the extent to which stress perceived from different sources affects officers' self-esteem. Findings evidenced that the work role affects the family role in circumscribing certain civilian affiliations, transferring job-related values from the work to the family subsystem and imposing job-related burdens on the latter. The nature and extent of these intrusions vary by sex. Furthermore, evidence was found that family roles intrude on the work subsystem, in deterring rash action in the line of duty, in strengthening department resistance to sexual integration because of attitudes held by police wives, and in inhibiting off-duty associations. No difference in self-esteem was found by sex. Related literature is reviewed and data tables are included. A bibliography of about 370 entries and appendixes containing the permission request letter, the consent form, the questionnaire, and a list of open-ended questions are provided.