Gender Differences in Law Enforcement Officer Stress and Coping Strategies
Abstract
Law enforcement officers, like many professionals, are not immune to the effect of stress on their overall health. In fact, law enforcement officers may be particularly vulnerable to these effects due to unique and sometimes traumatic stressors inherent in their work. Further, male and female officers may experience the stressors of the law enforcement profession, and the coping strategies used in response to stress, differently. Using survey data collected from a sample of law enforcement officers in a large urban police agency in the southeastern United States, this research examines the differences between male and female officers in terms of perception of stressors in policing and coping strategies used in response to stress. The findings indicate that female officers have significantly higher mean stress scores on several items (particularly those regarding safety factors) and are significantly more likely to use positive coping strategies compared to male officers.
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Biographies
Heidi S. Bonner, PhD, is an associate professor and chair in the Department of Criminal Justice at East Carolina University, a Research Fellow at the John F. Institute for Public Safety, and a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Interdisciplinary Research Leaders Fellow. She holds a PhD in criminal justice from the University at Albany, State University of New York. Her research focuses on individual and organizational criminal justice decision-making behavior and outcomes, with an emphasis on law enforcement operations. Current projects focus on disproportionate impact in policing, employee stress and wellness, and response to witness intimidation in intimate partner violence.
Andy Brimhall, PhD, LMFT is an associate professor in the Department of Human Development and Family Science at East Carolina University. He is a licensed marriage and family therapist and an AAMFT Approved Supervisor. He holds a PhD in marriage and family therapy from Texas Tech University. His research is focused on how couples and families navigate relational transitions from an attachment-based framework, specifically focusing on couple interactions and how they are able to heal from relational trauma.
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Article first published online: November 25, 2021
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