Job stress, burnout and coping strategies in the South African police service

The objective of this study was to determine if coping strategies could moderate the relationship between occupational stress and burnout in a sample of police officers.  A cross-sectional design was used.  A stratified random sample (n=340) was taken of police members in the Western Cape.  The Poli...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: K Mostert, AF Joubert
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: AOSIS 2015-01-01
Series:South African Journal of Economic and Management Sciences
Online Access:https://sajems.org/index.php/sajems/article/view/1282
Description
Summary:The objective of this study was to determine if coping strategies could moderate the relationship between occupational stress and burnout in a sample of police officers.  A cross-sectional design was used.  A stratified random sample (n=340) was taken of police members in the Western Cape.  The Police Stress Invesntory, Maslach Burnout Inventory - General Survey and COPE questionnaire were administered.  Structural equation modelling showed that occupational stress due to job demands and a lack of resources leads to burnout.  Two coping strategies were identified, namely avoidance coping and approach coping (consisting of active coping, emotional support and turning to religion).  Avoidance coping moderated the relationship between occupational stress and burnout.  Approach coping had an independent effect on burnout.
ISSN:1015-8812
2222-3436