Social support, stress, and burnout among Icelandic police officers

Previous studies indicate that police work is stressful and that it can lead to job burnout, particularly among those that have lower levels of social support. The aim of the current research was to identify levels of distress and burnout and to explore the relationship between social support, stress and burnout among Icelandic police officers. The sample consisted of 93 police officers in Iceland, 81.7% male and 18.3% female. Social support from co-workers and family and friends, stress and burnout were assessed with online questionnaires. Results indicated that 26.9% of participants reported high levels of stress and around 30% of participants had symptoms of burnout. Pearson correlational analysis revealed that those with higher levels of social support from co-workers reported both less stress and burnout while social support from family and friends was only associated with lower stress levels. Mediational analyses showed that the relationship between social support from co-workers and burnout was mediated by the impact of social support from co-workers in reducing stress. Future studies should design and test interventions aimed at increasing social support, particularly in the workplace, as that may reduce stress which in turn would reduce the likelihood that burnout symptoms will develop. Keywords: police officers, social support, stress, burnout

Author dc:creator

• Röskva Vigfúsdóttir 1992-

Contributors dc:contributor

• Háskólinn í Reykjavík

• Sálfræði
• Lögreglumenn
• Kulnun í starfi
• Psychology
• Police
• Burnout (Psychology)

Language dc:language.iso

en

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1946/28635

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:skemman.is:1946/28635