Job stress, burnout and coping strategies of South African police officers

A Myendeki, Lionel Nicholas, Umesh U L Bawa

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticleResearchpeer-review

    Abstract

    The nature of the job demands of police officers is such that they experience high levels of stress. This study investigated whether the coping strategies of police officers moderate the outcome of burnout resulting from job stress. Respondents completed three self-administered questionnaires; the Maslach Burnout Inventory, Police Stress Inventory and the Cope Questionnaire. Inter-item correlations of the measuring instruments were established. This study found that coping strategies such as avoidance and turning to religion act as a buffer between job stress and burnout in a sample of 89 Eastern Cape, South African police officers. Results also show that the coping strategy, avoidance coping, used by male officers led to cynicism, whereas when female police officers experience job demands and a lack of resources, they seek emotional support as a coping strategy. Male police officers used active coping to regulate the stress-burnout relationship while female police officers used active coping and turning to religion as a buffer between job stress and burnout.
    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)89 - 98
    Number of pages10
    JournalAfrican Journal for Physical, Health Education, Recreation and Dance
    VolumeNovember
    Issue numberSupplement 1
    Publication statusPublished - 2013

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