Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology, 2001, Volume 16, Number 1

Demographic and Workplace Characteristics Which Add to the Prediction of Stress and Job Satisfaction Within the Police Workplace
Jeremy D. Davey, Patricia L. Obst, and Mary C. Sheehan Centre for Accident Research and Road Safety - Queensland School of Psychology and Counselling, Queensland University of Technology

Much research has been conducted into aspects of the police workplace that contribute to stress for individual officers. The current paper examines the influence of workplace and job characteristics on both officers' stress and their job satisfaction. Police officers recruited from two divisions of an Australian state police service (n = 749) were surveyed. Results show that there was a positive relationship between organizational support and job satisfaction and a negative relationship between organizational support and job stress. Difficulty in dealing with organizational change led to lower job satisfaction and higher levels of job stress. Working long hours led to increased job stress but it did not lead to lower job satisfaction. In contrast, shiftwork led to lowered job satisfaction but it did not lead to job stress. Of particular interest in this study was the finding that the job content factor of dealing with dangerous and unpredictable duties was not predictive of job stress but in fact led to higher job satisfaction.

commonly classified as a high stress occupation. This is due to the physical danger, conflict, courtroom appearances and shiftwork (Crank et al., 1993; Davis, 1993; Savery et al., 1993). The Australian Accident Compensation Commission publishes figures on claims and claim types across a range of occupations. The most likely occupation for stress claims is secondary teachers closely followed by police (Dawson, 1993). Epidemiological evidence of high rates of heart disease, divorce, and suicide also suggests police are exposed to high levels of stress (e.g. Mitchell 1990; Richmond, et al., 1998). The phenomenon of stress and policing
OLICING IS

is not new. Almost twenty years ago Davidson and Veno (1980) wrote, a review of recent research indicates that occupational stressors inherent in police careers are causal agents in such mental health problems and outcomes as severe nervous conditions, neurosis, job satisfaction, high rates of divorce, marital discord, high suicide rates, increased incidence of alcoholism and other drug abuse (p. 156). Policing is a stressful occupation not only because of the nature of police work, but also as a result of many other influences associated with the work environment, the organization and the public scrutiny of policing. Much research has
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been conducted into the nature and impact of stress in the police workplace (Coman & Evans, 1991; Steinberg, Tyman, Gill & Williams, 1996). There have been numerous attempts in this body of research to categorize the many potential stresses found to be associated with policing. One method has been to categorize these stressors on the basis of whether they affect officers because they are part of the actual job (job content stressors) or whether they affect officers because they are part of the organizational environment in which the officer works (job context stressors) (Coman & Evans, 1991; Steinberg, et al.,1996). Table 1 summarizes findings from previous research into stress within the policing occupation, categorized into job content and job context areas. Death, trauma, violence, grief and danger are part of police work. Some research has found that dealing with these issues contribute greatly to stress levels of police officers (Coman & Evans, 1991). However, for many officers, dealing with such events is an infrequent occurrence, particularly if an officer is non-operational. It has been suggested that, for many officers, aspects of the organization (job context) contribute more to feelings of stress because officers have to deal with these stresses on a regular if not daily basis. These include working with insufficient and poor equipment (Shanahan, 1992), unnecessary paperwork (Kroes, 1985), competitiveness generated by a strict promotion system (Coman & Evans, 1991), and inadequate supervisory and management practices (Brown & Campbell, 1990). A study by Brown and Campbell (1990) of almost 1000 officers in the UK found that organizational and management features were more stressful than operational duties at a ratio of 4:1.

There are other aspects of police work that may also contribute to stress. Many officers are required to work shifts which officers have reported as being stressful because of the disruption it causes to a normal social and family life (Gudjonsson & Adlam, 1985). Police also work in the public eye and hence are open to scrutiny and criticism about their work, not only from the media who rarely portray police in a positive light, but also from the public who are also not always supportive of police. Public complaints often turn into lengthy internal and external investigations which can cause added stress to an already stressful occupation. Like most people working in a range of different occupations, it is likely that many officers have felt stressed at some stage in their work. A study by Violanti (1983) found that officers with the least and most job experience perceived less stress in law enforcement than did officers with intermediate levels of experience. Some researchers have also found differences among officers as to what they consider stressful. Probational constables have been identified as a rank associated with particular anxieties due to the nature of the job and the socialization process (Fielding, 1987). Brown and Campbell (1990) found that constables are more likely to be stressed by time pressures, long hours, working with civilians and force or station politics, sergeants by having to manage or supervise, working in isolation and lack of consultation and senior management by criticism from the media. While a significant amount of research has been conducted into police and stress, little work has been done on job satisfaction within the police service. Aspects such as poor public image, frustration with the justice system, and

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Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology, 2001, Volume 16, Number 1

Table 1. Work Characteristics Found to Act as Stressors Within the Policing Occupation Operational Stressors (job content stressors) Work overload/long hours of work (Cooper, et al., 1988). Dealing with sudden death (Dietrich & Smith, 1986). Dealing with victims of crime, violence and accidents (Dietrich & Smith, 1986). Tiredness and severe disruptions to family life caused by shiftwork and long hours (Gudjonsson et al., 1985; Shanahan, 1992). Working hours and scheduling of appearances in the court system Court appearances (Coman & Evans, 1991). The justice system as a whole, including failure of courts to prosecute. Unpredictable and uncontrollable daily load, making planning difficult (Coman & Evans, 1991; Duckworth, 1987). Community image of police, including perceived criticism and lack of status (Lester, 1992; Mitchell, 1990; Shanahan, 1992). Organizational Stressors (job context stressors) Lack of resources, including staff and adequate equipment (Shanahan, 1992). Rapid organizational change, including renaming and reorganizing of departments and elimination of jobs (Shanahan, 1992). Inadequacies of communication from command down to lower levels (Brown & Campbell, 1990). Lack of support from hierarchy (Brown & Campbell, 1990). Absence of leadership (Shanahan, 1992). Management issues and internal investigation (Brown & Campbell, 1990). Continuous paperwork and increased bureaucratic procedures (Kroes, 1985). Competition between workers for promotion and perceived lack of career progress (Comman & Evans, 1991). Feelings of powerlessness, valuelessness, and meaninglessness derived from many of the above factors (Mitchell, 1990; Shanahan, 1992).

perceived management characteristics have been shown to influence levels of job satisfaction (Coman & Evans, 1988; Morris, et al., 1999). Job dissatisfiers within policing have also been categorized into job content and job context areas (Coman & Evans, 1988). However the majority of research that has examined this construct have looked at such aspects as gender and minority group differences in job satisfaction, rather than aspects of the workplace that may be predictive of job satisfaction (e.g., Dantzker & Kubin, 1998; Morris, et al.,1999). The current study expands on previous research by examining both work stress and job satisfaction within the police workplace. The study examined a num31

ber of organizational characteristics and job characteristics that have been identified in the literature as contributing to stress in police officers. The influence of these workplace characteristics on both job stress and job satisfaction was investigated. Thus this study provides more insight into the policing occupation in terms of both job stress and job satisfaction. METHOD Participants The sample consisted of police officers recruited from two divisions of an Australian state police service (n = 749). The divisions consisted of one metropolitan division (n = 393) and one regional division which included rural stations (n =

Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology, 2001, Volume 16, Number 1

356). The age of participants ranged from 18 to 60 with a median age bracket of 31 to 35 years. Of those indicating their sex and rank 87% were males and 13% females; 62% were constables, 33% were sergeants, and 5% commissioned officers. Table 2 shows the representativeness of the sample in terms of rank and gender. Procedure The development of the draft questionnaire was based on discussions with reference groups and literature reviews. This draft was then piloted with 50 officers in the two divisions. Their comments were sought regarding the content of the questionnaire as well as the length of time needed to complete it. The final questionnaire was sent to all officers in two divisions (a metropolitan and a regional division) of the state police service through the internal police mailing system. The cover letter sent with the questionnaire stipulated that all responses were anonymous and confidential. A follow up questionnaire was sent to officers three weeks after the first mail-out to ensure a maximum response rate. Questionnaires were returned to the university based research team in reply paid envelopes. Of the 1354 questionnaires sent out, 749 were returned. This constitutes an overall response rate of 55 percent. Instrument Section 1 of the questionnaire contained questions relating to demographic details. This section asked respondent's sex, age, rank in service, which region they were stationed, years in service, and whether at the time of survey they held an operational or non-operational position within the police service. Operational positions indicate that the

officer reported taking an active policing role on the streets. Section 2 asked five questions related to officers' work environment: "I am very underworked" (1) to "very overworked" (5); "I am under pressure" never (1) to constantly (5); "I am in control of my work" never (1) to always (5); "My job is interesting" never (1) to always (5); and "My job is very dissatisfying" (1) to "very satisfying" (5). Section 3 focused on specific work duties. Respondents were asked to indicate how strongly they agreed (1 strongly disagree to 10 strongly agree) with 14 statements about work duties, for example, "I find it difficult to cope with dangerous work duties"; "I have too much paper work"; "There is no consistency in promotional opportunities". This section also asked if respondents were required to do shiftwork and "the amount of overtime worked in an average fortnight" (1) none to (5) more than 10 hours. RESULTS Job Characteristics Over half (53%) of the sample felt they were overworked. Sixty per cent of the sample felt they were often to constantly under pressure, 36% felt under pressure sometimes and 4% felt under pressure rarely. Only 4% of the sample rated their job as not interesting, and only 5% reported not feeling in control of their work. Their jobs were rated as dissatisfying by 12% of the sample. Items examining feelings about the policing work environment were subjected to factor analysis (Principle Components extraction with varimax rotation as the factors were not correlated above .4). Two factors emerged accounting for 67.25% of the variance. The first factor

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Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology, 2001, Volume 16, Number 1

accounted for 37.75% of the variance. This factor tapped feelings of being overworked and under pressure, and so was labeled Job Stress. The second factor accounted for 29.5% of the variance. This factor tapped feelings of control, satisfaction and interest, and hence was labeled Job Satisfaction. Table 3 shows the factor loadings for items on each factor. A series of questions then addressed specific workplace attributes. Table 4 shows the median rating of agreement with these statements. These items and the items regarding shiftwork and overtime were subjected to factor analysis (Principle Components extraction with varimax rotation as the factors were not correlated above .4) to examine if they fell into distinct types of workplace attributes. The factor analysis revealed a four factor structure accounting for 48% of the variance. The first factor accounted for 16.5% of the variance. Items loading on this factordealing with sufficient equipment and support from management, peers, and the publicwas labeled Organizational Support. Items loading on the second factor dealt with dangerous or uncontrollable aspects of the job itself, and was labeled Difficult Job Characteristics. This factor accounted for 13% of the variance. The items loading on the next factor, which accounted for 10% of the variance, were those that dealt with aspects of accountability, bureaucracy and change. With major changes in policing over the last ten years have come new levels of accountability and changes to the established structure. This factor was therefore labeled Organizational Change. The last factor accounted for 9% of the variance. Items which loaded on this factor were those that dealt with working overtime, shiftwork and long

hours. This factor was labeled Long Work Hours. Table 5 presents the factor loadings of items on these factors. New variables were then computed based on the results of these factor analyses. Examination of these new factors via Cronbachs' Alpha revealed each scale had moderate to high internal reliability. Control did not load as highly on the factor job satisfaction as the other items and when this item was deleted, the scale reliability increased from =.63 to = .75. Hence, control was not included in the scale measuring job satisfaction. Long work hours went from = .59 to = .88 when shiftwork was removed from the scale. It was thus decided to leave shiftwork as a variable on its own as it deals with a kind of work schedule rather than long hours as such. Table 6 shows the alpha for each new scale generated. Predicting Job Stress and Job Satisfaction A regression analysis was run to examine which organizational characteristics predicted job stress and job satisfaction. Demographic variables were entered as the first step to remove any influence they may have. As 86 % of the sample were required to work some shiftwork and 91% worked unpaid overtime at least once a fortnight, these were entered into the regression in Step 2 along with the standardized scores on organization change, organization support and difficult job characteristics. Table 7 shows the results of these regressions. Demographic predictors accounted for a significant proportion of the variance in job stress (R2= .06, F(6,693) = 7.46, p < .001). However, only region emerged as a significant independent predictor. A one way ANOVA revealed a significant difference in levels of job stress reported by officers stationed in urban, regional or

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Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology, 2001, Volume 16, Number 1

Table 2. Breakdown of Sample by Sex and Rank in Comparison to Organization. Rank Executive and Commissioned Officers and Others Sergeants and Senior Sergeants Constables and Senior Constables Total Missing Total Sex Male Female Male Female Male Female Male Female Police N 258 9 1,851 99 3,383 688 5,502 796 6,298 Sample N 25 2 233 11 386 79 644 92 13 749 Sample % of Organization 10% 22% 13% 11% 11% 11% 12% 12% 12%

Table 3. Factor Loadings of Workplace Items on the Factors of Job Stress and Job Satisfaction. Factor Factor 1 (Eigenvalue = 1.88) Job Stress Factor 2 (Eigenvalue = 1.48) Job Satisfaction Items I think I am overworked I think that I am under pressure I am in control of my work My job is interesting Overall my job is satisfying Factor Loadings .87 .88 .53 .86 .87

Table 4. Distribution and Median Rating of Agreement with Specific Workplace Statements. Specific Workplace Items Median % Scoring 6 or above 83 83 22 21 22 61 52 17 53 41 23 33 41 50

It is difficult to cope with dangerous work duties 8 It is difficult to cope with uncontrollable and unpredictable work duties 8 I get formal recognition from supervisors 3 I have sufficient equipment to do my job 3 I have to do too much paper work 3 It is difficult to deal with the accountability processes in policing 6 I am free to make my own decisions 6 There is no consistency in promotional opportunities 2 I get recognition from peers 6 I fear being reprimanded 4 I have support from management 3 There is too much organizational change 4 I work long hours 5 The general public are supportive of police 6 Note: Scores on all items ranged from 1 (disagree) to 10 (agree) on the 10-point Likert scale.

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Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology, 2001, Volume 16, Number 1

Table 5. Factor loadings of workplace attribute items on the factors of organization structure, organizational change, and difficult job characteristics. Factor Items Factor 1 Organizational Support (Eigenvalue = 2.56) I get formal recognition from supervisors I have support from management I have sufficient equipment to do my job I get recognition from peers I am free to make my own decisions The public are supportive of police It is difficult to cope with dangerous work duties It is difficult to cope with uncontrollable and unpredictable work duties There is no consistency in promotional opportunities I have to do too much paper work There is too much organizational change It is difficult to deal with the accountability processes in policing I fear being reprimanded I work long hours I am required to work overtime I am required to work shift work

Factor Loadings .75 .66 .61 .57 .49 .44 .94 .94 .61 .60 .60 .58 .46 .79 .77 .49

Factor 2 Difficult Job Characteristics (Eigenvalue = 1.95) Factor 3 Organizational Change (Eigenvalue = 1.52)

Factor 4 Long Work Hours (Eigenvalue = 1.43)

Table 6. Internal Reliability Statistics for New Variables Scale No of Items Cronbachs Alpha Job Stress 2 items .87 Job Satisfaction 2 items .75 Job Characteristics 6 items .93 Organisational Support 2 items .67 Organisational Change 5 items .73 Long Hours 2 items .88

Table 7. Variables Entered into Regressions on Job Stress and Job Satisfaction. Items Job Stress Job Satisfaction Beta Standard Error Beta Standard Error Step 1 Sex - .07 .17 - .05 .17 Age .05 .05 .02 .06 Years in Service .09 .09 - .10 .10 Operational or Non-operational .04 .18 .04 .18 Rank .06 .15 - .09 .15 Region Stationed .10* .05 .02 .05 Step 2 Shiftwork Long work hours Dangerous Job Aspects Organizational Support Organizational Change .02 .20*** .04 - .18*** .13** .18 .02 .03 .04 .03 - .10* - .01 .18*** .37*** .13** .19 .02 .03 .04 .04

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Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology, 2001, Volume 16, Number 1

rural areas (F (3, 718) = 11.09, p < .001). Post hoc analysis via Tukeys' HSD revealed that rural officers (M = 6.73) had significantly lower levels of job stress than did their metropolitan (M = 7.52), suburban (M = 7.51) or regional city (M = 7.40) based counterparts. With regard to organizational aspects, long work hours, lack of organizational support and organizational change emerged as significant predictors accounting for a further 18.60 % of job stress (F (5,688) = 21.13, p < .001). The more hours officers were required to work, the greater the level of job stress (r = .28, p < .001), this was the strongest predictor of job stress. The greater the reported organizational support the lower levels of reported job stress (r = -.16, p < .001) and the greater the reported levels of organizational change, the greater the levels of job stress (r = .16, p < .001). Demographic predictors accounted for only 1.4 % of the variance in job satisfaction scores (F (6,693) = 2.03, n.s). Of the organizational factors, shiftwork, organizational support, organizational change and job characteristics emerged as significant predictors, accounting for a further 23.5% of the variance in job satisfaction scores (F (5,688) = 38.15, p < .001). Organizational support emerged as the strongest predictor of job satisfaction, with higher levels of support leading to greater levels of reported job satisfaction (r = .39, p < .001). Interestingly the higher reported difficulty with dangerous aspects of the job the greater the job satisfaction (r = .24, p < .001). The higher the reported difficulty with organizational changes, the lower the level of job satisfaction (r = -.23, p < .001). Lastly those required to work shiftwork reported lower levels of job satisfaction (M = 5.04) than those who did not (M = 6.67; t (723) = 2.23, p < .05).

DISCUSSION Police are exposed to many work related factors which have been identified in the literature as contributing to stress (Occupational Health and Safety Commission, 1992). The results of this study are consistent with previous research findings that these work characteristics fall into job content and job context areas (e.g. Comman & Evans, 1991). The organizational and work characteristics examined fell into four categories, two capturing job content characteristics and two capturing job context characteristics. The job characteristics factor tapped items in the job content area. This factor reflected dangerous or uncontrollable aspects of the job itself. Long work hours including overtime also fall into the job content area. Job context characteristics, which reflect those aspects that are part of the day to day running of the organization, were identified in the organizational support and change factors. Organizational support included items such as sufficient equipment, support from management, peers and the public. The organizational change factor included those items dealing with aspects such as accountability procedures, paper work, fear of reprimand, competitive forms of promotion and a general feeling of change. The study examined what workplace attributes were predictive of job stress and job satisfaction within the police workplace. In examining job stress, region was the only demographic variable that had independent predictive power. Officers in rural stations reported lower levels of job stress than did their metropolitan, suburban or regional city based counterparts. This needs further investigation as it may reflect specific policing issues or broader lifestyle and personal

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Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology, 2001, Volume 16, Number 1

issues related to living in nonmetropolitan areas. With regard to organizational aspects, long work hours, lack of organizational support and organizational change emerged as independent predictors of job stress. The more hours and more overtime officers were required to work, the greater the level of self reported job stress. Long work hours emerged as the strongest predictor of job stress. The authors acknowledge a possible overlap in items making up these two factors (e.g., I work long hours and I feel overworked), however it is argued that items making up the long work hours factor represent respondents' evaluations of the hours they work, while those measuring job stress represent the affective component. It is possible to work long hours and not feel overworked. Thus it is argued that these results indicate that officers do find the long hours required of policing a stressful part of the job. As has been found in previous research, organizational factors emerged as the important predictors of job stress for police officers (e.g., Brown & Campbell, 1990). The lower the levels of organizational support, the higher the levels of reported job stress. Organizational change also emerged as a strong predictor of job stress. This finding is perhaps of increasing importance when the last decade has seen a number of shake ups and official inquiries into police corruption, which have resulted in increased levels of accountability and changes in the organizational and management structures in many police services. This research shows that such management and structural changes have had a direct effect on the stress levels of officers within the organization. Contrary to some earlier research (e.g., Coman & Evans, 1991; Duckworth,

1987), dangerous and uncontrollable duties and shiftwork were not found to be predictive of stress. This finding contradicts common anecdotal reports that it is the dangerous, unpredictable nature of police work that is the underlying cause of stress. These results support previous research (e.g., Brown & Campbell, 1990), which suggests that officers find job context factors more stressful than job content factors. Those aspects that are part of the day to day running of the organization such as sufficient equipment, support from management, accountability procedures, paper work, and bureaucratic procedures are more stressful for officers than factors such as shiftwork, and dangerous or unpredictable work duties. In examining job satisfaction, no demographic variables emerged as significant predictors. Four of the five work factors- shiftwork, organizational support, organizational change, and job characteristics- emerged as independent predictors of job satisfaction. Organizational support emerged as the strongest predictor of job satisfaction, with higher levels of support leading to greater levels of reported job satisfaction. Organizational change again showed a strong influence on officers where greater difficulty in coping with organizational changes was associated with lower levels of job satisfaction. Those who worked shiftwork reported lower levels of job satisfaction compared to those who did not work shiftwork Interestingly, higher levels of job satisfaction were associated with greater reported difficulty in coping with dangerous aspects of the job. This could indicate that police officers actually find the unpredictability and danger involved in policing a highly satisfying part of the job. Whereas no relationship was found

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Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology, 2001, Volume 16, Number 1

between job content characteristics and stress levels, coping with dangerous, uncontrollable and unpredictable work duties was related to job satisfaction. This unexpected relationship between these characteristics of operational policing and police officers needs further investigation. This has implications from an operational management perspective and human resource management in terms of personality traits of officers. The current research has shown that, in line with previous research, job context factors such as managerial support influence levels of job satisfaction (Coman & Evans, 1988; Morris, et al., 1999). However the current investigation extends on this work by showing the important influence of organizational change on job satisfaction and the unexpected positive relationship with job characteristics. In summary, this study attests to the influence of job context factors as characterized by organizational support and change on both job stress and job satisfaction. There was a positive relationship between organizational support and job satisfaction and a negative relation ship between organizational support and job stress. Difficulty in dealing with organizational change led to lower job satisfaction and higher levels of job stress. Working long hours led to increased job stress but it did not lead to lower job satisfaction. In contrast, shiftwork led to lowered job satisfaction but it did not lead to job stress. Of particular interest in this study was the finding that the job content factor of dealing with dangerous and unpredictable duties was not predictive of job stress but in fact led to higher job satisfaction.

REFERENCES Brown, J. & Campbell, E. (1990). Sources of Occupational Stress in Police. Work and Stress, 4, 305-318. Coman, G. & Evans, B. (1988). What police don't like about their job: Sources of dissatisfaction in police work. Australian Police Journal, July, 116-117. Coman, G. & Evans, B. (1991). Stressors facing Australian Police in the 1990's. Police Studies, 14, 153-164. Cooper, C., Davidson, M. & Robinson, P. (1988). Stress in the police service. Journal of Occupational Medicine, 24, 30-36. Crank, J., Culberton, R., Hewitt, J. & Regoli, B. (1993). An assessment of work stress among police executives. Journal of Criminal Justice, 21, 313-324. Dantzer, M. & Kubin, B.(1998). Job satisfaction: The gender perspective among police officers. American Journal of Criminal Justice, 23, 1931. Davidson, M. & Veno, A. (1980). Stress and the policeman. In C. Cooper & J. Marshall (Eds.), White collar and professional stress. London: Wiley. Davis, R. (1983). Stress: Deadlier than a bullet. Police Marksman, March, 10-12. Dawson, R. (1993). The hidden cost of stress. NSW Police News, February, 23-25. Dietrich, J.& Smith, J. (1986). The non-medical use of drugs including alcohol among police personnel: A critical literature review. Journal of Police Science and Administration, 14, 300-306. Duckworth, D. (1987). Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Stress Medicine, 3, 175-183. Fielding, N. (1987). Joining forces: Police training, socialisation and occupational competence. London: Routledge. Gudjonsson, G. & Adlam, K. (1985). Occupational Stressors among British Police Officers. Police Journal, 58, 73-85. Hurrell, J. & Kleismet, R. (1984) Stress among officers. USA: US Department of Health and Human Services. Kroes, W. (1985) Society's victims- The police: An analysis of job stress in police. Springfield: Charles Thomas. Lester, D. (1982). Subjective Stress and Sources of Stress for Police Officers. Psychological Reports, 50,1094 -99. Mitchell, J. (1990). Operational and Training Guide, critical incident stress debriefing component of the Queensland Police Service,

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Critical Incident Stress Management. Program. Brisbane: Go Print. Morris, A., Shinn, M. & Dumont, K. (1999). Contextual factors affecting the organisational commitment of diverse police officers: A levels analysis perspective. American Journal of Community Psychology, 27, 75-105. Occupational Health and Safety Commission. (1992). Drugs and the workplace: Research report. Melbourne: Victorian Occupational Health and Safety Commission. Savery, L., Soutar, G., And Weaver, J. (1993). Stress and the police officer: Some Western Australian Evidence. The Police Journal, July, 227-290 Shanahan, P. (1992). A study of attitudes and behaviours: Working in the police force today and the role of alcohol. Sydney: Elliott and Shanahan Research Australia.

Steinberg, M. A., Tyman, R. V., Gill, J. L. & Williams, G. (1996). Medical retirement: Implications for healthy and productive ageing in police. Brisbane: The University of Queensland Department of Social and Preventive Medicine. Violanti, J. (1983). Stress patterns in police work: A longitudinal study. Journal of Police Science and Administration, 11, 211-216. Authors Note: Jeremy Davey, DipT, Bed, Med, is Deputy Director, Centre for Accident Research and Road Safety, School of Psychology and Counselling, Queensland University of Technology, Beams road, Carseldine, Qld 4034, Australia. Phone: 61 7 3864 4574 Fax : 61 7 3864 4640 Email: j.davey@qut.edu.au

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