you are writing the research question and if they have any hypotheses and forming them into null and alternate hypotheses if they exist so your response will be somewhere from one paragraph  (if there are no hypotheses) to a maximum of one page (if there are multiple hypotheses).

Identify the research question(s) for the study. Identify any associated hypotheses.

Highly Rated and most Frequent Stressors among Police
Officers:

Gender Differences

John M. Violanti1 & Desta Fekedulegn2 &
Tara A. Hartley2 & Luenda E. Charles2 &
Michael E. Andrew2 & Claudia C. Ma2 &
Cecil M. Burchfiel2

Received: 25 November 2015 /Accepted: 8 March 2016 /
Published online: 23 March 2016
# Southern Criminal Justice Association 2016

Abstract This descriptive study examined the top five most frequent and highly rated
occupational stressors from the Spielberger Police Stress Survey among 365 police
officers enrolled in the Buffalo Cardio-Metabolic Occupational Police Stress (BCOPS)
Study (2004–2009). Prevalence, frequency, and rating of stressors were compared
across gender. Poisson regression was used to estimate the prevalence and prevalence

Am J Crim Just (2016) 41:645–662
DOI 10.1007/s12103-016-9342-x

* John M. Violanti
violanti@buffalo.edu

Desta Fekedulegn
djf@cdc.gov

Tara A. Hartley
tow9@cdc.gov

Luenda E. Charles
ley0@cdc.gov

Michael E. Andrew
mta6@cdc.gov

Claudia C. Ma
iia4@cdc.gov

Cecil M. Burchfiel
zar5@cdc.gov

1 Department of Epidemiology and Environmental Health, School of Public Health and Health
Professions, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, 270 Farber Hall, Buffalo,
New York, USA

2 Biostatistics and Epidemiology Branch, Health Effects Laboratory Division, National Institute for
Occupational Safety and Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Morgantown,
WV, USA

http://crossmark.crossref.org/dialog/?doi=10.1007/s12103-016-9342-x&domain=pdf

ratio (PR) of events. Analysis of variance was used to compare mean frequency of
occurrence and mean stress ratings by gender. Many reported stressors dealt with
violent situations. Responding to family disputes (83 %) was reported as the most
frequent stressor and exposure to battered children (27 %) was the most highly rated
stressor (mean rating: 67.6 ± 35.3). Killing someone in the line of duty (mean rating:
66.3 ± 43.0) and experiencing a fellow officer being killed (mean rating: 65.3 ± 40.6)
were highly rated but infrequent (0.27 % and 3.6 %, respectively). Male officers tended
to report more frequent stressors which took away from their time off duty such as court
appearances (PR = 1.26, 1.04–1.52) and working second jobs (PR = 2.37, 1.57–3.57).
In contrast, female officers reported experiencing a 37 % higher prevalence of lack of
support from supervisor (PR = 0.63, 0.48–0.82) relative to male officers. Results of the
present study are discussed within the context of specific police stressors and gender.

Keywords Police . Stress . Ratings . Frequency. Gender differences

Introduction

There is a general consensus that police work is an occupation replete with stress
(Violanti & Aron, 1995; Finn & Tornz, 2000; Deschamps, Paganon-Badinier,
Marchand, & Merle, 2003; Collins & Gibbs, 2003; Kirshman, 2006; Marmar,
et al., 2006; Weiss et al., 2002; O’Toole, Vitello, & Palmer, 2014; Violanti, et al.,
2006). Given this previous research evidence, police officers and others who work
in high stress occupations are appropriate groups in which to study the effects of
work stress.

Several sources of police work stressors have been identified: (1) the obvious
inherent aspect, which involves danger and job risk; (2) the police administrative
organization; and (3) lack of organizational support (Spielberger, Westberry, Grier, &
Greenfield, 1981, 1982; Martelli, Waters, & Martelli, 1989; Bonnar, 2000; Kop &
Euwema, 2001; Patterson, 2002; Patterson, 2003; Violanti, 2014). Of these, the police
administrative organization appears to be a frequently mentioned source of stress for
officers. Administrative stressors include, job demands, job insecurity, insufficient pay,
and excessive paperwork (Violanti et al., 2014).

Despite previous research on police stressors, a question that needs further explora-
tion is how officers rate work stressors and the frequency at which these stressors occur.
Frequency could be an important aspect, as incidence of occurrence may strongly
influence ratings. A few studies have reported the self-rated stressfulness of police
events but not their frequency. For example, Violanti and Aron (1994, 1995) found that
the top four of sixty most stressful police work events were killing someone while on
duty, witnessing a fellow officer killed, being physically attacked, and seeing abused
and battered children. O’Toole et al. (2014) found that physical threats, lack of support,
and organizational pressure were the highest ranked stressors. Collins and Gibbs (2003)
found that the police organizational culture and an officer’s workload were the highest
ranked stressors. These prior studies have often used stressors that are highly rated
because of the public attention that these events receive but there is little or no
information on prevalence of frequently occurring stressors and their potential associ-
ation with health outcomes. In addition, literature on the association between frequency

646 Am J Crim Just (2016) 41:645–662

of occurrence and the rating of stressfulness is not available. Therefore, it is worthwhile
to examine events that occur frequently, even if they are not highly rated, along with
those that are highly rated but occur rarely.

Gender Issues

A host of prior studies conducted in the 1980s and 1990s Haarr, 1997; Martin, 1992;
Wexler and Logan, 1983) highlight some of the unique stressors female officers
experienced. These include negative attitudes of male officers towards female
officers, the lack of acceptance by police agencies, feeling the need to prove
themselves, and experiencing sexual harassment. While progress has been made to
increase the number of female officers in U.S. police agencies (Lonsway, 2007),
many of these same stressors still persist. Morash, Kwak and Haarr (2006) found that
women officers reported significantly higher levels of harassment, bias, underes-
timation of physical abilities, and lack of influence than their male counterparts.
Thompson, Kirk and Brown (2006) found that interpersonal stressors and lack of
support, contributed significantly to stress levels. Haarr (1997) and Shelley,
Morabito & Tobin-Gurley (2011) reported that women felt that men officers
questioned their abilities to do the job. Sexual harassment and discrimination are
often mentioned as stressors among women officers (Deschamps et al., 2003;
Thompson et al., 2006; Chaiyavej & Morash, 2008).

A recent study (Kurtz, 2008) suggests that most research on police stress fails to
address a fundamental concern—that of gender. The results from this study suggests that
stress and burnout by police officers is not just simply a response to high stress
environment, rather it is embedded in the gender structure and process of policing. A
few studies have focused on gender differences in the relationship between police stress
and health outcomes, yet opportunities exist to expand our understanding. Among these,
Hartley et al. (2011) reported that police stressors were associated with the metabolic
syndrome in female but not male police officers. Yoo and Franke (2010) found that
female police officers had higher levels of stress than male police officers and higher
levels of hypercholesterolemia and diabetes than the general female population.

In the present paper, we add to past research on police stressors by describing by gender
the ranking, frequency, and prevalence of stressors based on the comprehensive listing
found in the 60-item Police Stress Survey (Spielberger et al., 1981). The Police Stress
Survey allowed an analysis of specific and unique work stressors found in policing. This
instrument is standardized and well-accepted in the literature. Here we will describe the
standardized appraisal of stressors and describe important differences between men and
women officers in the frequency, ratings, and prevalence of work stressors.

Method

Design and Study Participants

Participants were police officers who were enrolled in the Buffalo Cardio-Metabolic
Occupational Police Stress (BCOPS) Study. The BCOPS Study was a cross-sectional
epidemiologic study conducted between 2004 and 2009 to examine the association

Am J Crim Just (2016) 41:645–662 647

between workplace stress and subclinical cardiovascular disease (CVD). The Center for
Health Research, School of Public Health and Health Professions, State University of
New York at Buffalo in Buffalo, NY served as the data collection site. At the initiation
of the study in 2004, all 710 police officers working in the Buffalo Police Department
were invited. Of the 710, 466 chose to participate but we excluded two pregnant
officers, yielding 464 officers who participated in the study. These 464 officers were
examined once between the period from 2004 to 2009. No specific inclusion criteria
were used for the study, other than the participant would be a sworn police officer and
willing to participate in the study. The study was approved by the University of New
York at Buffalo Internal Review Board and the National Institute for Occupational
Safety and Health Human Subjects Review Board. For the current study we restricted
the analyses to those officers who had data on the relevant police stress survey items
and have worked in the past month (n = 365).

Measures

The Spielberger Police Stress Survey is a 60-item instrument for assessing specific
sources of stress in police work (Spielberger, et al., 1981). For each item, the officer
rates the perceived stressfulness of experiencing the event from 0 to 100 (0 = no stress,
100 = maximum stress), which creates a stress rating for each event. The officer also
provides the frequency of occurrence of each event over the past month (total frequency
in past month) and past year (total frequency in past year). The 60-item survey consists
of three subscales: administrative and organizational pressure (23 items- sample items:
excessive paperwork, negative attitudes toward police officers, insufficient manpower
to adequately handle a job); physical and psychological threat (24 items- sample items:
dangerous situations and experiences; and lack of support (13 items- sample items:
political pressures and relationships with supervisor and coworkers). The subscales
have acceptable internal consistency scores (Cronbach’s alpha >0.90). The Spielberger
Police Stress Survey has no standard or reference to use in rating the event’s
stressfulness and, therefore, each item was rated independently.

On the examination date of the BCOPS study, questionnaires were administered to
collect demographic and lifestyle characteristics including gender, race/ethnicity, years
of education, marital status, smoking status, rank, age, years of police service, body
mass index, alcohol consumption, sleep duration, and physical activity. Objective work
history records which contained a day-by-day account of activities, for each officer,
were used to determine shift work.

Statistical Analysis

Officers who had worked during the past month and had complete data on the
Spielberger Police Stress Survey were included in the current analyses (n = 365, 265
men and 100 women). Data from the work history records were used to verify whether
each officer worked in the past month or not. The chi-square test and analysis of
variance (ANOVA) were used to describe and compare the demographic and lifestyle
characteristics of the study participants by gender.

The top five police stressors (from the 60-item survey) were identified using two
approaches. In the first approach, the stressors were ranked using mean frequency of

648 Am J Crim Just (2016) 41:645–662

occurrence in the past month. To minimize recall bias, we used frequency of occurrence
in the past month rather than frequency of occurrence in the past year. This approach
yielded the top five most frequently occurring events in the past month. In the second
approach, the stressors were ranked using mean stress rating (0–100) and the top five
most stressful events were selected. The two approaches were also used to select the top
five stressors for each of the three subscales of the Police Stress Scale – administrative
and organizational pressure; physical and psychological threat; and lack of support. To
describe whether the top five stressors differed by gender, separate ranking of the
events were conducted for men and women officers.

Prevalence was defined as occurrence of the event (stressor) at least once in the past
month. The prevalence of each of the top five stressors (overall prevalence as well as
prevalence by gender) and the prevalence ratio (PR) comparing prevalence in men
relative to women were estimated using the Poisson regression model. Unadjusted
prevalence ratios and their 95 % confidence intervals were estimated. The analysis of
variance (ANOVA) was used to compare the mean frequency of occurrences and the
mean stress ratings between men and women. For all tests, statistical significance was
assessed at the 5 % level and all analyses were conducted using the SAS system,
version 9.3. (SAS Institute, Cary, NC).

Results

The study sample (Table 1) consisted of 73 % males and the majority was white (78 %),
married (74 %), held the rank of patrol officer (72 %), and were never smokers (60 %).
The mean age was 41 years (SD = 6.6). Male officers had significantly higher body
mass index (BMI) and alcohol consumption compared to women (Table 1). Education,
marital status, and smoking status differed significantly across gender with female
officers being more educated, less likely to be married, and more likely to be a current
or former smoker. In addition, a significantly smaller percentage of women worked the
night shift compared to their male counter parts.

Table 2 presents the top five most frequently occurring stressors in the past month.
These included dealing with family disputes and crisis situations, responding to a felony
in progress, fellow officers not doing their job, making critical on-the-spot decisions,
and insufficient manpower to adequately handle a job. Overall 77 % to 83 % of the
officers experienced these stressors at least once in the past month but the prevalence of
these events did not differ between men and women. Three of the top five most frequent
stressors represented physical/psychological danger. Examination of the top five
stressors for each of the subscales shows that gender differences in prevalence were
evident only for the following three events: court appearances on day off or following
night shift, inadequate or poor quality equipment, and working a second job. Among
men, the prevalence of court appearances on day off or following night shift was 26 %
higher compared to women officers (PR = 1.26, 1.04–1.52). Working a second job was
two times more prevalent in men compared to women (PR = 2.37, 1.57–3.57). On the
other hand, women officers experienced higher prevalence of inadequate or poor quality
equipment compared to men (unadjusted PR = 0.82, 0.69–0.97).

Table 3 presents the five most highly rated stressful events. These included exposure
to battered or dead children, killing someone in the line of duty, fellow officer killed in

Am J Crim Just (2016) 41:645–662 649

the line of duty, situations requiring use of force, and physical attack on one’s person.
The prevalence of these top five stressful events in the past month ranged from 0.3 % to
59 %; killing someone in the line of duty (0.3 %) and fellow officer killed in the line of
duty (3.6 %) had the lowest prevalence, while situations requiring use of force (58.5 %)
had the highest prevalence in the past month. The prevalence of these top five stressors

Table 1 Demographic and life style characteristics of study participants, BCOPS Study, 2004–2009

Characteristics All (n = 365) Men (n = 265) Women (n = 100)

N % or mean ± SD N % or mean ± SD N % or mean ± SD

Race

White 279 77.7 207 79.9 72 72.0

Black/Hispanic 80 22.3 52 20.1 28 28.0

Education*

≤ High school/GED 39 10.7 35 13.3 4 4.0
College <4 yrs 206 56.8 145 55.1 61 61.0

College 4+ yrs 118 32.5 83 31.6 35 35.0

Marital status*

Single 44 12.1 21 8.0 23 23.0

Married 268 73.8 209 79.5 59 59.0

Divorced 51 14.1 33 12.6 18 18.0

Smoking status*

Current 62 17.2 36 13.6 26 26.8

Former 83 23.0 54 20.5 29 29.9

Never 216 59.8 17 65.9 42 43.3

Rank

Patrol officer 263 72.3 184 69.7 79 79.0

Sergeant/Lieutenant 48 13.2 36 13.6 12 12.0

Captain/Detective 53 14.6 44 16.7 9 9.0

Shift work (past month)+*

Day 186 51.0 110 41.5 76 76.0

Afternoon 101 27.7 93 35.1 8 8.0

Night 78 21.4 62 23.4 16 16.0

Age (years) 365 41.2 ± 6.6 265 41.2 ± 6.9 100 41.1 ± 5.8

Years of service (years) 364 14.6 ± 6.9 264 14.9 ± 7.1 100 13.8 ± 6.5

Body mass index(kg/m2) * 364 29.4 ± 4.8 265 30.5 ± 4.2 99 26.2 ± 4.7

No. of alcohol drinks/week* 360 5.6 ± 9.5 262 6.3 ± 10.5 98 3.7 ± 6.2

Average hours of sleep/day 363 6.2 ± 1.2 262 6.3 ± 1.2 100 6.4 ± 1.2

Hours of physical activity/week¥ 364 15.9 ± 13.4 265 15.2 ± 13.1 99 17.6 ± 14.3

Second job hours/week* 365 4.4 ± 7.4 265 5.4 ± 7.9 100 2.0 ± 5.2

* Represent significant differences in mean levels or distribution between men and women (P-value <0.05). ¥ Physical activity hours include occupational, household, and leisure time activities. +Shift work refers to the dominant shift an officer spent during the past month derived using payroll work history records

650 Am J Crim Just (2016) 41:645–662

did not differ by gender. Note that all the top five most stressful events represent
physical/psychological danger. The prevalence of the top five most stressful events

Table 2 Prevalence and prevalence ratio (PR) of the top five most frequently occurring stressor events in the
past month by gender

Type of stressor Description Prevalence (%) Prevalence ratio
(PR) and 95 % CI

All
(n = 365)

Men
(n = 265)

Women
(n = 100)

Overall (60 stressors)

Dealing with family disputes
and crisis situations

82.9 82.5 84.0 0.98 (0.89–1.09)

Responding to a felony in
progress

80.3 81.5 77.0 1.06 (0.94–1.20)

Fellow officers not doing
their job

77.8 77.2 79.6 0.97 (0.86–1.09)

Making critical on-the-spot
decisions

78.1 80.0 73.0 1.10 (0.96–1.25)

Insufficient manpower to
adequately handle a job

77.0 75.1 82.0 0.92 (0.82–1.03)

Administrative/
Professional
(23 stressors)

Insufficient manpower to
adequately handle a job
77.0 75.1 82.0 0.92 (0.82–1.03)

Experiencing negative
attitudes toward police
officers

74.5 73.1 78.0 0.94 (0.83–1.06)

Public criticism of police 79.4 80.7 76.0 1.06 (0.94–1.20)

Court appearances on day
off or following night
shift

67.7 71.7 57.0 1.26 (1.04–1.52)

Excessive paperwork 56.9 58.0 54.0 1.07 (0.87–1.32)

Physical/Psychological
danger (24 stressors)

Dealing with family disputes
and crisis situations
82.9 82.5 84.0 0.98 (0.89–1.09)
Responding to a felony in
progress
80.3 81.5 77.0 1.06 (0.94–1.20)
Making critical on-the-spot
decisions
78.1 80.0 73.0 1.10 (0.96–1.25)

Frequent changes from
boring to demanding
activities

64.8 64.8 65.0 1.00 (0.84–1.18)

Exposure to adults in pain 70.1 70.5 69.0 1.02 (0.88–1.19)

Lack of support
(13 stressors)

Fellow officers not doing
their job
77.8 77.2 79.6 0.97 (0.86–1.09)

Inadequate or poor quality
equipment

59.9 56.3 69.0 0.82 (0.69–0.97)

Working a second job 39.8 47.4 20.0 2.37 (1.57–3.57)

Political pressure from
within the department

44.1 47.2 36.0 1.31 (0.98–1.75)

Inadequate support by
department

44.1 43.0 46.9 0.92 (0.71–1.18)

Prevalence ratios compare prevalence of the event in men relative to women

Am J Crim Just (2016) 41:645–662 651

from each of the Spielberger police stress subscales did not differ by gender except for
the following two stressors: inadequate support by supervisor, and inadequate or poor

Table 3 Prevalence and prevalence ratio (PR) of the top five most stressful events in the past month by gender

Type of stressor Description Prevalence (%) Prevalence ratio
(PR) and 95 % CI
All
(n = 365)
Men
(n = 265)
Women
(n = 100)

Overall (60 stressors)

Exposure to battered or
dead children

27.1 27.2 27.0 1.01 (0.69–1.47)

Killing someone in the
line of duty

0.27 0.38 0.00 NA

Fellow officer killed in the
line of duty

3.6 3.77 3.00 1.26 (0.35–4.48)

Situations requiring use of
force

58.5 61.4 51.0 1.20 (0.97–1.49)

Physical attack on one’s
person

23.0 23.8 21.0 1.13 (0.73–1.75)

Administrative/
Professional
(23 stressors)
Insufficient manpower to
adequately handle a job
77.0 75.1 82.0 0.92 (0.82–1.03)

Distorted or negative press
accounts of police

70.1 72.0 65.0 1.11 (0.94–1.30)

Public criticism of police 79.4 80.7 76.0 1.06 (0.94–1.20)

Court leniency with
criminals

61.1 62.7 56.6 1.11 (0.91–1.35)

Ineffectiveness of the
judicial system

61.1 63.8 54.0 1.18 (0.96–1.45)

Physical/Psychological
danger (24 stressors)
Exposure to battered or
dead children
27.1 27.2 27.0 1.01 (0.69–1.47)
Killing someone in the
line of duty
0.27 0.38 0.00 NA
Fellow officer killed in the
line of duty
3.6 3.77 3.00 1.26 (0.35–4.48)
Situations requiring use of
force
58.5 61.4 51.0 1.20 (0.97–1.49)
Physical attack on one’s
person
23.0 23.8 21.0 1.13 (0.73–1.75)
Lack of support
(13 stressors)
Inadequate support by
department
44.1 43.0 46.9 0.92 (0.71–1.18)
Fellow officers not doing
their job
77.8 77.2 79.6 0.97 (0.86–1.09)

Assignment of
incompatible partner

9.3 10.2 7.1 1.44 (0.65–3.20)

Inadequate support by
supervisor

35.1 30.2 48.0 0.63 (0.48–0.82)

Inadequate or poor quality
equipment
59.9 56.3 69.0 0.82 (0.69–0.97)

Prevalence ratios compare prevalence of the event in men relative to women. NA = not available

652 Am J Crim Just (2016) 41:645–662

quality equipment. The prevalence of inadequate support by supervisor was 37 %
higher in women compared to men (PR = 0.63, 0.48–0.82) while the prevalence of
inadequate or poor quality equipment was 18 % higher among women relative to men
officers (PR = 0.82, 0.69–0.97).

Table 4 is a comparison of the mean frequency of occurrence in the past month
between men and women for the top five most frequently occurring stressors in the past
month. Note that this is an alternative approach to the data presented in Table 2. The

Table 4 The mean frequency of occurrence for the top five most frequently occurring stressor events by
gender

Stressor description All (n = 365) Men (n = 265) Women (n = 100) P-value

Overall (60 stressors)

Dealing with family disputes
and crisis situations

5.1 ± 4.0 5.1 ± 4.0 5.3 ± 3.9 0.505

Responding to a felony in progress 5.0 ± 3.8 5.2 ± 3.8 4.5 ± 3.9 0.105

Fellow officers not doing their job 3.9 ± 3.4 3.8 ± 3.5 4.4 ± 3.5 0.243

Making critical on-the-spot decisions 3.7 ± 3.5 3.7 ± 3.4 3.9 ± 3.8 0.364

Insufficient manpower to adequately
handle a job

3.7 ± 3.7 3.5 ± 3.6 4.2 ± 3.7 0.089

Administrative/Professional (23 stressors)

Insufficient manpower to adequately
handle a job
3.7 ± 3.7 3.5 ± 3.6 4.2 ± 3.7 0.089

Experiencing negative attitudes
toward police officers

3.4 ± 3.5 3.6 ± 3.7 3.0 ± 3.1 0.192

Public criticism of police 3.2 ± 3.2 3.5 ± 3.3 2.6 ± 2.7 0.028

Court appearances on day off
or following night shift

3.1 ± 3.4 3.5 ± 3.5 2.3 ± 2.9 0.003

Excessive paperwork 2.6 ± 3.5 2.5 ± 3.3 2.9 ± 3.7 0.444

Physical/Psychological danger
(24 stressors)

Dealing with family disputes
and crisis situations
5.1 ± 4.0 5.1 ± 4.0 5.3 ± 3.9 0.505
Responding to a felony in progress 5.0 ± 3.8 5.2 ± 3.8 4.5 ± 3.9 0.105
Making critical on-the-spot decisions 3.7 ± 3.5 3.7 ± 3.4 3.9 ± 3.8 0.364

Frequent changes from boring
to demanding activities

3.4 ± 3.6 3.5 ± 3.7 3.2 ± 3.5 0.488

Exposure to adults in pain 2.9 ± 3.1 3.0 ± 3.1 2.9 ± 3.2 0.768

Lack of support (13 stressors)

Fellow officers not doing their job 3.9 ± 3.4 3.8 ± 3.5 4.4 ± 3.5 0.243

Inadequate or poor quality equipment 2.3 ± 3.1 2.1 ± 3.0 2.9 ± 3.4 0.031

Working a second job 2.2 ± 3.4 2.6 ± 3.6 1.1 ± 2.4 0.001

Political pressure from within
the department

1.4 ± 2.4 1.6 ± 2.6 1.0 ± 2.0 0.040

Inadequate support by department 1.4 ± 2.5 1.5 ± 2.5 1.1 ± 2.0 0.240

The results are unadjusted mean frequency ± standard deviation. The p-values compare mean values between
men and women

Am J Crim Just (2016) 41:645–662 653

data in Table 2 compares prevalence (at least one occurrence in the past month)
between men and women while Table 4 takes into account all occurrences of the event
in the past month (initial plus recurrences). The mean frequency of occurrence in the
past month differed significantly by gender for the following stressors: men reported
higher recurrence than women for public criticism of police (3.5 ± 3.3 vs. 2.6 ± 2.7,
p = 0.028), court appearances on day off or following night shift (3.5 ± 3.5 vs.
2.3 ± 2.9, p = 0.003), working a second job (2.6 ± 3.6 vs. 1.1 ± 2.4, p = 0.001), and
political pressure from within department (1.6 ± 2.6 vs. 1.0 ± 2.0, p = 0.040); women
reported a higher recurrence than men for inadequate or poor quality equipment
(2.1 ± 3.0 vs. 2.9 ± 3.4, p = 0.031).

Table 5 presents the comparison of mean stress rating between men and women for the
top five most stressful stressors. The mean stress rating differed significantly between
women and men for the following five stressors with women reporting higher rating of

Table 5 The mean stress rating for the top five most stressful events by gender

Stressor description All
(n = 365)

Men
(n = 265)
Women
(n = 100)

P-
value

Overall (60 stressors)

Exposure to battered or dead children 67.6 ± 35.3 66.6 ± 34.9 70.5 ± 36.2 0.256

Killing someone in the line of duty 66.3 ± 43.0 64.3 ± 43.3 71.6 ± 42.0 0.135

Fellow officer killed in the line of duty 65.3 ± 40.6 62.9 ± 40.8 71.6 ± 39.7 0.065

Situations requiring use of force 59.6 ± 31.2 57.4 ± 30.9 65.6 ± 31.5 0.018

Physical attack on one’s person 58.6 ± 36.6 56.9 ± 36.6 63.0 ± 36.3 0.147

Administrative/Professional (23 stressors)

Insufficient manpower to adequately handle a
job

52.6 ± 30.1 50.0 ± 30.2 59.4 ± 28.7 0.006

Distorted or negative press accounts of police 47.4 ± 29.4 47.5 ± 29.0 47.1 ± 30.5 0.802

Public criticism of police 43.4 ± 28.0 43.1 ± 27.9 44.3 ± 28.5 0.840

Court leniency with criminals 41.0 ± 30.0 40.6 ± 29.8 42.2 ± 30.7 0.662

Ineffectiveness of the judicial system 41.1 ± 29.1 40.4 ± 29.0 43.1 ± 29.3 0.320

Physical/Psychological danger (24 stressors)

Exposure to battered or dead children 67.6 ± 35.3 66.6 ± 34.9 70.5 ± 36.2 0.256
Killing someone in the line of duty 66.3 ± 43.0 64.3 ± 43.3 71.6 ± 42.0 0.135
Fellow officer killed in the line of duty 65.3 ± 40.6 62.9 ± 40.8 71.6 ± 39.7 0.065
Situations requiring use of force 59.6 ± 31.2 57.4 ± 30.9 65.6 ± 31.5 0.018
Physical attack on one’s person 58.6 ± 36.6 56.9 ± 36.6 63.0 ± 36.3 0.147
Lack of support (13 stressors)

Inadequate support by department 49.2 ± 33.2 47.6 ± 33.1 53.6 ± 33.4 0.134

Fellow officers not doing their job 48.8 ± 29.5 46.0 ± 29.0 56.5 ± 29.7 0.013

Assignment of incompatible partner 41.3 ± 37.2 39.7 ± 36.6 45.6 ± 38.6 0.250

Inadequate support by supervisor 41.1 ± 34.2 37.1 ± 32.4 51.8 ± 36.7 0.001

Inadequate or poor quality equipment 40.3 ± 29.8 36.8 ± 29.4 49.5 ± 29.1 0.001

The results are unadjusted mean stress rating ± standard deviation. The p-values compare mean values
between men and women

654 Am J Crim Just (2016) 41:645–662

stressfulness compared to men: situations requiring use of force (65.6 vs. 57.4, p = 0.018),
insufficient manpower to adequately handle a job (59.4 vs. 50.0, p = 0.006), fellow officers
not doing their job (56.5 vs. 46.0, p = 0.013), inadequate support by supervisor (51.8 vs.
37.1, p = 0.001), and poor quality equipment (49.5 vs. 36.8, p = 0.001).

Discussion

This study described the five most frequent and highly rated police occupational
stressors from the Spielberger Police Stress Survey, which consists of 60 specific
stressor events grouped into three categories (1) administrative and organizational
pressure; (2) physical and psychological threat; (3) and lack of support. Results
indicated that mean occurrences in the past month for the top five most frequent
stressors (dealing with family disputes, responding to a felony in progress, fellow
officers not doing their job, making critical on-the-spot decisions, and insufficient
personnel) were similar for both men and women. Overall 77 % to 83 % of the officers
experienced these stressors at least once in the past month. The top five most highly
rated police events included exposure to battered or dead children, killing someone in
the line of duty, fellow officer killed in the line of duty, situations requiring use of force,
and physical attack on one’s person. The prevalence of these stressful events in the past
month ranged from 0.3 % to 59 %.

Four of the five top rated stressors involved acts of violence, yet it was interesting
that some of these stressors had a high rating but low prevalence. Of these, exposure to
battered or dead children was ranked highest (Table 2). Involvement with child crimes
is a difficult task for police officers and it requires a special ability and social support
system in order to avoid traumatization. Organizational support and increased resiliency
are factors which may help (Violanti, 2014). Prior research regarding police investiga-
tions of children related crimes, such as neglect, homicide, or sexual abuse suggest that
officers are often at greater risk for developing secondary traumatic stress (Krause,
2013; Chouliara, Hutchinson & Karatzias, 2009; Powell & Tomyn, 2011; Burns,
Morley, Bradshaw & Domene, 2008; Violanti & Gehrke, 2004), and depression and
anxiety (Powell & Guadagno, 2013; Russ, Lonne & Darlington, 2009). Powell and
Guadagno (2013) also suggest that officers may be at higher risk for vicarious
traumatization, a cumulative effect of trauma upon one’s self. Wright, Powell and
Ridge (2006) found that the two key sources of negative work stress frequently
associated with child abuse investigation were heavy caseloads and unavailability of
formal coping mechanisms.

Experiencing a fellow officer killed in the line of duty was also highly rated but
infrequent (3.6 %). In 2014 in the United States, 61 officers were feloniously killed in
the line of duty (http://www.nleomf.org/facts/officer-fatalities-data/) out of an
occupational group of 865,000 police officers. As indicated in our sample, despite
the low number of such tragic deaths, the occurrence of this event has a highly stressful
effect on officers. Policing is a cohesive occupation, and co-workers are generally
personally close. The felonious death of an officer has been perceived by other officers
as similar to losing a family member (Violanti & Paton, 2006).

Another highly rated but infrequent stressor was killing someone in the line of duty
(0.27 %). Similar to experiencing the death of a fellow officer, being involved in a

Am J Crim Just (2016) 41:645–662 655

http://www.nleomf.org/facts/officer-fatalities-data/

shooting and killing someone can be a very stressful and traumatic event for officers
(Violanti, 2014; Bond, Hartley, Sarkisian, Andrew, Charles, Andrew and Violanti,
2014. The aftermath of a shooting can lead to scrutiny from the public, the police
department, and the judicial system concerning the legality of the shooting and the
proper use of justifiable deadly physical force by the officer. The officer may have to
appear in court to determine whether his or her actions were legally justifiable and be
placed on suspension for work while the incident is investigated. After such incidents it
is important to have officers attend a post shooting intervention with either peer
supporters or a mental health professional to help defuse the possibility of posttraumatic
stress disorder (Trompetter, Corey, Schmidt & Tracy, 2013). It follows from shooting
incidents that the stress of Bmaking critical on-the-spot decisions^ would also be high
on the list of frequent stressors (78 %) among officers. Wheatcroft, Alison, and
McGrory (2012) comment that trusting supervision is a key factor in officer decision
making during critical incidents such as shootings. In our sample, the high reported
frequency of critical decision-making may be related to perceptions of lack of support
from the department (44 %).

Situations requiring use of force (58.5 %) was a frequent and highly rated stressor in
the present study. On average, over the last decade, there have been 58,930 assaults
against law enforcement each year, resulting in 15,404 officer injuries (National Law
Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, 2014). According to the Federal Bureau of
Investigations (FBI) data for 2011, there were a total of 54,774 assaults (2208 assaults
were by firearm, 997 by knife, 7808 by other dangerous weapons, and 43,761 by
personal weapons) among a total police force of 535,651.This equated to a rate of 10.2
assaults per 100 officers with 26.6 % of the officers assaulted sustaining injuries (FBI,
LEOKA, http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/leoka/2011/tables/table-70, 2014).
Under such dangerous working conditions, officers are highly likely to be required to
use justifiable force.

Gender Differences

Although there were no reported gender differences overall among the top stressors,
there were some differences between men and women officers in the prevalence,
frequency, and rating of specific stressors. Recognizing this distinction is important
as prior research findings have been mixed. In a survey of employees from a county
police department, Pendergrass & Ostrove, (1984) reported that the perceived rating of
job stress was higher among sworn female officers compared to civilian females
working in police departments. A survey of workplace problems encountered by police
officers (Morash and Haar, 1995) concluded that although the gendered nature of police
organizations causes unique stressors for women, the level of reported stress did not
significantly vary by gender. Yet most prior research highlight gender differences in
work-related events in policing (Kurtz, 2008).

In our study female officers rated stressors concerning fellow officers not doing their
job, inadequate support by supervisors, poor quality equipment, and situations requir-
ing use of force as more stressful than did men. Female officers experienced a 37 %
higher prevalence of inadequate support by their supervisor compared to male officers
(PR = 0.63, 0.48–0.82). Women officers in past research have reported higher levels of
harassment, bias in hiring, promotion and assignments, and an underestimation of their

656 Am J Crim Just (2016) 41:645–662

http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/leoka/2011/tables/table-70

physical and psychological abilities (Hartley, Mnatsakanova, Burchfiel & Violanti,
2014). Previous research suggests that police work tends to take away important family
time from women officers and increases child care issues (Grennan, 1993). In our study,
women officers rated having to use force as significantly more stressful compared to
men (mean stress rating of 65.6 vs. 57.4). Previous research has shown that women rely
on a policing style that uses less physical force and is less confrontational than men
officers. Police women are much less likely to use excessive violence while performing
their jobs (Horne, 2014). Kurtz (2008) found that concern for making a violent arrest
was significantly associated with increased stress among women but not in men officers
while emotional concern over knowing a victim or offender was a significant stressor
for men but not women officers.

In a study by Bartol et al. (1992), female officers reported that frequent exposure to
tragedy and the constant danger to themselves and colleagues as significantly more
stressful than did their male colleagues. This is consistent with our result where female
officers reported higher rating of stressfulness to events involving tragedy or danger.
Compared to male officers, female officers also reported that rumors about themselves,
made by co-workers, to be significantly more stressful. In contrast, male officers
perceived their relationships with colleagues, the size of the department, and the lack
of proper training to be more stressful compared to women. It is possible that these
police specific stressful events may be experienced to an even greater degree among
police women of some minority groups. Pogrebin et al. (2000) found that African-
American police women experience persistent sexual and racial discrimination from
their white male supervisors and also from white female and black male officers. The
gender discrimination that they experience are often related to professional abilities, job
performance, and supervisory responsibilities, and the racism is usually in the form of
derogatory remarks and fewer opportunities in hiring and promotion. This additional
burden of workplace discrimination may exacerbate the effects of the occupational
stressors captured in the Spielberger Police Stress Survey. We were unable to examine
the frequency and ratings of stressors among ethnic groups due to small sample sizes.

Stressors where men reported significantly higher mean occurrences in the past
month compared to women included public criticism of police, court appearances on
day off or following night shift, political pressure from within the department, and
working a second job. The prevalence of court appearances on a day off or after a night
shift was 26 % higher for men than women officers (PR = 1.26, 1.04–1.52). Working a
second job was more than twice as prevalent in men relative to women (PR = 2.37,
1.57–3.57). One possible explanation for these results is that male officers seem to be
attending court and working second jobs more frequently than women and thus have
less time away from work. In our sample, self-reported overtime hours per week (3.6
vs. 2.1, p = 0.015), hours per week on second job (5.4 vs. 2.0, p = 0.0001), court time
hours per week (2.2 vs. 0.9, p < 0.001), and proportion working the night or afternoon shift (58.5 % vs. 24 %, p < 0.001) were all significantly higher for men officers compared to females. Overtime, shift work, court, and the inability to enjoy life outside of policing are factors which lead to increased stress among male officers (Vila & Kenney, 2002). Attending court after a night shift may impede the opportunity for proper sleep (Akerstedt, 2003). Neylan et al. (2002) suggested that police officers on both variable and stable shifts reported significantly worse sleep quality and more frequent disturbances in sleep quality than officers on the day shift.

Am J Crim Just (2016) 41:645–662 657

Limitations and Strengths

Limitations of this study include a cross-sectional study design, which precludes causal
inferences and concern for generalizability to other police departments. Although the
Spielberger police stress survey captures many stressors pertinent in policing, it does
not contain occupational stressors that would pertain particularly to female officers
such as sexual harassment. The responses to police stress survey items are based on
self-report and hence there is a potential for bias (e.g. for example recall bias when
reporting frequency of occurrence) and also ratings of stressfulness could be subject-
dependent (e.g., two officers may rate the same event differently). Future longitudinal
designs would be beneficial to better understand changes in perceptions of stressors
over time and the factors associated with such changes.

The present study has several strengths. The Spielberger Police Stress Survey is a
well standardized instrument designed to assess several different sources of police
stress. The stressor items are specific instead of general, allowing us to accurately
assess their ratings and frequency. Additionally, we limited recall of stressors to one
month in an effort to reduce recall bias. We had an overall large sample size available
and a relatively large sample of women officers enabling us to focus on gender
differences.

Conclusions

In summary, the present study examined the five most frequent and highly rated police
occupational stressors from the 60-item Spielberger Police Stress Scale involving
categories of organizational pressure, physical and psychological threat, and lack of
support. Many of these stressors mention involvement with violence and traumatic
incidents such as shootings, assaults, domestic violence, and abused children.
Responding to family disputes was the most frequent stressor among officers (83 %).
Killing someone in the line of duty and experiencing a fellow officer killed in the line
of duty were among the highest rated stressors but among the lowest in frequency.
Although there were no overall gender differences among the top five stressors, there
were some differences in prevalence, frequency, and ratings. Male officers tended to
report a higher prevalence of events which limited their time away from work such as
court appearances and working second jobs. Men also reported frequent stress with the
courts and judicial system, likely due to their more frequent contact with the criminal
justice system. Women officers reported a greater prevalence and a higher mean stress
rating regarding the lack of support by their supervisors and inadequate or poor quality
equipment than their male colleagues.

Of importance were results suggesting gender differences in work stressors.
Our findings suggest that women officers are generally more stressed than men
by a lack of support, both by male co-workers and the organization. Women
officers experienced a 37 % higher prevalence of inadequate support by their
supervisor compared to male officers. The percentage of women officers varies
by type of police agency (state, county, city, and local) and the size of the
police department. In 2007 women accounted for about 15 % of the total sworn
law enforcement officers in large local police departments (http://www.bjs.gov/

658 Am J Crim Just (2016) 41:645–662

http://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/wle8708

content/pub/pdf/wle8708 ). Police organizations need to establish further
policy on issues of discrimination and training on the positive aspects of
women in policing (Hartley et al., 2014). Schuck and Rabe-Hemp (2007) for
example suggested that women may be better at policing than men due to
fewer citizen complaints, excessive force liability lawsuits, and allegations of
excessive force. Johnson (1991) found that women felt having better commu-
nication skills compensated for their lack of physical skills.

Questions remain for further research. It is important to understand whether the
severity (ranking) or frequency of a stressor has the most deleterious personal stress
effect on police officers. Our findings suggest that high ratings and low frequency of
some stressors (for example killings and shootings) may be more personally stressful.
Secondly, the effect of the interaction of frequency and ratings of stressors needs to be
explored. Such a combination may increase personal stress regardless of the type of
stressor. Further research should additionally consider examining the varying effects of
stressors in association with perceived stress and physiological outcomes. Lastly, issues
of ratings and frequency aside, exposure to events considered stressful by officers may
result in debilitating psychological difficulties. Psychological and organizational sup-
port is important to help both women and men officers deal with stressful and traumatic
events in this difficult occupation of policing.

Disclaimer The findings and conclusions in this report are those of the authors and do
not necessarily represent the views of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and
Health.

Compliance with Ethical Standards

Sources of Funding This work was supported by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
contract number 200–2003-01,580.

References

Akerstedt, T. (2003). Shift work and disturbed sleep/wakefulness. Occupational Medicine, 55, 89–94.
Bartol, C. R., Bergen, G. T., Volckens, J. S., & Knoras, K. M. (1992). Women in small-town policing: Job

performance and stress. Crim Just & Behav, 19(3), 240–259.
Bond, J., Hartley, T. A., Sarkisian, K., Andrew, M. E., Charles, L. E., Andrew, M. E., & Violanti, J. M. (2014).

Association of traumatic police event exposure with sleep quality and quantity in the BCOPS study
cohort. International Journal of Mental Health and Human Resilience, 15, 255–266.

Bonnar, A. (2000). Stress at work: The beliefs and experiences of police superintendents. International
Journal of Police Strategies and Management, 2, 285–302.

Burns, C. M., Morley, J., Bradshaw, R., & Domene, J. (2008). The emotional impact on and coping strategies
employed by police teams investigating internet child exploitation. Traumatology, 14(2), 20–31.

Chaiyavej, S., & Morash, M. (2008). Dynamics of sexual harassment for policewomen working alongside
men. Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies & Management, 31(3), 485–498.

Chouliara, Z., Hutchinson, C., & Karatzias, T. (2009). Vicarious traumatization in practitioners who work with
adult survivors of sexual violence and child sexual abuse: Literature review and directions for future
research. Counselling and Psychotherapy Research, 9, 47–56.

Am J Crim Just (2016) 41:645–662 659

http://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/wle8708

Collins, P. A., & Gibbs, C. C. (2003). Stress in police officers: A study of origins, prevalence and severity of
stress related symptoms within a county police force. Occupational Medicine, 53, 256–264. doi:10.1093/
occmed/kqg061.

Deschamps, F., Paganon-Badinier, I., Marchand, A. C., & Merle, C. (2003). Sources and assessment of
occupational stress in the police. Journal of Occupational Health, 45, 358–364.

FBI, Law Enforcement Officers Killed or Assaulted. (2014) http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/leoka/2011/
tables/table-70. 2014. Accessed July 30.

Finn, P., & Tornz, J. E. (2000). On-the-job stress in policing—Reducing it, preventing it. National Institute of
Justice Journal, NIJ, 180079, 18–24.

Grennan, S. (1993). A perspective on women in policing. In R. Muraskin & T. Alleman (Eds.), It’s a Crime:
Women and Justice. Prentice Hall: Englewood Cliffs, NJ.

Haarr, R. (1997). Patterns of interaction in a police bureau: Race and gender barriers to integration. Justice
Quarterly, 14, 53–85.

Hartley, T. A., Burchfiel, C. M., Fekedulegn, D., Andrew, M. E., Knox, S. S., & Violanti, J. M. (2011).
Associations between police officer stress and the metabolic syndrome. International Journal of
Emergency Mental Health, 13(4), 243–256.

Hartley, T. A., Mnatsakanova, A., Burchfiel, C. M., & Violanti, J. M. (2014). Stressors and associated health
effects for women police officers. In J. M. Violanti (Ed.), Dying for the job: Police work exposure and
health. Charles C. Thomas: Springfield, IL.

Horne, P. (2014). Policewomen: This first century and the new era. Police Chief, July, 2014, 1–10.
Johnson, L. B. (1991). Job strain among police officers: Gender comparisons. Police Studies: International

Review of Police Development, 14, 12–16.
Kirshman, E. (2006). I Love a Cop That Police Families Need to know. New York: Guildford Press.
Kop, N., & Euwema, M. (2001). Occupational stress and the use of force by Dutch police officers. Criminal

Justice and Behavior, 28, 631–652. doi:10.1177/009385480102800505.
Krause, M. (2013). In harm’s way: Duty of care for child exploitation and pornography investigators. In L.

Territo & J. D. Sewell (Eds.), Stress management in law enforcement (3rd ed.pp. 357–369). Durham, NC:
Carolina Academic Press.

Kurtz, D. L. (2008). Controlled burn: The gendering of stress and burnout in modern policing. Feminist
Criminology, 3(3), 216–238. doi:10.1177/1557085108321672.

Lonsway, K. A. (2007). Are we there yet? The progress of women in one large law enforcement agency.
Women and Criminal Justice, 18(1–2), 1–48. doi:10.1300/J012v18n01_01.

Marmar, C. R., McCaslin, S. E., Metzler, T. J., Best, S., Weiss, D. S., Fagan, J., Liberman, A., Pole, N., Otte,
C., Yehuda, R., Mohr, D., & Neylan, T. (2006). Predictors of posttraumatic stress in police officers and
other first responders. Annals New York Academy of Sciences, 1071, 1–18.

Martelli, T. A., Waters, L. K., & Martelli, J. (1989). The police stress survey: Reliability and relation to job
satisfaction and organizational commitment. Psychological Reports, 64(1), 267–273.

Martin, S. (1992). The changing status of women officers: Gender and power in police work. In L. L. Moyer
(Ed.), The changing role of women in the criminal Justice System (pp. 281–304). Prospect Heights, IL:
Waveland.

Morash, M., & Haarr, N. R. (1995). Gender, workplace problems, and stress in policing. Justice Quarterly,
12(1), 113–140. doi:10.1080/07418829500092591.

Morash, M., Kwak, D. H., & Haaar (2006). Gender differences in the predictors of police stress. Policing,
29(3), 541–563.

National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund (2014). Preliminary Police fatalities as of July 31, 2014.
www.nleomf.com. Accessed July 31, 2014.

Neylan, T. C., Metzler, T. J., Best, S. R., Weiss, D. S., Fagan, J. A., Liberman, A., Rogers, C., Vedantham, K.,
Brunet, A., Lipsey, T. L., & Marmar, C. R. (2002). Critical incident exposure and sleep quality in police
officers. Psychosomatic Medicine, 64(2), 345–352.

O’Toole, S.K., Vitello, C.J., & Palmer, S. (2014). Stress and law enforcement. https://www.facebook.com/
pages/Virginia-Coalition-of-Police-and-Deputy-Sheriffs/332099015589.

Patterson G.T. (2002). Reconceptualizing traumatic incidents experienced by law enforcement personnel.
Australasian Journal of Disaster Trauma Studies, online, 2001–2002.

Patterson, G. T. (2003). Examining the effects of coping and social support on work and life stress among
police officers. Journal of Criminal Justice, 31(3), 215–226.

660 Am J Crim Just (2016) 41:645–662

http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/occmed/kqg061

http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/occmed/kqg061

http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/leoka/2011/tables/table-70

http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/leoka/2011/tables/table-70

http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/009385480102800505

http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1557085108321672

http://dx.doi.org/10.1300/J012v18n01_01

http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/07418829500092591

http://www.nleomf.com

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Virginia-Coalition-of-Police-and-Deputy-Sheriffs/332099015589

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Virginia-Coalition-of-Police-and-Deputy-Sheriffs/332099015589

Pendergrass, V. E., & Ostrove, N. M. (1984). A survey of stress in women in policing. Journal of Police
Science and Administration, 12(3), 303–309.

Pogrebin, M., Dodge, M., & Chatman, H. (2000). Reflections of African-American women on their careers in
urban policing. Their experiences of racial and sexual discrimination. International Journal of the
Sociology Law, 28(4), 311–326.

Powell, M. B., & Guadagno, B. L. (2013). Workplace stressors for investigative interviewers of child abuse
victims. International Journal of Police Science and Management, 36(3), 512–525.

Powell, M. B., & Tomyn, A. J. (2011). Life satisfaction amongst police officers working in the area of child
abuse investigation. International Journal of Police Science And Management, 13(2), 187–194.

Russ, E., Lonne, B., & Darlington, Y. (2009). Using resilience to reconceptualize child protection workforce
capacity. Australian Social Work, 62(3), 324–338.

Schuck, A. M., & Rabe-Hemp, C. (2007). Women police. Women & Criminal Justice, 16(4), 91–117.
Shelley, T., Morabito, M., & Tobin-Gurley, J. (2011). Gendered institutions and gender roles: Understanding

the experience of women in policing. Criminal Justice Studies: A Critical Journal of Crime, Law and
Society, 24(4), 351–367.

Spielberger C.D., Westberry L.G., Grier K.S., & Greenfield G. (1981). The Police Stress Survey: sources of
stress in law enforcement (Human Resources Institute Monograph Series Three, No. 6). Tampa, FL:
University of South Florida, College of Social and Behavioral Sciences.

Spielberger C., Grier K., Greenfield G. (1982). Major dimensions of stress in law enforcement. Florida
Fraternal Order of Police Journal, Spring, 10–20.

Thompson, B. M., Kirk, A., & Brown, D. (2006). Sources of stress in policewomen: A three factor model.
International Journal of Stress Management, 13(3), 309–328.

Trompetter, P. S., Corey, D. M., Schmidt, W. W., & Tracy, D. (2013). Psychological factors after officer-
involved shootings: Addressing officer needs and agency responsibilities. In L. Territo & J. D. Sewell
(Eds.), Stress management in law enforcement (3rd ed.pp. 669–709). Durham, NC: Carolina Academic
Press.

Vila, B., & Kenney, D. J. (2002). Tired cops. National Institute of Justice Journal, 248, 16–21.
Violanti, J. M. (2014). Introduction to special issue: Police stress and trauma: Recent perspectives.

International Journal of Mental Health and Human Resilience, 15, 213–215.
Violanti, J. M., & Aron, F. (1994). Ranking police stressors. Psychological Reports, 73, 824–826.
Violanti, J., & Aron, F. (1995). Police stressors: Variations in perception among police personnel. Journal of

Criminal Justice, 23, 287–294.
Violanti, J.M. & Gehrke, A. (2004). Police trauma encounters: Precursors of compassion fatigue. International

Journal of Emergency Mental Health, 6, 75–80.
Violanti, J.M. & Paton, D. (2006). Who Gets PTSD? Issues of posttraumatic stress vulnerability. Springfield,

IL: Charles. C. Thomas.
Violanti, J. M., Burchfiel, C. M., Miller, D. B., Andrew, M. E., Dorn, J., Wactawski-Wende, J., Beighley, C.

M., Pierino, K., Joseph, P. N., Vena, J. E., Sharp, D. S., & Trevisan, M. (2006). The Buffalo cardio-
metabolic occupational Police stress (BCOPS) pilot study: Methods and participant characteristics. Annals
of Epidemiology, 16, 148–156.

Violanti, J. M., Mnatsakanova, A., Andrew, M. E., Hartley, T. A., Fekedulegn, D., Baughman, & Burchfiel, C.
M. (2014). Associations of stress, anxiety, and resiliency in police work. Journal of Occupational and
Environmental Medicine, 71, Suppl 1:A3. doi:10.1136/oemed-2014-102362.8.

Weiss, D. S., Brunet, A., Best, S. R., Metzler, T. J., Liberman, A., et al. (2002). Frequency and severity
approaches to indexing exposure to trauma: The critical incident history questionnaire for police officers.
Journal of Traumatic Stress, 23, 734–743.

Wexler, J. G., & Logan, D. D. (1983). Sources of stress among women police officers. Journal of Police
Science and Administration, 11(1), 46–53.

Wheatcroft, J. M., Alison, L. A., & McGrory, D. (2012). The influence of trust on senior investigating officer’s
decision-making in high profile critical incidents. Police Quarterly, 15(4), 386–413.

Wright, R., Powell, M. B., & Ridge, D. (2006). Child abuse investigation: An in-depth analysis of how police
officers perceive and cope with daily work challenges. Policing: An International Journal of Police
Strategies and Management, 29, 498–512. doi:10.1108/136395106106684728.

Yoo, H., & Franke, W. D. (2010). Stress and cardiovascular disease risk in female law enforcement
officers. International Archives of Occupational & Environmental Health, 84(3), 279–286. doi:
10.1007/s00420-010-0548-9.

Am J Crim Just (2016) 41:645–662 661

http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/oemed-2014-102362.8

http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/136395106106684728

http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00420-010-0548-9

John M. Violanti is a research professor in the department of Epidemiology & Environmental Health, State
University of NY at Buffalo, NY. His research focuses primarily on police stress and trauma, health and
suicide.

Desta Fekedulegn is a statistician at the Biostatistics and Epidemiology Branch in the Health Effects
Laboratory Division of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health at CDC. His research
interests include analytic methods in epidemiology and actigraphy based assessment of sleep and physical
activity

Tara A. Hartley is an Epidemiologist in the Biostatistics and Epidemiology Branch, Health Effects Labora-
tory Division of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. Her research focuses on the
association between workplace stress and subclinical cardiovascular disease

Luenda E. Charles is an epidemiologist with the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health at the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Her research focuses on occupational exposures with cardiovas-
cular disease and several other health problems.

Michael E. Andrew serves as senior statistician for the Biostatistics and Epidemiology Branch of the Health
Effects Laboratory Division, of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) at the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). His research interests include cardiovascular disease
epidemiology with recent focus on associations of workplace stressors with autonomic dysfunction as
measured by heart rate variability, and protective factors related to workplace stressors.

Claudia C. Ma is an Epidemiologist in the Biostatistics and Epidemiology Branch, Health Effects Laboratory
Division at NIOSH. Her research focuses on occupational exposures and the risks of cardio-metabolic
outcomes, musculoskeletal disorders, and the potential role of parental occupational exposures in autism in
working population

Cecil M. Burchfiel is Chief of the Biostatistics and Epidemiology Branch in the Health Effects Laboratory
Division of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health at CDC. His research focuses on
cardiovascular disease epidemiology with emphasis on associations of workplace stressors with subclinical
cardiovascular and metabolic disorders

662 Am J Crim Just (2016) 41:645–662

• Highly Rated and most Frequent Stressors among Police Officers: Gender Differences

Abstract
Introduction
Gender Issues
Method
Design and Study Participants
Measures
Statistical Analysis
Results
Discussion
Gender Differences
Limitations and Strengths
Conclusions
References