NCJ Number
224423
Journal
Journal of Forensic Psychology Practice Volume: 8 Issue: 3 Dated: September 2008 Pages: 262-279
Date Published
September 2008
Length
18 pages
Annotation
This work examined traumatic stress reactions in a unit of the South African Police Service.
Abstract
The correlation analyses showed a stronger association of levels of traumatic stress with maladaptive defenses rather than with mature defenses. Similarly, hierarchical multiple regression indicated a stronger association for maladaptive defenses with traumatic stress rather than subjective stress. Results suggest that a model that includes maladaptive defenses can prove more informative when the primary objective is the assessment of traumatic stress responses. Ego defense styles and the dispositional construct of sense of coherence (SOC) were identified as variables that impacted on officers' stress responses. It is noted that police work has been recognized as a high risk occupation for exposure to traumatic events and the ensuing potential to develop posttraumatic stress disorder, but not all officers exposed to traumatic events develop symptoms of traumatic stress, though they may continue to express subjective stress. Data were derived from 51 officers, 29 men and 22 women, from a specialized unit from 2 separate urban areas, Johannesburg and Pretoria, serving with the South African Police Service who completed several standardized self-report measures. The overall scores for subjective stress in the sample were elevated. Tables, references