Date of Award

6-2014

Document Type

Open Access

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts

Department

Sociology

First Advisor

Timothy Stablein

Language

English

Keywords

stress, officers, police, work, family

Abstract

Law Enforcement Officers experience stress for a variety of reasons that are related to both the nature and the organization of police work. Consequences of stress are felt by the police department, the individual, as well as their family. Building on previous research in this area, this project describes thirteen in-depth interviews with officers and their significant others in an effort to understand the impact of police stress on work and family life and vice versa. Officers were found to struggle between balancing their police role and home life. The family serves as both a coping resource for the officer but also a source of stress. Interactions among the officers also served as a way to cope with stress (as a way to learn skills related to their job, to relieve stress, and to talk about work) but varied depending on work shift. Each of these factors are discussed to understand how these officers manage the interrelated aspects of police work, family life, and stress.

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