Journal Articles

The aim of this study was to investigate the possible mediating role of various cognitive and behavioural coping strategies on the relationship between age and psychological (i.e., cognitive and somatic anxiety) and physiological (i.e., chronic fatigue, digestive and cardiovascular symptoms) well-being. Fourteen specific individual coping strategies (four disengagement, four engagement, and six behavioural) were assessed in this study. The four disengagement and four engagement coping styles were taken from the Coping Strategies Inventory (CSI) included in the Standard Shiftwork Index (SSI), while the six behavioural coping strategies were based on recommendations published within the shiftwork literature (e.g., exercising, altering family or social life commitments to fit in with working shifts, advising friends and family about shift patterns, etc). Three open-ended questions were also included in the questionnaire allowing shiftworkers to provide further contextual detail about the specific coping strategies utilised. One hundred and eight Police Officers with at least 12 months shiftworking experience completed a modified version of the SSI and an active coping questionnaire. A series of exploratory stepwise regressions provided evidence that shiftworkers utilise a constellation of different coping strategies, and that each of these coping strategies may mediate specific aspects of the relationship between age and psychological and/or physiological well-being. Comments from shiftworkers provided further evidence for the variety of coping strategies utilised to help adapt to shiftwork.

URL: https://www.questia.com/library/journal/1G1-140303715/exploring-the-mediating-roles-of-cognitive-and-behavioural

The aim of this study was to utilize a subset population initially reported in Knowles and Bull (2003) to investigate the impact of perceived stress on individual psychological and physiological well-being. Of the original 129 participants participating in the 2003 study, 64 also completed the modified version of the Standard Shift-work Index (SSI) and two other questionnaires: the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) and the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ). It was hypothesized that an analysis of the responses to these scales would indicate that age, disengagement, and perceived stress would be adversely related to well-being. Furthermore, it was also hypothesized that perceived stress would be a more influential covariate of well-being when compared to the covariates of age and disengagement coping. Analysis of the data provided partial support for the hypotheses that age, disengagement coping, and perceived stress were adversely related to a variety of psychological and physiological symptoms. In addition, results also indicate that the covariate of perceived stress accounted for a majority of the significant findings. Overall these findings provide evidence that, while age and disengagement coping moderate well-being, levels of perceived stress may play a more influential role.

URL: https://www.questia.com/library/journal/1G1-140242542/investigating-the-affect-of-stress-on-police-officer