This research examines the presence in and effects of occupationally related stress in police work. Stress is defined as "a state of tension, strain, or pressure and is a normal reaction resulting from the interaction between an individual and the environment" (Selye, 1974, p. 312). Those actions or conditions which induce stress are referred to as stressors (MacBride, 1984).
Stress in police work is directly associated with the psychological concept of stress. In any individual life, or in any organizational environment, stress may produce either positive or negative results. Thus, while excessive stress may be damaging to an organism, a complete absence of stress is not desirable, and the presence of moderate levels of stress may have beneficial effects (Selye, 1950). Viewed in this broader perspective, stress is "the nonspecific response of the body to any demand" (Selye, 1950, p. 472).
The expanded concept of stress contains three levels (1) the environment, (2) the organism's appraisal and evaluation of the environment, and (3) the organism's reaction to the environment (Woolfolk and Richardson, 1978). An organism appraises and evaluates the environment as threatening, helpful, or neutral. Responses on the part of an organism may be psychological, physiological, or both (Woolfolk and Richardson, 1978). This perception of stress is significant in several ways. One of the most important is the recognition that it is not the actual harmfulness of a stressor which is the only way in which a stressor may cause damage. The perception of harmfulness may also cause damage.
Extensive research was initiated and conducted in the 1960s and 1970s relative to the relationship between stress and life events. Studies demonstrated a stronger predictive relationship between life event changes and negative stress outcomes. Higher mortality rates, as an example, were found among widows, widowers, and divorcees than...