Enhancing Self-Reported Assessment of Working Conditions in Policing

Revisiting the Psychometric Properties and Applications of the Police Stress Questionnaire

Bibliographic Data

ID13660993
AuthorsLillis Rabbing (0000-0002-1148-6611, Doctoral Research Fellow,Norwegian Police University College, Norway; Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Norway, corresponding author), Bjørn Lau (0000-0003-4378-9761, University of Oslo), Knut Inge Fostervold (0000-0002-7330-9290, University of Oslo), Joseph Blenkinsopp (0000-0002-1548-0583, Department of Psychology, Oslo New University College, Oslo, Norway), Brita Bjørkelo (0000-0001-7535-2076, Norwegian Police University College, Oslo, Norway; Oslo New University College, Oslo, Norway)
Year2023
Volume128
Issue5
Pages3898-3916
Publication date2023-10-30
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenuePsychological Reports (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0033-2941 • E-ISSN: 1558-691X
PublisherSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/00332941231207957
PMID37902227
OpenAlexW4388014896
LanguageEN
References cited30

ObjectivesPolicing is recognized as a highly stressful occupation, encompassing stressors not commonly encountered in other fields. In response, police-specific stress scales have been developed and used when studying police work. Despite changes in the composition of police personnel, most studies examining police working conditions focus on sworn police officers (SPO), excluding employees without police education (EWPE). To advance research and practice on stress in the police, align results, and increase the possibilities for comparisons across studies using police-specific measures (PSMs) we conducted a psychometric evaluation of the two scales in the Police Stress Questionnaire (PSQ). We examined whether adding "Not Applicable" to the response scales would reduce vulnerability and make the PSQ more robust.MethodBased on a survey with a randomised sample ( N = 560) of SPO and EWPE in the Norwegian Police, we tested the original factor structures of the PSQ through Confirmatory Factor Analysis including tests of factor structures from previous studies.ResultsFor all models, the indicators of fit indicated a poor fit with either our whole or stratified sample. The response choice 'Not Applicable' provided extended information for SPOs and EWPEs on the PSQ.ConclusionsTo promote aligning results and enabling comparisons across studies using the PSQ, we suggest treating the PSQ scales as formative indexes, rather than reflective scales. Adding "Not Applicable" to the response scale offers an influential elaboration of the PSQ with beneficial and extended information. Generalised studies of stress in the police should include the entire population working there

Confirmatory factor analysis · Law enforcement · Norwegian · Population · Sample (material · Scale (ratio · State police · Stressor · Structural equation modeling · Applied Psychology · Clinical Psychology · Computer Science · Medicine · Occupational Health and Safety Research · Policing Practices and Perceptions · Psychology · Social Psychology · Workplace Health and Well-being

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