8696014 Maslach Scoring Key

POLICE OFFICER STRESS, BURNOUT, AND SUBSTANCE ABUSE: A

CROSSECTIONAL VIEW OF OFFICERS WORKING IN MID-SIZED ALABAMA

POLICE DEPARTMENTS

by

Jeffery D. Dutton

A Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillment

of the Requirements for the Degree

Doctor of Philosophy

Capella University

June, 2005

© Jeffery D. Dutton, 2005

POLICE OFFICER STRESS, BURNOUT, AND SUBSTANCE ABUSE: A

CROSSECTIONAL VIEW OF OFFICERS WORKING IN MID-SIZED ALABAMA

POLICE DEPARTMENTS

by

Jeffery, D. Dutton

has been approved

June, 2005

APPROVED:

JOANNA M. OESTMANN, Ed.D., Faculty Mentor and Chair

TIM EMERICK, Ph.D., Committee Member

JOHN LATHAM, Ph.D., Committee Member

SANDRA LOEW, Ph.D., Committee Member

KIM SOBAN, Committee Member

ACCEPTED AND SIGNED:

__________________________________________ JOANNA OESTMANN, Ph.D., LMHC, LPC, LPCS

__________________________________________Pamela K. S. Patrick, Ph.D.Executive Director, School ofHuman Services

Abstract

This research was designed to investigate potential correlations

between stress, burnout, and substance abuse in police officers

in mid-sized Alabama cities. The Pearson Correlation Coefficient,

Multiple Regression Analysis, and paired t-tests were used to

analyze data collected from officer surveys. The research showed

no statistically significant associations between stress,

burnout, and substance abuse in the study sample. However,

analyzed data did partially replicate findings from a published

correlational study of perceived stress and burnout.

Statistically significant differences were found between

perceived stress, emotional exhaustion, depersonalization,

substance abuse, and gender in the sample of police officers from

mid-sized Alabama cities although there were no statistically

significant differences between genders when analyzing reports on

stress, burnout, and substance abuse.

Dedication

This work is the culmination of over one-quarter century of

work as a police officer on the streets, advanced police

training, and academic challenge. It is dedicated to several

individuals and groups that have been absolutely essential parts

of my life.

First, this work is dedicated to police officers

everywhere.

"Ma", my single parent who took me with her through the

court house while she worked when I was still too small to go

alone. Donna, my wife who declares the next twenty years belong to

her.

My son Seth, who reminds me that "old", is a state of mind.

We are to challenge that thought and relentlessly pursue

fulfillment and happiness in life; it works for him.

iii

Acknowledgments

I would like to thank the following people for all their

time, effort, and support on my behalf. My life has been

enriched and blessed far beyond what any of you will ever know

simply by being in your presence. All of you have been integral

to my academic success at Capella and your dedication to my

education and personal growth has been, and forever will be,

overwhelming. Thank you so very much for your confidence in me:

Dr. Sandee Loew, Associate Professor of Counselor education

at the University of North Alabama for being my visiting scholar

and the person who drove me to pursue a Ph.D. by saying the

words, "you can do it, go for it".

Dr. Douglas Bird, who by some means, perhaps by airborne

osmosis, lit the fire of excitement within me the very first

time we met face-to-face and has never let up since.

Dr. Carol Chenault, Professor of Sociology at Calhoun

Community College for having faith in me and patience with me

and for giving me her valuable time to help with statistical

analysis, data sets, and using SPSS. Further, thank you for

allowing me the freedom to teach others.

Ms. Kim Soban, High Point University, High Point, North

Carolina for being my peer scholar and for immediately becoming

one of my best friends, Cheers!

iv

The Decatur, Alabama Police Department, former Police

Chief Pack Self who gave me my first chance to serve, God rest

his soul. Current Police Chief Joel T. Gilliam, who always

left me feeling like he believed in me, and the many men and

women that I served, fought, bled, and cried with over all the years of my youth. May God bless you all, keep you, guide you,

and forever hold you in the palm of His mighty hand as you

persevere and continue to serve others and press the fight.

Dr. Tim Emerick for helping to facilitate my academic

success by being a member of my committee and being a brother

law enforcement officer who will always understand how it really

feels to serve others.

Dr. John Latham for being a member of my committee, a

mentor, teacher, and a person who with only his words left me

feeling as though I was important enough to him to participate

in the capstone effort of my education.

Finally, there remains Dr. Joanna Oestmann, my mentor,

academic chair, and friend for life. Often I had difficulty

believing in myself but she was always somehow able to see a

vision of the big picture that included me as a successful

scholar. She always demanded my best, but demanded it in such a

way that I would have rather died than disappoint the vision she

held for me and ultimately internalized myself. Thank you Dr.

v

Joanna Oestmann, Ed.D., LMHC, LPC, LPCS, you have my deepest

gratitude and admiration.

vi

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements iv

Table of Contents vii

List of Tables xii

List of Figures xiii

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION

Introduction to the Problem 1

Background of the Study 2

Statement of the Problem 7

Purpose, Rationale, & Objectives of the Study 8

Research Questions 10

Hypotheses 10

Significance of the Study 14

Nature of the Study: Theoretical/Conceptual Framework 16

Theoretical Model, Figure 1 19

Variables in the Study 19

Definition of Terms 20

Stress 20

Burnout 20

Substance Abuse 21

Self-medication 21

Gender 22

Sworn Police Officer 22

vii

Mid-sized Alabama Law Enforcement Agency 22

SPSS 22

Assumptions and Limitations in the Study 23

Organization of the Remainder of the Study 26

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 27

Stress and Burnout in General 27

Sources of Stress and Burnout 29

Symptomology of Stress and Burnout 31

Stressors Specific to Police Work 33

Role Conflict as a Stressor for Police Officers 39

Personality as a Stressor for Police Officers 41

Organizational Factors as a Stressor 45

Burnout in Police Officers 50

Substance Abuse in Police Officers and its Prevalence 55

Alcohol Consumption as a Function of Camaraderie,

Socialization, and Stress Relief 60

Substance Abuse in the Workplace and its Costs 63

Defining Substance Abuse, Dependence, and its

Neurobiology 65

Help-Seeking Behaviors in Police and Others 70

CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY 77

Research Methodology & Study Design

viii

77 Sample Population & Setting

79 Sampling Procedure

82

Data Collection Procedures 84

Assessment Instrument Reliability & Validity 88

The Perceived Stress Scale 90

Maslach Burnout Inventory-Human Services Survey 90

Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test 92

Data Analysis & Statistical Procedures 94

CHAPTER 4: PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS OF RESEARCH FINDINGS 99

Introduction 99

Sample Characteristics and Demographics 100

Descriptive Findings 103

Research Findings on Stress 104

Research Findings on Burnout 107

Research Findings with Multiple Regression Analysis 113

Research Findings on Substance Abuse 116

Variable Differences due to Gender 119

Summary of Research Findings 121

CHAPTER 5: SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS 123

Introduction 123

Statement of Problem Review 124

Conceptual Framework Review 125

ix

Review of Hypothesis 125

Discussion 126

Sample of Alabama Police Officers 128

Relationship Between Stress and Substance Abuse,

Hypothesis One 129

Relationship Between Burnout and Substance Abuse,

Hypothesis Two 132

Variance Between Gender Groups for Major

Variables, Hypotheses Three and Four 135

Limitations of the Study 135

Recommendations for Future Research 138

Policy Implications of Study Results 141

Summary and Conclusions 143

REFERENCES: 146

APPENDIX A: RESEARCH INSTRUMENTATION AND CORRESPONDENCE 160

Introductory Letter to Study Participants 160

Informed Consent Form 162

Instructions to Study Participants 165

Alabama Police Chief Address List 166

Correspondence to Police Chiefs: Permission

for their department to participate in the study 167

Demographic Questionnaire 170

The Perceived Stress Scale 171

x

The Maslach Burnout Inventory–Human Services Survey 173

The Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test 176

APPENDIX B: Normative Data for MBI-HSS 179

APPENDIX C: DATA CODE KEY SHEETS 180

Demographics Survey Code Sheet 180

Perceived Stress Scale Code Sheet 181

Maslach Burnout Inventory-HSS Code Sheet 182

Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test Code Sheet 183

APPENDIX D: HUMAN PARTICIPANTS IN RESEARCH APPLICATION 184

xi

List of Tables

Table 1: Proportion of Respondents, City, and Population 102

Table 2: Participant Selection 104

Table 3: Stress Scores Correlated with Substance Abuse Scores Examined for Gender Differences 107

Table 4: Percentage of Total Burnout Reported in mid-sized Alabama Police Departments 109

Table 5: Burnout Scores Correlated with Substance Abuse Scores Examined for Gender Differences 113

Table 6: Regression Analysis for Stress and Burnout Subscales 115

Table 7: Model Summary of regression Analysis for Burnout Subscales and Substance Abuse 116

Table 8: ANOVA for Regression Analysis of Burnout Subscales and Substance Abuse 116

Table 9: Alabama Officer Substance Abuse Reports 118

Table 10: Paired Samples Test for Study Variables And Gender 120

Table 11: Paired Samples t-Test for Male and Female Officers 132

xii

List of Figures

Figure 1: Theoretical model indicating hypothesizedrelationships between stress and substance abuse, burnout andsubstance abuse and potential differences existing because ofgender in Alabama police officers 19

xiii

CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION

Introduction to the Problem

According to the United States Department of Health and

Human Services' National Institute for Occupational Health and

Safety (1999) the nature and character of work is changing at an

exponential speed. It is even suggested that now more than ever,

work stress creates a tangible threat to the health of workers

and the organizations for which they work. This phenomenon exists

across all areas of industry and government. The law enforcement

organization is no exception, and in fact is one particular type

of government service industry that has higher than normal

potential for the development of stress in its workers. This

research is designed to investigate the development and effects

of stress on police officers in mid-sized Alabama police agencies

as they perform their functions and come in regular contact with

those they serve and protect. It also investigates how law

enforcement as a type of organization has historically failed to

learn from and act on evidence that stress exists in this

profession (Feemster & Harpold, 2002). It is hypothesized that

this failure of recognition influences the development of stress

and the syndrome of burnout. It is also hypothesized that the use

of mood altering substances such as alcohol or drugs occurs to

relieve the effects of stress and burnout. Further, there is the

Stress, Burnout, and Substance Abuse in Police

hypothesis that the gender of sworn officers has the potential to

effect the development of stress, burnout, and substance abuse.

Background of the Study

According to Hennessey (1999) police officers in America

represent an anomaly that many people find captivating. At the

same time those people distrust the very thing that captivates so

much of their attention. Police are constitutionally empowered

with enormous amounts of authority, but exist within a government

that was founded under a system which dislikes and fears

centralized power. Yet society is highly dependent upon the

police to maintain order and provide protection. This paradox of

dislike and dependency from society makes the character of police

work vague and contradictory. Characteristically the demand for

this service is high but frequently support is not quite parallel

(Sewell, 2002). This set of circumstances, among others, sets the

stage for the development of stress in police officers.

It has been suggested that stress, as an initial response to

difficult circumstances in one's environment, is a syndrome of

general adaptation made up of three parts manifest by a general

calling to arms to protect oneself (Selye, 1976). According to

Selye this syndrome exists in three distinct stages; a) alarm

reaction, the perception of a threat to one's safety and

2


happiness that leads to resistance if the stressor does not

immediately kill, b) resistance, an individual's attempt to cope

with the situation and survive, and c) exhaustion, which is

described as an individual's feeling of helplessness,

hopelessness, and complete lack of emotional energy. This third

stage is very similar to the alarm reaction stage physiologically

and requires that the stressor be present over an extended period

of time as though the experience lasted hour after hour, day

after day, week after week (Pines & Aronson, 1981; Selye). This

description of stage three is also similar to the description of

burnout offered by Maslach, Jackson, & Leiter, (1996).

Considering the characteristics of this syndrome and how

pervasive it appears to be it is likely that police officers and

their families face pressures from police work that are unlike

those confronting the general population (Finn, 1997).

Contemporary notions of stress divide the concept into

distress and eustress. Distress is what is perceived as bad

stress and eustress is perceived as good stress which helps to

keep one safe or facilitate success. Stress has also been defined

as a nonspecific response of the body to any demand placed on it

(Feemster & Harpold, 2002; Selye, 1976). Other descriptions of

stress indicate that it is the physical or mental strain

manifested by demands on the mind and body that exceed natural

3


human resources (Garland, 2002), or the psychological response to

a physical stimulus (Healthy Stress, 1995). Being exposed to

unrelenting stress can lead not only police officers, but also

society in general to an even more devastating syndrome called

burnout. According to Garland stress and burnout are frequently

thought of as being the same, but this is a mistaken assumption.

Stress and burnout are different. Inappropriately managed stress

can lead to the syndrome of burnout but if one looks closely at

the descriptions of stress offered by Selye and Maslach, Jackson,

& Leiter (1996) it can be easily seen that these concepts are

arrived at in different ways.

According to the reports of Lacoursiere (2001) burnout was

first identified in the 1970s and was discovered in the substance

user treatment field. Its meaning then indicated that a person's

energy and motivation to continue this type work was essentially

exhausted. Burnout was found to be primarily manifested by

emotional exhaustion and sometimes by various physical and

psychiatric symptomology. In substance user treatment staff

burnout was closely connected to increased work pressure,

arbitrary work policies, and a decreased ability to cope with the

demands of the work. These descriptions can be easily applied to

police officers. Burnout in situations like these is the result

of stress that is being inappropriately managed, and according to

4


Maslach, Jackson, & Leiter (1996) burnout consists of three

components. These components affect police officers and human

service employees that work closely with others and tend to

create increased feelings of emotional exhaustion,

depersonalization of those they help or come in contact with, and

negative assessment of themselves and their work performance.

According to Hess & Wrobleski (1999) failure to alleviate or

lessen stress has the potential for causing high blood pressure,

cardiovascular disease, chronic headaches, and gastric ulcers. It

can also lead to severe depression, alcohol and drug use,

aggression, and perhaps even suicide.

Police officers routinely face exposure to human tragedy

when dealing with traumatic injuries and man's inhumanity toward

man (Kosinski & Vettor, 2002). Add to these stressors the demands

of the public, differences in personnel demographics, conflicting

personality characteristics, and complex social systems created

by organizational and administrative bureaucracy, and one becomes

able to relate to how occupational stress in police officers

leads to burnout. This stress or burnout can eventually lead to

individual substance abuse or other dangerous behaviors leading

to health problems, marital problems, career difficulties, abuse

of family, and abuse of the public, or even suicide (Feemster &

Harpold, 2002). Also, according to reports from Euwema, Kop, &

5


Schaufeli, (1999) burnout in police officers is characterized by

negative, callous, and cynical attitudes towards the citizens

they are supposed to protect and serve. Police officers that are

emotionally exhausted are often left feeling incompetent, lack

energy, and have fewer alternatives to choose from when problem

solving. Conflict resolution skills, which police officers are

regularly in need of, are less often used in a positive way. One

negative way of solving problems is substance abuse with alcohol

or drugs.

A problem that often results from stress and burnout is

substance abuse with alcohol, drugs, or other behaviors that can

become self-destructive. Stress or burnout in police officers is

often difficult to recognize because officers are trained to

portray a basic sterility in their personality and behavior, yet

they are certainly human and are providing human services that

usually involve close contact with the public they serve. The

work of Brehm & Khantzian, (1997) indicates that an emphasis has

recently been placed on understanding the concept of self-

medication used to alleviate suffering; suffering that is often

caused by stress and burnout and the problems that result. One

way people choose to compensate is through the use of substances

such as alcohol or drugs or even risky behaviors like gambling,

flamboyant sexual encounters, or excessive spending. These

6


behaviors can be described as coping mechanisms to relieve the

emotional pain of stress and burnout that ultimately can pose

major problems for anyone involved.

Statement of the Problem

Stress or burnout in law enforcement personnel potentially

leads to substance abuse with alcohol or drugs. It is

hypothesized that Alabama law enforcement professionals often

experience stress, which left unmanaged eventually leads to

burnout and ultimately substance abuse to reduce the suffering

experienced from stress and burnout. Determining how often and to

what magnitude stress and burnout leads to substance abuse has

the potential for providing helpful information to the law

enforcement profession. Use of this information will enable

administrators and police trainers to educate experienced, newly

employed, and prospective officers alike. Without this knowledge

police officers and others in the human services profession may

continue to suffer the effects of stress, burnout, and substance

abuse. The topic of this research study is concerned with

determining if a positive correlation exists between these

variables and if so how significant that association is.

Additionally, it seeks to understand whether or not officer

7


gender plays a role in the development of substance abuse

behaviors based on the experience of stress or burnout.

Purpose, Rationale, and Objectives of the Study

Variables other than stress and burnout also influence

individuals to abuse substances like alcohol or drugs to self-

medicate emotional pain or participate in behaviors risky to

one's health. To complicate this process some individuals may be

genetically or biochemically predisposed to the use or abuse of

alcohol or drugs (Erickson, 2003). The abuse of alcohol or drugs

may also be part of the workplace domain and its use is sometimes

expected to facilitate fitting in with other colleagues

(Hailstone, Kehoe, Richmond, Uebel-Yan, & Wodak, 1999).

Regardless of the motivation, substance abuse in the workplace or

altered performance because of substance abuse can be considered

unacceptable professional behavior based on police officers being

society's protectors. Continuous substance abuse may also lead to

dependence upon alcohol, drugs, or other substances or behaviors

as a means of relieving the negative emotions being experienced.

For the purposes of this study two variables, stress and

burnout, were examined for their association with substance

abuse. Additionally this study examined the possibility that the

gender of officers in mid-sized Alabama police agencies has

8


effects on the development of stress or burnout and the

subsequent development of substance abuse.

The specific objectives of this research study were the

following,

1. To determine a global measure of job stress and its

correlation with substance abuse in the selected population.

2. To determine a global measure of burnout and its

correlation with substance abuse in the selected population.

3. To determine if there is a stronger or weaker

relationship between stress and substance abuse or burnout and

substance abuse in the selected population.

4. To determine if the gender of officers created any

significant differences in the association of stress, burnout,

and substance abuse with alcohol or drugs in the selected

population.

Research Questions

The following research questions facilitate this proposed

study:

1. Does a statistically significant correlation exist between

9


stress and substance abuse in Alabama police officers and is the

direction of this hypothesized correlation positive or negative

and reach a significance level of p<.05?

2. Does a statistically significant correlation exist between

burnout and substance abuse in Alabama police officers and is the

direction of this hypothesized correlation positive or negative

and reach a significance level of p<.05?

3. Does a statistically significant difference in the means

exist between these hypothesized correlations when they are

analyzed relative to officer gender and does any difference in

the means reach a significance level of p<.05?

Hypotheses

The purpose of this study was to examine hypothesized

associations between two different variables influencing the

development of substance abuse in male and female sworn police

officers in mid-sized Alabama police departments. Literature

suggests that public safety professions like police work are

characterized by high levels of stress, burnout, and the

development of substance abuse (Brehm & Khantzian, 1997; Euwema,

Kop, & Schaufeli, 1999; Feemster & Harpold, 2002; Finn, 1997;

Garland, 2002; Harris & Maloney, 1999; Hess & Wrobleski, 1993;

Hailstone, Kehoe, Richmond, Uebel-Yan, & Wodak 1999; Kosinski &

10


Vettor, 2002; Kushnir & Milbauer, 1994; Lacoursiere, 2001;

Sewell, 2002). There are several variables that affect the

development of substance abuse in police officers. However, for

the purposes of this study, the variables hypothesized to play a

role in the development of substance abuse in Alabama police

officers working in mid-sized police departments are stress and

burnout. Collected participant demographic information related to

officer gender was also used to explore suspected effects on the

associations hypothesized between officer stress, burnout, and

substance abuse. These variables were measured with currently

published assessments designed to accurately measure stress,

burnout, and substance abuse. This data exploration was also used

to identify future topics for research that may be supportive of

quantitative or qualitative inquiry in this same area.

Hypothesis No. 1, Ha: There is a statistically significant

positive correlation between measured stress and the occurrence

of substance abuse with alcohol or drugs in Alabama police

officers that reaches a level of significance at p<.05. This

correlation and its direction were determined by calculating a

Pearson r Correlation Coefficient (Leedy & Ormrod, 2001;

Sprinthall, 2003).

Hypothesis No.1a, Ho: There is no statistically significant

positive or negative correlation between measured stress and

11


substance abuse with alcohol or drugs in Alabama police officers.

This was determined by calculating a Pearson r Correlation

Coefficient (Leedy & Ormrod, 2001; Sprinthall, 2003).

Hypothesis No. 2, Ha: There is a statistically significant

positive correlation between measured burnout and the occurrence

of substance abuse with alcohol or drugs in Alabama police

officers that reaches a level of significance at p<.05. This

correlation and its direction were determined by calculating a

Pearson r Correlation Coefficient (Leedy & Ormrod, 2001;

Sprinthall, 2003).

Hypothesis No. 2a, Ho: There is no statistically significant

positive or negative correlation between measured burnout and

substance abuse with alcohol or drugs in Alabama police officers.

This was determined by calculating a Pearson r Correlation

Coefficient (Leedy & Ormrod, 2001; Sprinthall, 2003).

Hypothesis No. 3, Ha: There is statistically significant

difference in the means of measured stress in male and female

Alabama police officers and the occurrence of substance abuse

with alcohol or drugs that reaches a level of significance at

p<.05. The hypothesized differences were calculated using a t-

test to measure differences between these two groups (Leedy &

Ormrod, 2001; Sprinthall, 2003).

12



difference in the means of measured stress in male and female


with alcohol or drugs. The difference between these two groups

was calculated using a t-test (Leedy & Ormrod, 2001; Sprinthall,

2003).

Hypothesis No. 4, Ha: There is statistically significant

difference in the means of measured burnout in male and female


with alcohol or drugs that reaches a level of significance at

p<.05. The difference was calculated using a t-test to measure

differences between these two groups (Leedy & Ormrod, 2001;

Sprinthall, 2003).


difference in the means of measured burnout in male and female


with alcohol or drugs. The difference between these two groups

was calculated using a t-test (Leedy & Ormrod, 2001; Sprinthall,

2003).

Significance of the Study

This study is significant to police officers, the public

they serve and protect, the government agencies they work for,

13


and the taxpayers that support those agencies. Police officers

that are experiencing stress or burnout and ultimately turn to

substance abuse to medicate the symptoms of those disorders and

abuse substances such as alcohol or drugs cannot conduct

themselves professionally, safely, ethically, or efficiently

while in their official capacity. They are also less able, if at

all, to be creative in their capacity as society's protectors

when involved in searching for solutions to criminal behavior,

public safety, and developing community support and good will.

Burnout leaves officers feeling callous and cynical towards

those they protect and serve. Additionally, according to

Hennessey (1999) police officers already face stressors related

to the concerns of a public that distrusts those with as much

power as is vested in them. Hennessey also notes that police

officers more times than not possess a personality type that is

almost the polar opposite of society at large, which sets them up

for confrontational encounters simply by making face-to-face

contacts. With these concerns in mind it seems evident that the

personal health and well-being of police officers must be of

paramount concern to officers, their agency administrators, and

the public they serve and protect.

Perhaps most important of all is the individual knowledge

officers themselves have regarding the relief of stress or

14


burnout that results from their work. Ultimately, it is up to the

individual to make efforts to control the effects of stress and

burnout and not allow these conditions to result in pathological

use of substances like alcohol or drugs. This study is

significant in that it goes directly to practicing Alabama police

officers working in mid-sized agencies and measures the stress

and burnout they experience on the job. This study also

determined if officers used or abused alcohol or drugs to

medicate the effects of those negative influences. If the

negative effects of stress, burnout, and substance abuse are not

well understood then the health, safety, and well-being of police

officers, as well as the protection and services they provide to

citizens, will ultimately suffer. This information is also

helpful with identifying necessary changes in this behavior and

attempts to convince others to change before they experience

negative consequences. Additionally, evidence discovered from

research conducted by the United States Department of Justice

found that one type of human service agency, the law enforcement

profession, had not learned from the history of negative

influences of job stress and what that stress does to officers

exposed to it (Feemster & Harpold, 2002). Shedding more light on

this subject helps to improve that set of circumstances.

15


Nature of Study: Theoretical and Conceptual Framework

In this study stress and burnout in Alabama police officers

was examined to determine a direction of correlation and

statistical significance of association with the variable of

substance abuse. Additionally these variables were explored based

on potential differences in significance of association and

differences in the means relative to officer gender (Hawkins,

2001). Figure 1, page 19, depicts this study's theoretical model

and indicates that there is a) an association between the

development of stress and substance abuse as a coping mechanism

in Alabama police officers, b) there is an association between

burnout and the development of substance abuse as a coping

mechanism in Alabama police officers, and c) the research

explored differences in association between these variables when

examined considering officer gender.

The decision to study stress, burnout, and substance abuse

in sworn Alabama police officers was stimulated by several facts.

Initially, this study suggests an increased vulnerability to

alcohol or drug abuse in public safety professionals such as

police officers due to an increased risk of the development of

stress or burnout (Feemster & Harpold, 2002). Stress and burnout

can lead to severe depression, alcohol and drug use, aggression

and suicide, as well as affect alertness, physical stamina, and

16


the ability to work effectively and safely. Considering these

effects from an administrative standpoint, Kushnir & Milbauer

(1994) report that stress related absence from work accounts for

as much as 60% of time lost due to illness or injury. Lastly,

according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation's annual report

to the nation on Crime in the United States (2003, p. 364) "there

are 948,942 law enforcement personnel practicing in cities,

counties, states, and federal agencies. Of that number 663,796

are sworn law enforcement personnel with arrest powers. That

sworn population consists of 88.6% male and 11.4% female

officers". In Alabama there are reported to be 10,414 sworn

officers, 975 of which work for agencies that serve populations

ranging from 30,000 to 100,000. Nine-thousand six hundred sixty-

seven (92.8%) of the state total are male officers and 747 (7.2%)

are female officers (Alabama Criminal Justice Information Center,

2003). This was a significant population of police personnel to

draw a sampling population from in the state of Alabama.

It was hypothesized that stress or burnout is a specific

gateway to substance abuse with alcohol or drugs used to calm

symptoms of emotional exhaustion suffered by police officers.

According to Harris & Maloney (1999) mental health hospitals and

community mental health centers are regularly confronted with

substance abusers. There is no group of persons this problem does

17


not touch in some way. Stress relentlessly pursues persons of all

ages, classes, religious affiliations, professions, and

geographic areas. Nothing can prevent the spread of the problem

and often its effects are relieved with the use of alcohol or

drugs. This substance abuse which is often chronic in nature

leads to at-risk behaviors for police officers that use

substances to self-medicate emotional and physical pain. This

chronic use causes disinhibition of the user and magnifies the

problem. This motivates police department administrators and

substance abuse counselors to find it difficult to address the

problem on a contemporary scene because of the problems substance

abuse causes. The chronic use of substances often results in

converse effects. Depressant drugs rebound into anxiety;

stimulants often cause depression, and hallucinogens can lead to

the loss of one's self. The effects sought by the user become

evasive. These factors motivated this proposed study.

18


Figure 1: Theoretical model indicating hypothesized relationships between stress and substance abuse, burnout and substance abuse, and potential differences existing because of gender in Alabama police officers.

Variables in the Study

This study includes independent and dependent variables for

each of the hypotheses. Hypothesis One includes the independent

variable of stress and the dependent variable substance abuse.

Hypothesis Two includes the independent variable of burnout and

the dependent variable substance abuse. Hypothesis Three includes

the independent variable of gender related stress and the

dependent variable substance abuse. Hypothesis Four includes the

independent variable gender related burnout and the dependent

variable of substance abuse.

Stress

Burnout

SubstanceAbuse

Gender

19


Definition of Terms

1. Stress: Stress may be defined as a non-specific physical

or psychological response or state of being, such as tension,

resulting from demands placed on the body that exceed available

resources and tend to alter one's state of well being (Feemster &

Harpold, 2002; Garland, 2002; Pines & Aronson, 1981). For the

purposes of this study sources of stress are related to the

police officer's experiences on the job while interacting

directly with individuals in the public and providing service and

protection.

2. Burnout: The extent to which a police officer or other

human services professional feels or experiences the three

component subscales of burnout (e.g., emotional exhaustion,

depersonalization, and lack of personal accomplishment) of the

Maslach Burnout Inventory which is widely used to quantify

burnout in the helping professions (Acevdeo, Hebert, & Hendrix,

2000; Maslach & Jackson, 1986; Maslach, Jackson, & Leiter, 1996;

Kosinski & Vettor, 2002).

3. Substance abuse: Substance abuse is a maladaptive pattern

of substance use manifested by distress that is recurrent and

often results in significant adverse consequences caused by

persistent use of substances during the last 12 months. Examples

20


of distressing consequences are significant failure to fulfill

social, occupational, or interpersonal obligations or legal

difficulties such as charges of public intoxication or driving

under the influence (American Psychiatric Association, 2000;

Junke, 2002).

4. Self-medication: As reported by Khantzian, Halliday, &

McAuliffe, (1990) self-medication is a consequence of widespread

drug use and abuse in society. Further reported is the notion

that as people suffer from specific painful feeling states and

psychiatric disorders this plays a role in how they self-medicate

and with what substance. Alcohol, the only legal drug other than

prescription medications, is a type of sedative-hypnotic that has

particular appeal because it lowers inhibitions and allows the

experience of feelings that are usually walled off and leave

people feeling empty and cut off (Khantzian, et al.). Therefore

for the purposes of this study self-medication refers primarily

to the consistent use or abuse of alcohol or prescription drugs

(substance abuse) to relieve perceived or experienced physical or

emotional pain resulting from distress and burnout.

5. Gender: For the purposes of this study gender is defined

as either male or female.

6. Sworn Police Officer: Law enforcement officers sworn to

protect lives, personal safety, and property of others, who have

21


the authority to make arrests, regardless of rank, and who are

employed as full-time law enforcement officers for municipal or

city police departments in the state of Alabama and serve

populations ranging from 30,000 to 100,000.

7. Mid-sized Alabama law enforcement agency: Any Alabama

city or municipal law enforcement agency that according to the

Alabama Criminal Justice Information Center (2004), serves a

population range of at least 30,000 persons but not greater than

100,000 persons.

8. SPSS, Version 12: The Statistical Package for the Social

Sciences which is a computer program designed to perform a wide

range of statistical procedures for analysis of gathered research

data (Cronk, 2002).

Study Assumptions and Limitations

For the purposes of this study, the following assumptions were

made:

1. The majority of sworn police officers selected by means

of a random sampling technique will participate in the study by

completing survey packages.

22


2. Those respondents that return completed survey packages

were sworn police officers, working full-time for a government

supported mid-sized city or municipal law enforcement agency in

the state of Alabama.

3. The survey packages distributed were returned during the

length of one visit to participating agencies by the study's

principal researcher. Each complete package should take no more

than 30 minutes to complete.

4. The participant police officers who complete the survey

package will respond honestly based on guaranteed anonymity.

5. The participant police officers understand their role in

the study.

Limitations inherent to this study include the following:

1. The application of the instruments used in this study

(e.g., The Perceived Stress Scale, The Maslach Burnout Inventory–

Human Services Survey, and the Michigan Alcoholism Screening

Test), must be determined to be valid measures of stress,

burnout, and the assessment of alcohol abuse potential.

Contemporary reviews of these assessment instruments

inconsistently compare norms generated from police officers

specifically (Balzer, Ironson, Parra, & Smith, 2002; Cohen, 1994;

Conoley, Murdoh, & Reese, 1980; Maslach & Jackson, 1986; Maslach,

Jackson, & Leiter, 1996).

23


2. The volunteer status of survey participants will restrict

the generalizability of findings. Additionally, the sample

population, (n size), may restrict generalizability of the

findings to any population broader than police officers working

in mid-sized law enforcement agencies in the state of Alabama.

3. In any questionnaire that asks for self-disclosure,

limitations arise because attitudes and beliefs expressed may not

reflect true attitudes and beliefs of the participant (e.g.,

respondents fake good or fake bad).

4. The population sampled consisted of full-time sworn

police officers who were employed by mid-sized Alabama police

agencies and practice law enforcement. There will be no

differentiation made between officers filling an administrative

role and those officers who are field practitioners. Retired,

former, or non-sworn police personnel were not part of the

randomly selected sample.

5. The study population was constructed based on a

stratified random sampling technique to survey a sample of

officers from selected mid-sized Alabama law enforcement agency

personnel. However the proportion of male and female officers in

mid-sized Alabama agencies may not reflect comparable proportions

of sworn officer populations at the national or state level. In

this case skewed data may be eliminated by comparing data between

24


male and female participants based on a common trait such as age

(Sprinthall, 2003).

6. The demographic characteristic surveyed was gender. Other

demographic characteristics that could influence the study

findings such as age range, officer tenure, whether the practice

setting is urban, rural, or metropolitan and salary range were

not included in data analysis for this study.

7. Potential identifiable information collected was gender,

age, tenure, and the population of the city the officer serves.

8. The principal researcher is a retired career law

enforcement officer from a mid-sized Alabama city. In the

interpretation of data analysis the researcher's career

experience has the potential to bias this interpretation.

However, every effort has been made to eliminate any bias by

using totally quantitative data.

Organization of the Remainder of the Study

The remainder of this study was organized in the following

manner. Chapter Two reviews and discusses the current literature

related to stress, the syndrome of burnout, organizational

factors related to stress and burnout, and substance abuse.

Substance addiction, help-seeking behaviors and their costs as it

relates to police officers and others were also reviewed. Chapter

25


Three, outlines the research methodology employed to examine the

problems presented. Chapter Four presents and analyzes the data

collected using the methodology described in Chapter Three. This

study concludes with Chapter Five, which is a summary of the

conclusions drawn from the data presented in Chapter Four and

also presents recommendations for future research and government

policy implications.

26

CHAPTER 2. LITERATURE REVIEW

This chapter reviews the literature related to each variable

from the theoretical model depicted in Chapter One (see Figure 1,

page 19). Stress, burnout, substance abuse, and topics related to

each of these variables identified by the literature were

researched and included in this chapter of the study to support

the hypothesized relationships outlined in Chapter One.

Stress and Burnout in General

Analyzing sources of stress and burnout in police officers

leads one to explore an officer's commitment to a career that has

been described as a de facto marriage that at times supersedes

the intimacy of family (Brink, 2001). Maintaining such a

professional and intimate life style is for many a difficult task

and this notion does not yet consider the individual causes of

extreme stressors reported by practicing police officers. The

professional practice of police work is loaded with situations

and circumstances that create an environment that is inherently

stressful and filled with danger and physiologic excitation.

According to Bremner, (2002) we carry our stress with us

over the course of our lifetime. This notion underlies the

knowledge that our bodies have biological systems that respond to


life threatening danger that acts like a fear alarm system. This

alarm system has a memory built into it that leaves us

feeling fearful when confronted with dangerous situations and

circumstances that we have been confronted with previously that

left us fearful and seeking to protect ourselves. This capacity

for memory affects the entire body over extended periods. The

nature of police work is filled with periods of boredom that in

an instant can turn dangerous and life threatening. Police work

has been described by Hess & Wrobleski (1993) as long periods of

devastating boredom that are punctuated by sporadic periods of

complete terror. This makes the character of police work one of

the most stressful and physically and emotionally demanding in

the contemporary professional world. Isolating the sources of

stress and burnout in police work and gaining an understanding of

its potential for individual self-destruction is frequently

listed as being of primary concern by individual officers,

organizational administrators, and others. However, according to

Feemster & Harpold (2002) the law enforcement profession has not

learned from the history of negative influences of job stress and

what that stress does to officers that are exposed to it. This

review of literature seeks to uncover and discuss the sources of

stress and burnout for police officers as a group, the effects of

that stress and burnout, and how substance abuse is used to self-

28


medicate emotional pain. Police officers do not easily seek help

for individual problems because of their belief system. This

review of literature also discusses the tendency for officers to

resist seeking help and how their personal and organizational

belief systems related to seeking help affects them and others.

Sources of Stress and Burnout

Hanson (1985) reports that stress can be fantastic or fatal.

Many people have an idea of what stress is and perceive it as

always being negative. This belief is inaccurate. Eustress, what

is perceived as positive stress functions to help one succeed or

achieve goals and solve problems. Distress, what is perceived as

negative stress reactions is what people are subjected to that

have the potential for causing dysfunction in their lives

(Kossen, 1991). Further, Sheehan & Van Hasselt (2003) report that

job-related stress often contributes to suicide, which is

considered an extreme maladaptive response. However, many

stressors faced by police officers, as well as most other

workers, are beyond individual control (Hurrell, 1995).

Organizational efforts to make the working environment less

stressful and individual coping strategies to relieve the strain

of experienced stress are at the core of eliminating distress in

the police officer's professional capacity. This also helps to

29


emotionally control role conflict and ambiguity, which also helps

eliminate distress. However, as cited earlier, many sources of

stress are out of individual control. Depue (1981)

suggests that law enforcement is one of the few professions that

can have profound adverse effects on one's life and total well

being. This suggests that police work affects an officer's

personal social life, his family's social life, the friends he or

she has contact with, often creating isolation, and frequently

the officer's children have distorted views of them as parents.

This effectively puts not only the police officer in uniform, but

his or her family as well. Additionally, according to Walker

(1997) police officers constantly maintain a state of vigilance

to be prepared for unknown and often challenging events that may

confront them. The actions taken relative to these events or the

scenes that come into view may remind them of their own mortality

and the failure of others. The sources of stress in police work

include internal, individual stressors, stressors inherent to

police work, administrative and organizational stressors, and

external stressors from the criminal justice system and the

public served that are often manifested as role conflict. Because

of these stressors powerful symptoms and reactions often occur.

Symptomology of Stress and Burnout

30


Symptoms of stressors in general include deteriorating work

performance, absenteeism, low morale, and negative psychological

states such as emotional burnout. Frustration, depression, anger,

and psychosomatic and physical conditions such as headaches and

ulcers are also frequent (Burke, 1998). Bird (2002) reports that

work related stress expenses for employers are between $200-$300

billion dollars per year. Forty-three percent of adults suffer

adverse health effects due to stress, and greater than 75% of all

visits to primary care physicians are stress related. As well,

Kushnir & Milbauer (1994) report that sixty percent 60% of work

absences are stress related. However, neither critical incidents

alone nor organizational stressors, job factors, nor personal

stressors cause most police officer stress; the combination of

all these causes the stress. Different types of stressors

combined contribute to high rates of gastrointestinal disorders,

high blood pressure, coronary heart disease, and leads to the

syndrome of burnout in police officers (Sheehan & Van Hasselt,

2003). Maslach, Jackson, & Leiter (1996) report that burnout

represents a particular type of job stress that is represented by

a pattern of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and a

feeling of diminished personal accomplishment. Additionally,

specific stressors such as role conflict, ambiguity, and over-

stimulation in one's environment can cause stress in the short

31


term, while long term experience of these stressors can have an

accumulating effect which causes burnout (Densten, 2001). This is

a result of a variety of work demands or stressors. In this case

burnout can be considered a distinctive type of job stress that

has been studied primarily in work settings (Densten). Pines &

Aronson (1981) suggest that burnout can be understood as one's

high priority work goals being frustrated and blocked by

circumstances that cause failure. Burnout is mostly manifested by

emotional exhaustion and sometimes by various physical and

psychiatric symptoms. An example is offered by Lacoursiere,

(2001) as he reports a significant level of burnout in substance

abuse treatment staff because of work pressure, difficult or

inappropriate work policies, and the development of a declining

ability to cope with work loads. Further, Harris and Maloney

(1999) indicate that burnout is highly personal and individual.

In fact two workers may be confronted with the exact set of

circumstances and respond in totally different ways. Therefore

burnout must be thought of in personal terms. What some workers

believe to be important and meaningful work becomes challenging,

boring, and meaningless for others. Workers eventually become

exhausted, cynical, and ineffective. Victims of burnout become

mentally and emotionally exhausted and have no energy. The fuel

necessary to continue working is used up, they no longer have fun

32


with their work, and consistently feel hassled and annoyed with

relatively minor concerns. They often find themselves not getting

enough sleep or unable to sleep at all (Gordon, McManus, &

Winder, 2002; Pfifferling, 2001). These circumstances may often

be beyond the individual's control, but such stressors have

affects on the police officer's ability to function effectively

and efficiently.

Stressors Specific to Police Work

Inherent in police work is a constant threat to the

officers' health and safety. Also, many people enter the

profession with a crime fighting orientation and become

disillusioned when they find that there is a large amount of

public service involved in the work, leaving officers with the

feeling that they are society's community butlers. According to

Pines & Aronson, (1981) people who begin human service careers

often have a strong desire to give of themselves. Being able to

do so leaves those people feeling helpful, excited, and

idealistic during their early years on the job, which leaves them

more susceptible to burnout than others that are not so excited.

"In order to burn out a person must have been on fire at one

time" (Pines & Aronson, p.4). Those who are or were on fire at

one time describes the prevailing attitude that many in the law

33


enforcement profession refer to as the "John Wayne Syndrome"

(Tye, 1994). However, this attitude is dependent upon the

individual officer's role orientation and what he or she believes

is the legitimate scope of police work. According to Trautman,

(1991) the greatest cause of police stress is the perceived

mismatch between where and who the officer is and where and who

he or she believes they should be. This produces role conflict in

many. Professional police officers do not confine themselves to

one role. They acknowledge the multiple functions performed by

the police and view order maintenance or the service function as

a legitimate part of police business (Sun, 2003). Other sources

of police stress that must be considered include criminal injury

or violence to officers or others that are clearly traumatic in

nature. These stressors also include natural disasters like

tornados, hurricanes, mud slides, or tsunamis. Severe motor

vehicle accidents, body mutilations and fatalities, public

disorder events, line of duty injuries like being wounded by

gunfire, or seeing abused or deceased children are also man-made

sources of stress that must be considered (Sewell, 1980; Olisa,

1997; Sheehan & Van Hasselt, 2003).

Also threatening to the officer's health and safety is the

need to alternate between the boredom of normal patrol and the

need for sudden alertness causing excitation of the body's fight

34


or flight response (Artwohl & Christensen, 1997), the results of

which can last for an entire 8, 10, or 12 hour shift leading to

exhaustion. Thrasher (2001) reports:

…officers learn that at any moment a situation can threaten their life, the life of another officer, or the life of a citizen. Therefore, officers spend their every working shift in a constant state of heightened anxiety. Whether anything happens or not, this anxiety remains reinforced by prior learning, and by the end of the shift officers find themselves emotionally, if not physically, exhausted. At this point of exhaustion and depression, the duty shift ends and the officer goes home. (p.185).

Changes in the physical ability of the older officer are

also stressful. Natural changes in the body's systems that come

with the aging process include changes in muscle density, bone

density, cardiovascular, respiratory, nervous systems, immune

systems, and neuroendocrine systems that have powerful

consequences. Visual acuity, loss of hearing, waning stamina,

lowered dexterity, and poor balance create limitations for

officers that on-the–job experience may not cover up. Older

officers are forced to face the fact of their physical decline.

This can obviously create stress if one considers that police

work has been described as a de facto marriage (Brink, 2001).

Life as the officer has come to know is ending. Therefore for

some this might rise to the level of being an issue of grief due

to the loss. Psychological factors such as lack of spiritual

meaning, loss of control over aspects of life, unrealized career

35


goals, and interpersonal conflict are also stressful (Sheehan &

Van Hasselt, 2003). One may earnestly perceive that a police

officer's primary concern is for his or her own personal safety.

The primary goal taught repeatedly in basic police training is go

home safe and alive at the end of the shift. However, some of the

most significant stressors for officers are related to the safety

and well being of others.

Hess and Wrobleski (1993) report that the criminal justice

system and the citizens served by police officers can induce

stress. Sewell (1980) developed a critical life events scale for

law enforcement. The top reported critical life events in a

police officer's career are the violent death of a partner in the

line of duty, dismissal or suspension from work, taking another

person's life in the line of duty, shooting someone else in the

line of duty, and suicide of an officer who is a close friend.

Organizational and administrative issues are also of great

concern and likewise stressful for police officers.

More subtle, but no less devastating stressors interfere

with police officer's ability to withstand negative stress

reactions. Organizational stressors often cause as much or more

stress than critical incidents. Examples of these organizational

stressors are inadequate training, poor supervision and

leadership, lack of recognition for superior performance, the

36


perception of nepotism in the process of promotions and awarding

financial incentives, and poor pay. An additional organizational

stressor is insensitivity to the officer's family or his or her

personal needs (Sheehan & Van Hasselt, 2003). Additionally, the

notion that organizational factors can contribute to and affect

the level of stress on the job is supported by 1998 research

conducted using randomly selected members of the Institute of

Directors. Almost 90% of this sample population indicated that

working practices could be a contributing factor that affected

the level of stress people reported. Sixty percent of this same

population also believed that responsibility for dealing with

stress on the job should be shared by employers and the employee

(Smith, 2001). Similarly, Brown, Cooper, & Kirkcaldy, (1996)

report from their research of senior police officers in the

United Kingdom that from the calculation of mean scores from 61

sources of stress, over half the highest ten endorsed items from

an entire sample of senior officers were found to be

organizational in nature. However, studies of the efficacy of

individual stress coping mechanisms agree strongly with the

organizational philosophy that coping with stress is an

individual problem and not an organizational one (Hurrell, 1995).

This notion suggests that if police officers possess and make use

of effective coping strategies, then stress would not be a

37


problem. This is clearly an inaccurate proposal, but does include

police officers taking individual responsibility for seeking help

when they feel overly distressed.

Help seeking behavior by police officers has been

historically resisted since police officers resist interaction

with the mental health system. According to Reiner (1992) and

Sheehan & Van Hasselt (2003) part of the macho behavioral

repertoire reveals that participating in such interaction and

admitting a personal or professional crisis carries with it the

perception of weakness which produces role conflict for many

officers. This is not only related to the macho image of police

officers but also potentially relates to male gender role

socialization. Robertson (2001) reports that traditional help-

seeking behavior requires men, the majority population of

officers, to set aside a large portion of their masculine

socialization simply to get through the door and ask for help.

Because of this it is suggested that men find it difficult to

believe mental health professionals will be of help and this

becomes a block to help-seeking behaviors in men. Women however,

seek professional help almost 2 to 1 over men. Based on this

report one could support the hypothesis that gender will have an

effect on the rates of stress, burnout, and substance abuse

reported by police officers in this study.

38


Role Conflict as a Stressor for Police Officers

Because of state law governing entrance criteria for Alabama

law enforcement officers, as well as other states across the

United States, officers are more stringently screened than people

in any other occupation (Alabama Peace Officers Standards and

Training Commission, 2004). Because of these required screenings

officers tend to be more often mentally stabile and resilient,

and officers are trained to suppress their feelings. This allows

them to absorb emotional blows, function during times of crisis,

recover and function effectively again (Chamberlin, 2000). Add to

this certain aspects of police training that encourages a

perpetual outward portrayal of rigid

strength and the need for mental stability and resiliency becomes

even more evident. One must ask if he or she would seek

assistance from the police if they were not strong, resilient,

and able to respond. Because of this, stress and burnout in

police officers is sometimes difficult to recognize since

officers are trained to portray this basic sterility in their

outward appearance and demeanor. Yet in the final analysis police

officers are only human beings wearing a uniform, badge, and

weapon. Often what the police officer thinks about his or her

work when compared to specific functions or organizational goals

39


are in conflict and this causes role conflict. This subtle

cognitive structure developed within officers has the potential

to develop into burnout if it relentlessly continues day-in and

day-out on regular basis.

According to Lazarus & Folkman (1984) and Siegall (2000) the

cognitive model of stress suggests that a situation does not

cause distress unless it is appraised as somehow threatening. A

situation would be stressful if it is perceived to block

individual outcomes or goals. Police officers are often charged

with enforcing the law and fighting crime but find they

experience conflicting and ambiguous feelings based on the

results achieved. The goals they were sent to achieve by superior

officers are subjected to uninformed scrutiny because of

organizational bureaucracy and this leads to conflict and

frustration. This resulting set of circumstances often has

profound effects on the officer's personal and organizational

outcomes. According to Burke (1998) there is a clear link between

this experience of occupational stress and adverse psychological

and physical health of individuals and workplace performance

difficulties. An additional source of role conflict for police

officers is personality types of most officers as compared to

personality types of just over one-third of private citizens.

40


Personality as a Stressor for Police Officers

The work of Carl Jung leads to insight into how ones

personality might be a significant stressor. Jung studied Alfred

Adler and Sigmund Freud and found their theoretical differences

to be very simple. Even though in Jung's day the prevailing

thought was that personality was formed from environment rather

than inheritance, he believed two people from the same background

could approach any issue before them from two completely

different points of view (Hennessey, 1999). According to Jung

there are four basic functions that serve to structure an

individual's personality. Two of them involve how one takes in

information, or perception, and the other two involve decision

making, or judgment.

According to Jung, people naturally have a preference for one way of taking in information over the other. After accessing this information, a decision must be made or a conclusion reached. This is accomplished

through one of two processes, thinking or feeling. Jung referred to these as the two judging functions. Jung felt these functions were an integral part of a person's personality which resulted in certain patterns of behavior which could be classified. The possible combinations of perception and judgment were sensing with thinking, sensing with feeling, intuition with thinking, and intuition with feeling. (Hennessey, 1999, p.2).

In this type of system sensing types gather information

about the world around them using the five senses. These people

are usually practical, realistic, grounded in the present, and

41


have a strong aptitude for detail. Alternately, intuitive types

are less aware of specific details (e.g., those gained by the

five senses) and see abstract patterns and relationships. These

people are usually creative, think globally, are able to plan

and research, and are able to readily see patterns and

relationships (Hennessey, 1999). Further, Jung found that what

ideas people gathered through their perception goes through a

mental distillation process based on how that person thinks and

believes that allows them to make decisions. It was believed that

people make decisions based on their thinking or their feelings.

If one makes a decision with the thinking process that

person is very analytical and impersonal and usually doesn’t

readily take into consideration the impact his or her decisions

will make on others. He or she is usually objective, impartial,

has a sense of fairness and justice and has skill in applying

logical analysis. On the other hand the feeling type reaches

decisions through his or her feelings. These people tend to use a

process of reasoning which takes into consideration the effects

on people first. These people usually have an understanding of

others. They also have a desire for harmony, and a capacity for

warmth, empathy, and compassion (Hennessey, 1999). Jung also

believed that people were either extroverts that focused on their

outer world or introverts that felt more comfortable focusing on

42


their own inner thoughts and ideas. This can be understood by

observing those around us. Some people tend to verbalize their

thinking process and have a preference for talking about how to

make a decision. Alternately, introverts tend to have a

preference for thinking quietly about the alternatives to making

a decision and then verbally expressing the selected answer

(Baron, 1998; Kroeger & Thuesen, 1992). Jung combined these

developed characteristics or processes, also referred to as

cognitive styles and defined them as a) Sensing-thinking; b)

Sensing-feeling; c) Intuitive-thinking; and d)Intuitive-feeling.

These combinations of cognitive styles, along with the

characteristics of introversion or extroversion, characterize a

variety of behaviors that a person demonstrates over a period of

time. Jung's work is the foundation for today's Myers-Briggs Type

Indicator (Baron; Hennessey; Kroeger & Thuesen).

People are attracted to professions that appeal to their

strongest preferences for doing things. Police officer

personality descriptions are often comparable to the described

tasks necessary for carrying out the job. As reported earlier

sensing-thinkers tend to be concrete, decisive, practical,

direct, logical, thorough, impersonal, factual, structured, and

service oriented among others. According to Hennessey's (1999)

research data, 70% of the police officers he studied were found

43


to have these types of personality characteristics, while only

32%-42% of the general population had them. The general

population are generally sensing-feelers. The sensing-thinker

seems to personify the tough cop image. They are what most people

inside and outside of police work visualize when they

imagine or describe how cops generally conduct themselves.

Looking at the majority of police officers as decisive, concrete,

practical, direct, and logical, as they provide services to the

public, and realizing that over one-third of the general public

have ways of looking at life that are almost the polar opposite,

police officers encounter sources of stress and conflict simply

by making routine contacts with the public they serve. Also,

Euwema, Kop, & Schaufeli, (1999) report that police officers who

experience burnout tend to be negative, callous, and cynical

towards the public they come in contact with at work. This

suggests that the burnout subscales of emotional exhaustion and

depersonalization discussed by Maslach, Jackson, & Leiter (1996)

may correlate strongly with the variable of stress, lending

support to hypotheses of the present work. Adding stress and

burnout to the daily routine of officers to contend with, along

with officers already being reported as the polar opposite in

personality of almost half of the public they come in contact

with, the stage becomes set for regular conflict during routine,

44


somewhat detached and short public contacts. However,

organizational issues are often reported as being more stress

producing than those issues discussed thus far.

Organizational Factors as a Stressor

According to Perry (2001) three organizational failures can

foster cynicism, resentment, and demoralization within the law

enforcement organization that are all signs of internal disorder.

These are frequently significant stress producers. Those failures

are a) poor or ineffective discipline and negligent retention of

individuals that display an inability to perform duties

appropriately; b) the failure to recognize that the farther

individuals get away from appropriate goals the less they remain

passionately interested in its achievement; and c) the allowance

of a double standard within the organization which creates

decreased moral accountability as professional responsibility

increases. Perry goes one step further and suggests that these

mentioned principles must be monitored from an organizational

perspective. In short, it is suggested that as opposed to

monitoring the one bad apple in the barrel, the rotten barrel may

be the entity that needs monitoring.

For some time now industry has been taking a hard look at

itself in an effort to make changes that will reflect

45


effectiveness, efficiency, and an organizational attitude that is

perceived as being sensitive to the needs of its members (Bennett

& Hess, 1996). Organizations do this in an effort to maintain

their share of the market, to increase profits, or to maintain a

healthy employee environment. However, nearly all organizations

tend to become top heavy with administrators. Middle management

adds levels of decision making, creating processes and record

keeping, which in turn further slows down the process of taking

action. The organizational hierarchy gets heavier and heavier at

the top when what holds the most promise for increasing

productivity and efficiency in law enforcement agencies is adding

personnel in the lower ranks where the work

actually gets done. Change in a law enforcement organization is

often accepted slowly and the current paramilitary structure of

these organizations will create even more difficulty.

Changes in organizational structure will generate difficulty

for the bureaucratic paramilitary structure of police agencies in

the future. This is particularly accurate since the face of

American law enforcement is changing and this creates more

difficulty in hiring and maintaining police officers in today's

America (Ashcroft, Daniels, & Hart, 2004). Officers employed in

the 1970s were more likely recently discharged from military

service, possessed a high school diploma or G.E.D., and were

46


keenly accustomed to taking orders without question. However,

officers employed in the 1990s and in the 21st Century are more

likely well educated, perhaps with a college degree, and have

never served in the military, which is perhaps a function of an

all volunteer military. These individuals have been taught to be

critical thinkers during their academic careers and are less

likely to take orders without understanding their origin and

reasoning.

In a study of a major law enforcement agency reported by

Harrison (1994) it was concluded that the agency's paramilitary

bureaucratic structure was the reason for the most destructive

and unmanageable organizational problems. The bureaucracy of that

structure was an impediment to innovation and customer service.

It also tended to build mediocrity into the workforce and made it

impossible to terminate those that did not perform. However,

according to de Jager (2001) creating change in such an

environment is very difficult because people are reluctant to

leave behind what they have grown comfortable with. Organization

members find themselves anxious about how the old moves to the

new, particularly when they are functioning well and must learn

new techniques and risk failure to participate in change. de

Jager (p.26) further suggests how administrators decide what

47


might be replaced with organizational change must be based on

four basic questions:

1. Why is the old status quo no longer sufficient? Is the

change intended to remedy a deficiency or seize an opportunity?

The answer will help determine how people will react to the

change and how stressful that change will be.

2. What will it cost to make the transition from the old way

of doing things to the new-fangled method? Beside this cost, the

cost of disruption, training, temporary low morale, new hires,

people leaving, and the emotional cost of destroying what once

was must be considered. The grieving process with this loss will

be stressful.

3. Is the cost of transition justified by the incremental

benefits of what is being proposed?

4. Does the proposed change support and reinforce the existing

core values? Integral to asking these questions is the

involvement of others in the process.

The agents of change must involve organizational members in

the process of decision making to reduce the potential for

creating unmanageable stress inside the organization. Further,

they must deal with one of the most significant stress producers

created with organizational change; the failure to indict their

48


own previous ways of thinking and behavior (Dolan, 1994).

Backlash expressed from this source of stress could be visible

frustration or even outright mutiny. However if one asks members

of the organization what the most pressing source of stress and

concern for individual members of the organization is, it seems

to be organizational administration and leadership techniques.

This returns us to the notion of the failure of change agents to

indict their own past performance, behavior, and thinking.

Everyone must change with the process from the top down or

survival instincts manifested as resistance within the

organization will rise up and the development of stress, or

burnout in the long term will become a problem (de Jaeger, 2001).

Burnout in Police Officers

Depending upon the various published research or texts one

is reviewing, burnout has been described several ways. One

description of burnout is that it is the result of stress that is

being inappropriately managed (Kosinski & Vettor, 2002).

According to Pines & Aronson (1981) burnout is informally defined

as being an emotional experience one is frequently confronted

with when working with other people and their problems. Further

they suggest those who genuinely want to work with others find

them selves putting much more into their work than they get in

49


return. Maslach, Jackson, & Leiter (1996) provide their specific

definition of burnout and report that its definition involves

three specific aspects much as Selye's (1976) research first

suggested. Their definition begins with Selye's last stage of the

stress syndrome. According to these researchers burnout is a

syndrome of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and reduced

personal accomplishment. With emotional exhaustion, resources are

used up and workers are no longer able to give of themselves at a

psychological level (Hawkins, 2001; Selye). Depersonalization

causes negative, cynical attitudes and feelings about clients or

customers, and reduced personal accomplishment tends to lead

workers to assess themselves negatively with regards to work

performance with clients or customers. Also, Arthur (1990)

reports that professionals who work continuously with others

often respond to chronic emotional strain from dealing with

others on a continuous basis when those people are troubled or

having problems. People begin feeling unhappy about themselves

and their professional accomplishments based on their ability to

provide the quality of services they started out being able to

provide. According to Maslach, Jackson, & Leiter (1996)

individuals in human services professions are often required to

spend large amounts of time in close, intense contact with those

who are having problems. Police officers are included in this

50


category of professionals. While working with these clients a

solution to their problem is not always obvious or readily

available or is resisted by the client, as in an individual

resisting arrest for driving under the influence. The arrest

solves the issue of safety to the individual and others on the

roadway but the person being arrested hardly, if ever, will

appreciate the solution. Working continuously with people under

these circumstances leads to chronic stress, is emotionally

draining, and can lead to burnout.

Burnout is frequently measured with use of the Maslach

Burnout Inventory (Maslach, Jackson, & Leiter, 1996). This

particular assessment is based on the idea that burnout is a

progressive syndrome that over time occurs as a direct result of

helping others in difficult situations (Arthur, 1990). According

to Hawkins (1990) the concept of depersonalization can often turn

into callous or dehumanized perceptions of others and can lead

professionals to view their clients as deserving their troubles.

The development of this depersonalization also appears to be

linked to emotional exhaustion. When stress related to helping

others is relentless and continues over time, burnout is the

result.

Police work is described as inherently stressful and is

thought to be one of society's most stressful occupations. This

51


being accurate it can easily lead to the development of burnout,

even across different cultures and genders (Storm & Rothmann,

2003). The mere nature of police work does not allow the stress

level to change over time. This is the notion that Pines &

Aronson (1981) lend support to when they discuss the dual

dimensionality of burnout and its ability to mutate, where the

hazard is built into the task and is either continuous or

intermittent. According to their report the dimension of

continuousness indicates that some stressors are continuous and

constantly pose a threat to individuals. One such stressor is the

officer's need to always be vigilant. For officers to allow their

attention level to drop while at work is simply a very dangerous

safety issue. If officers are not involved with gruesome scenes

of trauma, natural disasters, or man's inhumanity to man, then

officers will be confronted with organizational and

administrative issue. Numerous reports say these issues are even

more stressful than traumatic events because they are faced on a

routine daily basis. In a review of literature conducted by

Hawkins several issues that stand out relating to police officer

stress, are consistent with those suggested in the present study.

Hawkins (2001) reports that police job performance often

suffers as a result of continuous stressors and that officers

were more likely to drink alcohol or use tranquilizers to cope

52


with stress if they scored high on emotional exhaustion and low

on personal accomplishments on the Maslach Burnout Inventory.

Additionally, Hawkins also reports burnout tends to correlate

with alcoholism and other physical and psychological problems.

These reports are consistent with hypotheses proposed in the

present study. Organizational stressors including paramilitary

organizational structure, lack of participation in decision

making, lack of administrative support, and poor supervision and

leadership as stressors are also further supported. Police

officers suffer the damaging effects of burnout. Storm & Rothmann

(2003) suggest that when one looks for patterns where police

officers are regularly exposed to violence, have a high

percentage of attrition and frequent early retirement, or high

suicide rates exist then there is a strong indication that

officers experience their working conditions as highly stressful

and traumatic. This reported stress and burnout is hypothesized

to lead to substance use and abuse as a coping mechanism that

often includes alcohol and prescription drugs. Also, as reported

by Cherniss (1992) there is a plethora of research investigating

the immediate consequences of burnout but little work conducted

on the long-term effects. Cherniss conducted a 12-year

longitudinal study of human services workers in an effort to

determine if burnout was a phenomenon of early career life, or if

53


its effects followed through over the course of ones career when

that person stayed in the same profession. Findings indicate that

of the small sample that was followed many were able to develop

flexibility later in the career life. The data analyzed indicated

few statistically significant relationships. The possible

explanation offered for these findings was that the impacts of

early career experiences become relatively weak over time

suggesting that officer tenure may have a mitigating effect on

stress and burnout. This lends support to a notion that there is

a decrease of substance abuse with an increase in tenure. This

particular variable is a meaningful area for exploration for

future studies.

Substance Abuse in Police Officers and its Prevalence

Studies of the relationship between alcohol consumption and

its moderating effects on stress indicate that stress reduction

does take place with alcohol use for certain people in particular

circumstances (e.g., camaraderie or socialization into the

workplace environment). Some people, such as those with a family

history of alcoholism, are particularly susceptible to these

moderating effects (Sayette, 1999). Corelli (1994) reports from a

study of Royal Canadian Mounted Police that law enforcement as a

54


culture is strongly attached to alcohol as a means of coping with

stressors. Further he suggests that

such a workplace culture has a tendency to support some

maladaptive aspects of alcohol consumption. Over time this

becomes a cunning pattern of use for officers that consume

alcohol to relieve stress or fit in with the workplace culture.

Additionally, this perceived stress is considered a major

facilitator for first time alcohol or drug use as well as relapse

after treatment for abuse or dependence (Brady & Sonne, 1999).

This set of circumstances establishes the use and abuse of

alcohol in individuals and has the potential for leading the user

in the direction of substance dependence. Alcoholism was listed

as the top symptom of stress when it was studied in 146 public

safety organizations across the United States. This alcoholism

cost government billions of dollars each year and is manifested

in poor job performance, lost time from work, and medical

expenses (Shearer, 1989).

Abuse and dependence on alcohol and drugs is considered a

complex phenomenon by clinicians and researchers alike. It is

further suggested that the complexity of these problems is

determined by psychological and physiological components (Brady &

Sonne, 1999). These researchers also report that animal studies

support a positive relationship between stress and alcohol use

55


and abuse. In a human clinical arena where treatment takes place

with alcoholics and addicts the relationship between stress and

alcohol use has been more difficult to characterize. Studies in

this environment do not uniformly support a prominent theory

called the tension-reduction hypothesis of alcohol use, which

suggests that people use alcohol to reduce stress (Brady &

Sonne). However, it is suggested that studies of stress and

alcohol use are difficult to conduct in alcoholic humans simply

because they have the power to choose and can leave treatment or

terminate participation in research studies.

Various studies have demonstrated an association between

stress and alcohol use but they have not been able to establish a

causal relationship. Research methodology simply cannot support a

causal relationship between these variables. Even with a true

experimental research design the scientific community does not

pinpoint cause and effect relationships one-hundred percent of

the time (Sprinthall, 2003). Even so, studies by Rouge-Pont,

Deroche, LeMoal, & Piazza (1998) conducted on rodents that were

exposed to stress for long periods or repeated exposure indicate

that such stress can influence durable alterations in the brain's

neural pathways. Having been dosed with alcohol in the laboratory

to reduce stress later resulted in a drug-prone state that was

found to be independent of the presence of a stressor. These

56


findings lend support to the hypothesis posed in the present

study that suggests a significant correlation between the

development of stress, burnout, and substance abuse. Fassel &

Schaef, (1988, pp. 51-54) further suggest that "it is not that

everyone is running around with an addiction, it is more that

there is the existence of addictive processes underlying

addictive systems that influences everyone". People are

influenced to function similar to the organizations they inhabit

and organizations are influenced by the systems they function in.

This suggests that the problem is not only individuals that

consume alcohol or other drugs, but also the organizational

culture that allows, facilitates, or perpetuates this use.

According to Brown, Cooper, & Kirkcaldy (1996) over half of the

top ten reasons for perceived stress in police agencies were

related to organizational structure and climate. The substance

use and abuse discussed here reportedly has affects on

camaraderie, internal socialization as a means of fitting in

within the organization, and stress management. Reports such as

these spark an intense interest in the prevalence of alcohol use

and abuse in different occupations.

DeBakey & Stinson (1992) conclude that there is intense

interest among researchers and the public concerning the

magnitude of alcohol problems in various professions. Their

57


research indicates there is considerable variation in alcohol

disorders among varying occupations. Also reported is greater

prevalence of alcohol use disorders among young persons;

therefore those occupations having groups of younger workers may

have more problem employees. They suggest it is important to know

what occupations have a higher prevalence of alcohol disorders

even if the higher rate is due to a young work force. Included in

this investigation were occupations that are stereotyped as

having high rates of alcohol abuse. A popular fiction exists that

law enforcement officers in varying assignments have high rates

of alcoholism. However, research findings indicate the contrary.

The prevalence for alcoholism in this population is about the

same as for the general public (DeBakey & Stinson). The findings

did indicate that male police officers and detectives had a

slightly higher prevalence for alcohol abuse than did females,

again lending support for the hypothesis that gender may affect

the use or abuse of substances such as alcohol or drugs. However,

Davey, Obst, and Sheehan (2000) report stark contrast to these

findings.

Davey, Obst, & Sheehan (2000) report that the dangerous

consequences of substance abuse in the law enforcement profession

are obvious. Excessive alcohol consumption impedes the necessity

of quick reflexes and thinking. Their recent survey of 852 [New

58


South Wales] police officers found that 48% of male police

officers and 40% of female officers consumed alcohol excessively,

both by drinking in excessive quantities during the week or by

binge drinking, both of which are considerably higher than those

of the general Australian population. Despite these findings

police were not listed as a high risk group in other studies of

drug awareness, which is consistent with the findings of DeBakey

& Stinson (1992). However, when these research findings are

compared further, male and female officers were found to

participate in excessive or binge drinking at a higher rate than

the general population. This indicates that the prevalence of

alcohol use in the police service is of concern, particularly

since 26% of the sample studied reported having consumed alcohol

on duty, drinking excessively, or binge drinking. Even though it

is reported that police do not frequently report a high frequency

of drinking behavior, the quantities they do drink are cause for

concern. Therefore research into this problem, as well as methods

of deterrence and treatment is of interest to police officers,

their employers, the public, and the helping professions alike.

Alcohol Consumption as a Function of Camaraderie, Socialization,

and Stress Relief

59


Alcohol and other drugs often function to facilitate

camaraderie among organization members, act as a social lubricant

to ease anxiety during social interactions or arduous

communication, or to relieve stress (Monahan & Lannutti, 2000).

Frone, (1999) reports that organizational employees' use of

alcohol is either external to the workplace or it arises from the

work environment itself. Reporting further, Frone suggests that a

culture/availability paradigm exists if alcohol is physically or

socially available or use is encouraged by the workplace culture.

Likewise, he suggests an alienation/stress

paradigm exists, if employees use alcohol as a response to

physical and psychosocial aspects of the work environment. The

notion that policing is a stressful occupation and that stress is

relieved by substance abuse is often discussed in the literature

on the subject (Hess & Wrobleski, 1993; Hailstone, Kehoe,

Richmond, Uebel, & Wodak, 1999; Olisa, 1997; Sheehan & Van

Hasselt, 2003; Thrasher, 2001; & Trautman, 1991). However, Davey,

Obst, & Sheehan, (2001) report that different aspects of the

organization that officers work for may contribute more to stress

because they do not regularly have to deal with traumatic

stressors. They do have to deal with workplace demands such as

inadequate equipment, poor supervision and leadership, or

excessive paperwork on a daily basis and this often contributes

60


to feelings of stress. Blum, Martin, & Roman, (1992) suggest that

characteristics of the work often function to support alcohol

consumption by providing a justification for it in an effort to

escape unpleasant emotional states. This is not to say that

stress is the only factor that contributes to alcohol consumption

by police officers, other factors do exist. However, Blum,

et.al., further report that when people drink to relieve stress

it is associated with higher levels of consumption and is labeled

self-medicating behavior that is used as a method of tension

management or mood enhancement. This report lends further support

to the hypotheses in the present study.

Camaraderie or esprit de corp during traditional times of

celebration (e.g., successful police operations, promotions,

transfers, or Christmas parties) motivates some officers to

consume alcoholic beverages as a means of fitting in with the

dominant workplace culture (Davey, Obst, & Sheehan, 2001;

Hailstone, Kehoe, Richmond, Uebel, & Wodak, 1999). This suggests

that a subculture within police organizations exists that exerts

peer pressure on others to participate in that internal culture.

Additionally, the availability of alcohol inside and outside the

workplace, a lack of organization policy governing alcohol use,

or the requirement of some members to consume alcoholic beverages

as a part of covert police operations all help to support an

61


alcohol consuming culture (Davey, Obst, & Sheehan). This suggests

a need for intervention strategies that address these areas.

However, Anderson, Decker, Gajda, Ison, Kavet, & Loomis, (1989)

report lack of proof that intervention initiatives are solving

these problems in the workplace. Combine this with clear

dissatisfaction with public sector efforts to combat substance

abuse and a need to examine existing approaches to the problem of

drug abuse and the problems associated with alcohol misuse become

evident. Further, such sub-cultures within police agencies often

view their rituals of alcohol consumption as a private matter

that is beyond the concern of the organization (Hailstone, Kehoe,

Richmond, Uebel, & Wodak, 1999). Regardless of the reasons for

use or individual expectations of alcohol consumption, continued

or uncontrolled abuse of alcohol in or around the workplace is a

critical problem. Frone (1999) and Shearer (1989) report that

determining whether or not substance abuse occurs within

America's workforce while on the job is an extremely important

policy issue since it has the potential for undermining health

and productivity. Additionally from a management perspective

substance abuse can cause impaired job performance, accidents and

injuries, poor attendance, high employee turnover, and increased

health care costs.

62


Substance Abuse in the Workplace and Its Costs

Few individuals can dispute the social and moral concern of

drug and alcohol abuse. According to La Shier (1991, ¶ 12) the

National Institute of Drug Abuse reports "44% of 18-25 year-olds

have used illegal drugs in the previous year"; the Journal of

American Insurers reports "23% of all employees have either a

drug or alcohol problem"; and the U.S. Department of Justice,

providing what is perhaps the most convincing statistic of all,

reports that the United States only makes up about six-percent of

the world population but consumes sixty-percent of the world's

illicit drugs. Analyzing this statistic leads one to question if

the working population in America is the primary consumers of

alcohol and illicit drugs. However, according to Bellegris (1996)

this substance abuse cannot be connected to any specific industry

and it exists at all levels of the various organizations.

Further, Kennedy (2001) reports that the greatest threats are

created by tobacco, alcohol, illicit drugs, and prescription

medication. When the impact of substance abuse is considered,

increases in employee theft, accidents and injuries, including a

rise in damage to company property, and poor attendance and

absenteeism become major concerns.

According to La Shier (1991) when substance abusers are

compared to other workers they are late for work three times as

63


often, absent from work two and one-half times as often, and call

in sick three times as often. Additionally these same abusers are

injured on the job slightly over three and one-half

times more often, file worker's compensation claims five times as

often, and only produce at sixty-seven percent of the average

worker's capacity. These employees are also more likely to steal

from their employer. According to the National Institute on Drug

Abuse (1998) and the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and

Alcoholism (1998), costs of crimes attributed to illicit drug and

alcohol abuse totaled $78.8 billion dollars in 1992. Both these

institutes also report that the total economic cost of alcohol

and drug abuse was $246 billion dollars in 1992, the most recent

year for which sufficient data were available (NIAAA; NIDA).

Although these figures are related to costs across the United

States and not specifically related to police officer substance

abuse alone, this specific population is likely a portion of this

total. These characteristics cause employers to look at substance

abuse as a critical problem in their workplaces (Anderson,

Decker, Gajda, Ison, Kavet, & Loomis, 1989). However, research

conducted by DeBakey & Stinson (1992) reports that police

officers are no more likely to abuse alcohol or become dependent

on it than other workers in the general population, although this

64


report is contradicted by research findings of Davey, Obst, &

Sheehan, (2000).

Defining Substance Abuse, Dependence, and its Neurobiology

The DSM-IV-TR (APA, 2000) & Juhnke (2002) define substance

abuse as a maladaptive pattern of substance use that is

associated with reoccurring consequences that cause distress like

not fulfilling obligations at home, school or work, or legal

sanctions such as DUI charges over the past 12 months. It is

important to note that diagnosing substance dependence in an

individual preempts a diagnosis of substance abuse and that

diagnosing substance abuse does not include the withdrawal

symptomology included in substance dependence (APA; Juhnke).

Therefore one may infer that substance abuse is about choice

since the abuser is making conscious choices about using

substances such as alcohol or drugs (Erickson, 2003). Examples of

these choices might be intentional overuse in cases of

celebration, anxiety or despair, ignorance, or simply making bad

choices about the use of substances. However, decisions of this

type tend to decline with adverse consequences, supply reduction,

or a change in one's environment.

65


According to Erickson (2003), abuse is the problem to solve

since these individuals may hurt others in the process of their

abuse. They deserve appropriate punishment since this becomes an

issue of responsibility and culpability. On the other hand the

DSM-IV-TR (APA (2000), (Erickson), & Juhnke (2002) all define

substance dependence as persistent substance use despite

reoccurring related problems. These problems are associated with

the development of a physical tolerance to the substance of

choice. This tolerance is manifested by the need to consume

increasing amounts of the substance. Withdrawal from the

substance causes symptomology like tremors, shaking, nausea or

vomiting. Dependence also includes compulsive substance use

behaviors. Craving of the substance is not required but

frequently accompanies dependence.

Describing dependency a bit further Erickson, (2003) reports

substance dependence is impaired control, not complete loss of

control over drug use that may be caused by a dysfunction in the

brain's pleasure center. This is the disease of addiction. This

disease usually requires formal involvement in a Twelve Step

program. Its treatment may also require psychopharmacology.

Understanding that dependence is a disease is made easier by

having a very basic understanding of how chemicals such as drugs

and alcohol function in the brain and where dependence areas of

66


the brain are located. It is also useful to have a basic

understanding of the model of the development of impaired control

and how specific

neurotransmitters are involved in dependence. This is what

Erickson terms functional dysregulation.

According to Burnett (2001) clinicians provide more

appropriate therapy when having a clear understanding of the

disease of addiction. A person's sense of well being is due to

the action of key neurotransmitters working in a cascade fashion

in the brain. Their final site of action is in the limbic system

located near the center of the brain in what is referred to as

the Mesolimbic Dopamine System or medial forebrain bundle. One

can locate this bundle by placing one finger in the center of the

forehead and one finger over the center of the ear, and imagining

where the two lines intersect inside the brain. Here lies the

medial forebrain bundle (Erickson, 2003). When aroused, this

brain system begins to take over and tell us we really do not

know the things we think we know or we do not know what is best

for us. If adrenaline is present this causes current events to

become triggering events, such as when one is confronted with

stressful situations. Some animal research, such as that

conducted by Ciccocioppo, Colombo, Froldi, Gessa, Massi, &

67


Panocka, (1999) relative to a self-medication hypothesis,

indicates that the very existence of stress in the brain can

actually trigger a reward seeking response. This assertion is

supported by studies mentioned earlier that were conducted by

Rouge-Pont, Deroche, LeMoal, & Piazza (1998) which revealed that

rodents exposed to stress for long periods or repeatedly

indicated that stress influences durable alterations in the

brain's neural pathways. This response leaves individuals with

less control of their emotional states and develops accelerated

brain stress that leads them to more alcohol consumption or

depressive states. This activity takes place in the limbic system

near the mid-brain and therefore is considered to be beyond

conscious control and directs individuals toward a compulsive

cure. Recall that substance abuse was about conscious choice.

This creates the idea that dependence is also a disease that

results in a complete loss of willpower. According to Erickson

(2003) and Hedlund (2002) dependence is still not a complete loss

of willpower, but more a pathological impairment of decision

making. This effectively flips on one's addictive switch which

causes functional dysregulation in the brain. The brain's primary

dependence related neurotransmitters (Dopamine, Serotonin,

Endorphins, GABA–gamma-aminobutyric acid, Glutamate, and

Acetylcholine) are not working in harmony and are functionally

68


dysregulated. Biological brain based conditions that could

account for this dysregulation are too much neurotransmission,

too little neurotransmission, abnormal metabolism of

neurotransmitters, or abnormal receptor function in cell to cell

transmission of messages in the brain (Erickson, 2003). This

creates a brain chemistry disease. According to Burnett (2001) if

chemical dependence is compared to other diseases based on the

degree it has a biological basis, the degree it shows a

predictable course and outcome, and the degree to which the

condition is caused by an individual's deliberate acts, then the

disease of alcoholism is very comparable to other diseases such

as heart disease, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, gout, cancer,

or syphilis. However, it is suggested that reductionistic

thinking takes place when one believes that dependence leads to a

complete loss of one's control and choice making ability.

Dependence does not absolve one of individual responsibility or

culpability for consumptive behavior or inappropriate or illegal

acts arising out of that consumption. This is only half the

picture. However, this reductionistic thinking and the

accompanying stigma often attached could well be one of the

primary reasons most individuals, as well as police officers are

resistant to the notion of seeking help.

69


Help-Seeking Behaviors in Police and Others

Feelings of disappointment, frustration, anger, low

organizational bonding, stressful working conditions, and a lack

of job control has been described as job strain (Paternoster &

Mazerolle, 1994; Bennett & Lehman, 2002). These feelings

experienced by employees in high-risk jobs such as police work

compounds working conditions that are already inherently

stressful and include situations that have life threatening

components to them. Regularly these stressful conditions lead to

substance use or abuse behaviors that originate by individuals

attempting to self-medicate themselves to relieve symptoms of

emotional or physical pain (Aharonovich, Nguyen, & Nunes, 2001).

Although, many studies have demonstrated an association between

stress and alcohol or drug use, a causal relationship between the

two has not been established (Brady & Sonne, 1999). It is

believed continued substance abuse via self-medication can lead

to the development of alcohol or drug dependence problems that

individuals have traditionally sought help for on a voluntary

basis. However, according to Schmidt & Weisner (1999), managed

health care, the criminal justice system, and employee assistance

programs have altered access and pathways to treatment. Many

paths to treatment are resisted by police officers, even though

risk factors for substance use problems or risky behaviors exist

70


in the workplace domain; especially those workplaces that involve

high-risk occupations (Bennett & Lehman).

Tucker (1999) suggests that most Americans would probably

find themselves believing that the use of drugs and alcohol has

shaped our collective social fabric. The drug that people prefer

and its availability has changed over time but the demand for

psychoactive substances has remained consistent. She also reports

the development of a distinctive American approach to dealing

with substance abuse and dependence problems. In fact, it is

suggested that there is no middle ground for the American way of

dealing with drug problems in the United States. Further, if one

is to seek help and be treated for drug or alcohol problems he or

she must be willing to seek help after hitting bottom or having

the bottom brought up for them, accepting the social label of

alcoholic or addict with its lifelong proscription against

substance use, and accept the associated stigma. In short, there

is only one pathway to salvation from substance abuse or

dependence (King & Tucker, 1999; & Shaffer, 1999); even though

Tucker reports being in search for a middle ground for an

addictive behavior change continuum. However, the notion is

offered that for those public sector workers that maintain

safety-sensitive positions such as police officers, fire

fighters, EMS workers, or public transportation workers, no

71


middle ground opportunity can be extended because of zero

tolerance for use or abuse of substances on and off the job.

Probably American society would not want such a middle ground to

exist for these individuals. They are nonetheless human beings

and deserve development of some effective way to help them cope.

Simply because they chose the work they do, they do not cease to

posses their humanity. Regardless of the goal, police officers,

as well as many others characteristically resist self-motivated

help-seeking and persuasive intervention efforts.

Tucker (2001) reports that the disease perspective on

addiction requires a formal treatment process that involves

Alcoholics Anonymous participation to start change in ones

established patterns of substance abuse. However, this rationale

is brought into question by King and Tucker (1999) when they

discuss the conventional view of recovery and whether or not some

components are absolutely essential to successful sobriety or

harm-reduction. These researchers specifically question the view

that the necessary first step to recovery is preceded by denial

and hitting bottom or losing all of one's resources. They further

question the rationale that entering treatment requires the

acceptance of the social label of alcoholic or addict and the

life long proscription against substance use. The idea that

refusing to seek help is seen as denial and a lack of motivation

72


to change and that this attitude must be broken down through

confrontation until the need for help is recognized is also

questioned. These researchers suggest the contrary and report;

that 1) there are multiple pathways to problem resolution that do

not always occur because of intervention; 2) some processes

involved in behavior change and some environments are commonly

connected to resolution to problems; 3) it is uncommon to seek

help through formally established pathways; and 4) help-seeking

is influenced by social processes and the nature of substance

problems more often than denial or poor motivation (King &

Tucker).

Essentially, there are several ways to solve the problem of

substance abuse and achieve prolonged behavior change. It must be

understood that help-seeking behavior is a social process like

being motivated by someone that matters to the individual such as

friends, family, or employers. Realizing that having a strong

support system is perhaps a better indicator of successful

treatment than formal treatment itself is integral to success

because treatment, with its accompanying proscriptions and labels

is not appealing. King & Tucker, (1999) suggest that it is not

necessarily denial of a problem that takes place, but more so

avoidance of the process of treatment. Some individuals would

rather be addicted than stigmatized as weak and non-resilient.

73


This is consistent with the assertion that police officers will

rarely seek help for fear of being stigmatized as emotionally

weak by their peers, the agencies they work for, and the public

they serve (Hailstone, Kehoe, Richmond, Uebel-Yan, & Wodak,

1999). This is particularly true when natural resolutions appear

to be more common and work better (King and Tucker). Commonly

reported influences that either started or

maintained natural behavior change in addicted individuals were

health problems, a change in occupation, increased marital

satisfaction, finances, social relationships, or significant

accidents. This strongly suggests that substance abuse and its

treatment remain stigmatized and that current services are not

appealing to or responsive to the needs of the majority of people

with problems. Individuals needing treatment often delay or avoid

treatment entry because of concerns about privacy and the stigma

of treatment. Further they are critical of common treatments and

believe that some interventions (e.g., methadone maintenance) can

make their problem worse. Research on long-term outcomes that

included treated and untreated substance abusers has demonstrated

that getting treatment is not absolutely necessary nor is it

sufficient alone to create change in substance abusers (Tucker,

2001).

74


Further, Simpson & Tucker, (2003) suggest that denial really

does not exist in substance abusers. Rather, they know very early

on they have a substance abuse problem and wait until their

drinking becomes problematic for their health in several areas

before seeking help. As earlier reported by Reiner (1992), and

Sheehan & Van Hasselt (2003), part of the macho behavioral image

and the basic professional sterility of personality portrayed by

police officers reveals that participating in such interaction

and admitting a personal or professional crisis carries with it

the perception of weakness. Police officers reportedly feel they

cannot let their guard down and still remain resilient and strong

in the eyes of their peers, their organization, and the public

they serve. Because of this, stress, burnout, and substance abuse

in police officers is sometimes difficult to recognize and may

remain hidden if not proactively addressed by the individual and

the organization.

75

CHAPTER 3. METHODOLOGY

The law enforcement profession is filled with excitement and

danger. What is at one moment boring can in an instant turn

dangerous and stressful. Rapid change in circumstances such as

these, with no outlet for the build-up of stress it causes can

lead to serious consequences. The mismanagement of that stress

can lead to the syndrome of burnout in anyone, as well as police

officers. It is hypothesized that both stress and burnout have

the potential for leading individuals to substance abuse to

medicate the physical and emotional pain created by the work

police officer's perform. For the purposes of this study, the

variables of stress and burnout were examined for their

association with substance abuse with alcohol or drugs in police

officers working in mid-sized Alabama agencies. Additionally,

collected demographic data (e.g., officer gender) were analyzed

to determine if differences in the two groups exist related to

the variables of stress, burnout, and substance abuse.

Research Methodology and Study Design

This study was conducted using quantitative methods that

resulted in a descriptive, correlational, non-experimental

design. The data was collected using a developed self-

administered questionnaire and currently published, self-


administered assessments designed to measure stress, burnout, and

substance abuse (Creswell, 2003; Leedy & Ormrod, 2001). This

methodological approach was selected above a phenomenological or

ethnographic study since the principal researcher conducting this

study is a retired career police officer. This researcher's

familiarity and experience with law enforcement will likely

afford a degree of credibility and access to participants that

might otherwise be unavailable to civilian researchers. This also

involves an understanding of or being highly sensitized to

potential mental health crises police officers face on the job

(Chamberlin, 2000). An attempt to eliminate bias related to this

set of circumstances was made by making use of strictly

quantitative data, although the potential for bias in data

interpretation still exists. Even though one's individual point

of view is certainly of value when studying and attempting to

explain various phenomena in the world, studies are best

conducted absent individual biases that can skew collected data.

While this study could have been conducted qualitatively using

ethnography or phenomenology, a quantitative approach was

selected to prevent the imposition of individual, personal

meaning to collected data and strengthen the study's internal

validity (Benard, 2000; Benton & Craib, 2001).

77


The demographic questionnaire used in this study was

constructed by the study's principal researcher and is short,

concise, and was used to collect demographic data only. The

published assessments used in this study were The Perceived

Stress Scale, (Cohen, 1994); The Maslach Burnout Inventory-Human

services Survey, (Maslach & Jackson, 1986; Maslach, Jackson, &

Leiter, 1996); and The Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test

(Conoley, Murdoh, & Reese, 1980; Murdoch, 2001; Selzer, 1971;

Selzer, Vinokur, & Rooijen, 1975).

Sample Population and Setting

This study initially proposed to make use of a systematic

stratified random sampling of 975 sworn male and female police

officers that are employed by eight separate mid-sized Alabama

law enforcement agencies (Bernard, 2000; Sprinthall, 2003). These

population numbers reflect sworn officer populations of eight

mid-sized Alabama cities as reported by the Alabama Criminal

Justice Information Center (2003). However, only six of the eight

cities recruited for participation agreed to participate in this

study. Each agency reported an accurate number of currently

employed sworn officers and provided badge or employee numbers

for development of a sampling frame. The total number of sworn

officers available for this study was 633, 587 males and 46

78


females. A complete sampling frame divided into male and female

sworn officer subframes that are currently employed was requested

from each of the agencies that participated in this research

study. This sampling frame was requested in a format that did not

identify any potential participant by name (i.e., male officer,

badge number 024; female officer, badge number 025). A random

point of origination in the sampling frame began random

participant selection. From this randomly selected spot every

3rd. badge number was selected from the male subframe. The female

officer population from these six mid-sized Alabama cities was

small therefore all 46 of these officers were recruited to

participate in this study. In this fashion every person in the

male sampling frame had an equal chance of being selected

creating a probability sampling, where anonymity was guaranteed

and a sample of both male and female officers was available to

calculate any hypothesis of difference (Bernard, 2003). A sample

size with sufficient statistical power to obtain a confidence

level of 95% (e.g., p < .05) was calculated using a population

parameter of 587 male officers. This calculation requires a

margin of error of 5% and a response distribution of 50%, all of

which resulted in a suggested sample size of 233 randomly

selected officers from the six mid-sized Alabama police agencies.

This sample size allows generalization of findings back to the

79


population sampled. This calculation is based on randomly

selecting male officers only and intentionally selecting all 46

of the female officers since gender in this population is so

disproportionate. Therefore the total recommended sample size was

233 if a consistent confidence level of p < .05 was to be

obtained.

Permission to survey was obtained from the Chief's of Police

of six agencies out of the eight Alabama law enforcement agencies

meeting criteria for inclusion in the study (e.g., service

populations of 30,000 to 100,000). The survey packages included a

letter of introduction, letter of instructions, an informed

consent document, a demographics questionnaire, the Perceived

Stress Scale, the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Human Services

Survey, and the Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test. These

documents may be seen in Appendix A. These survey packages were

used for the purpose of data collection from human participants

for this study. Surveying a sampling of officers from each of the

agencies meeting inclusion criteria was conducted by the

principal researcher and an assigned agency point of contact.

This was accomplished by this study's principal investigator and

agency contacts surveying the agency workforce at their work site

during duty hours (e.g., beginning or end of the daily tour of

duty or shift briefings, or other available times).

80


The Alabama agencies that met population inclusion criteria

included Tuscaloosa (79,400), Dothan (58,426), Decatur (53,988),

Hoover (47,690), Auburn (45,533), Gadsden (38,087), Florence

(35,928), and Madison (32,221). These eight Alabama law

enforcement agencies employ 975 sworn male and female officers.

Of this total number of sworn officers 911 (93.4%) are male and

64 (6.6%) are female. This compares closely to the state total of

10,414, where 9,667 (92.8%) are male and 747 (7.2%) are female

(ACJIC, 2003). Nationally, the sworn officer totals are 88.6%

male and 11.4% female (UCR, 2003). The six participating agencies

include 587 (92.7%) males and 46 (7.3%) females which are also

within comparable margins. Measurements were attempted to obtain

statistically meaningful results that had sufficient statistical

power to detect effects at an alpha level of p < .05 while

analyzing data using a Pearson r Correlation Coefficient and

paired t-tests (Cone & Foster, 1993; Sprinthall, 2003).

Sampling Procedure

The sampling of participants was generated from sampling

subframes of sworn officers employed by six mid-sized Alabama law

enforcement agencies. It was hypothesized that statistical

generalizations about the larger populations of sworn police

officers in the state of Alabama might be made by surveying a

81


random sampling of officers from mid-sized Alabama agencies

(Bernard, 2000; Francis & Murphy, 2002). A request was made of

officers selected by means of a systematic stratified random

sampling technique to complete survey packages on-site at the

agency where they are currently employed.

The survey packages used in this study consisted of a cover

letter explaining the study and the participant's role in the

study, and a letter of informed consent for study participants

guaranteeing anonymity and confidentiality. These consent forms

were coded with participant badge or employee numbers for

document control and any follow up purposes that might be

necessary. The consent forms were endorsed by the participant

with his or her badge or employee number only, thereby providing

a further measure of guaranteed anonymity for the participant,

since even the principal researcher had no knowledge of

individual participant officer's names. The survey packages also

included the Perceived Stress Scale, the Maslach Burnout

Inventory-Human Services Survey, the Michigan Alcoholism

Screening Test, and a demographics questionnaire asking the

participant to report individual characteristics (e.g., gender,

age, marital status, and tenure with his or her agency). The

additional collected demographic data, although seemingly

82


extemporaneous, will be made use of for future research and study

of the variables presently under investigation.

Data Collection Procedures

Participants for this study were recruited by use of a

letter of introduction introducing the researcher, the study, its

purpose, the participant's confidential role in the study, and

explaining to potential participants that they might be randomly

selected and recruited to participate in the study. This letter

of introduction was sent to all participating agencies in advance

of the researcher's site visit. These were sent in sufficient

number to provide all potential participants a copy of this

document so all agency members were informed about the study.

This letter of introduction may be inspected in Appendix A.

The principal researcher was assigned a point of contact by

the police chief at each agency. When the researcher made his

site visit to participating agencies he was met by this point of

contact. The point of contact was provided with a list of

randomly selected badge numbers and numbered survey packages.

While accompanied by the point of contact attempts were made to

hand a survey package to each selected participant and ask this

individual to take the time to complete the survey package and

return it to the researcher immediately after completing it or

83


declining to participate. This was the procedure followed with

both male and female participants, however only 46 female

participants were available from the entire population and they

were all recruited to participate in the study rather than being

randomly selected. With the prior approval of police chiefs this

individual officer contact was accomplished immediately prior to,

during, or after work briefings, report times, break times or

other times during the participants regularly scheduled work

hours that he or she was available.

It was known in advance that one agency police chief would

not allow outside persons to attend work briefings due to agency

security initiatives. With this agency the point of contact was

given the complete list of randomly and deliberately selected

participants and the survey packages to distribute to all

recruited participants. The point of contact was given specific

verbal instructions regarding informing each selected participant

that his or her participation was completely voluntary and there

was no consequence for not participating. The survey package

instruction sheet provided the participant specific instructions

for completing the assessments and questionnaire or opting to

decline participation. The participant then completed the package

or declined to participate on the informed consent form,

completed the assessments if participating, and returned the

84


survey package sealed to the point of contact. The researcher

then made a site visit to meet with the point of contact and

obtained completed packages. With the remaining agencies the

researcher could not always remain on-site at the agency to

provide all selected participants the opportunity to participate

in his presence. In these cases the remaining survey packages

were left with the assigned point of contact to distribute to

selected participants, along with the same specific verbal

instructions regarding voluntariness and the absence of

consequences for declining participation in the study as with the

one previously described agency.

Selected participants were asked to complete a demographics

questionnaire, the Perceived Stress Scale, the Maslach Burnout

Inventory-Human Services Survey, and the Michigan Alcoholism

Screening Test. These tests were self-administered. The data was

collected on an individual basis in some cases and in groups

where the researcher had access to group meetings. Survey

packages were completed in 20 minutes or less, with the

approximate average time to complete a package being 15 minutes.

Any survey packages that were not completely filled out were

discarded. No monetary inducement was offered or provided for

participation in the study.

85


There were 633 potential participants working for

participating agencies meeting criteria for inclusion in this

study. According to Leedy & Ormrod (2001, P. 221) "the basic rule

is, the larger the sample, the better". In selecting an

appropriate number of survey respondents Leedy & Ormrod suggest

that if the population is around 500, at least half of the

population should be sampled. This leads to approximately 300

needed participants. The number needed for an adequate sample of

police officers, a relatively heterogeneous group, needs to be as

high as possible. The only homogeneity expected with this group

will be related to gender. A power analysis was conducted based

on a 5% margin of error, a desired 95% confidence level, and a

50% response rate on the available population of 587 officers.

The sample size required to maintain a level of confidence at p

<. 05 was 233. To complete the suggested sample size, 187 male

officers were randomly selected, and all 46 female officers were

intentionally selected bringing the study population total to

233. From the 233 officers recruited to participate in the

survey, 148 completed survey packages for a return rate of 64%.

Assessment Instrumentation Reliability and Validity

For the purposes of this study demographic data related to

study participants was generated from a research questionnaire

86


developed to ask participants to report their gender and other

non-identifiable demographic characteristics. This questionnaire

generated descriptive statistics relative to the population

sampled. The questionnaire used in this study was constructed by

the principal researcher and may be reviewed in Appendix A.

For the purposes of this study stress was measured by asking

participants to complete the Perceived Stress Scale. The

Perceived Stress Scale and the Stress in General Scale were both

evaluated for use in this study with the Perceived Stress Scale

being selected because it is reported to be the most widely used

psychological test to measure perceived stress and because some

normative data are available. An example of this normative data

is stress correlated with gender, even though this normative data

is approximately 20 years old (Cohen, 1994). These stress scales

are self-report assessments used to assess stress, provide a

broad global measure of job stress, or measure the degree to

which situations in one's life are appraised as stressful

(Balzer, Ironson, Para, Smith, & Stanton, 2001; Cohen; Clemence &

Handler, 2001). These measurement instruments were evaluated for

this study since they are self-administered, short and simple,

take approximately 2-5 minutes to complete, and are free to non-

profit researchers.

87


The Stress in General Scale was reported to calculate scores

for two subscales, pressure and threat. Items are rated on a

three point closed-ended item response format ranging from "no"

which equals zero points, "cannot decide" which equals 1.5

points, to "yes" which equals 3 points. The instrument requires a

sixth grade reading level and can be administered individually or

in groups (Balzer, et al.; Clemence & Handler). Clemence and

Handler also report the Stress In General Scale to be useful for

research purposes, but suggested that it requires further

development before being useful on an individual clinical basis.

Balzer, et al., (2001) reported that reliability estimates

of the two Stress In General subscales are modest: Pressure, r

=. 88 and Threat, r = .82 and therefore recommend that any

results gleaned from the applied use of the instrument be

interpreted with caution. They also reported that validity of the

Stress in General Scale was limited and no normative data were

available for the instrument. Clemence & Handler, (2001) report

that the greatest asset of the Stress In General Scale appears to

be its use as a simple, straightforward instrument for research.

Alternately the Perceived Stress Scale is reported to be the

most widely used psychological instrument for measuring the

perception of stress (Cohen, 1994). The assessment's author

88


reports correlations with stress measures, reported health

behavior measures, and help seeking behavior. However,

because of daily hassles, major life events, and changing

resources for coping, the predictive validity of the Perceived

Stress Scale should be expected to fall off sharply after four to

eight weeks. Normative data for the Perceived Stress Scale are

available related to gender, age, and race, which produces a

reasonable fit with the design of this study. The Perceived

Stress Scale is a 10-item self-administered questionnaire that

asks about feelings and thoughts in the last month with responses

ranging from 0 = never, to 4 = very often, and is designed for

use with populations that have at least a junior high school

education. Scores for the Perceived Stress Scale are obtained by

reversing items 4, 5, 7, and 8 and then summing across all the

scale items (Cohen). There are no cutoff scores for the Perceived

Stress Scale. The data obtained provides a comparison of stress

within a specific study population.

For the purposes of this study burnout was measured by

asking participants to complete the Maslach Burnout Inventory-

Human Services Survey to assess the different aspects of burnout

experienced by police officers. The Maslach Burnout Inventory-

Human Services Survey measures burnout in staff members in

service settings that often require staff to spend considerable

89


time in close, intense involvement with other people

(http://www.psychometrics.com; Maslach, Jackson, & Leiter, 1996).

The Maslach Burnout Inventory is self-administered, inexpensive,

and has a short administration time of 10-15 minutes. The Maslach

Burnout Inventory-Human Services Survey is designed to assess

three identified aspects of experienced burnout: emotional

exhaustion, depersonalization, and lack of personal

accomplishment (Maslach, Jackson, & Leiter). These aspects of

burnout are thought to be characteristic of workers in human

service settings or government such as police officers. Each

aspect is measured by separate subscales (Hargrove, 1989; Maslach

& Jackson, 1986; Maslach, Jackson, & Leiter, 1996; Sandoval,

1989).

Hargrove (1989) also reports that reliability of the Maslach

Burnout Inventory is demonstrated with subscale coefficients that

range from .71 to .90. Standard errors of measurement in the

subscales ranged from 3.16 to 3.80 and reported test-retest

reliability coefficients ranged from .60 to .82 after 2 to 4

weeks and .54 to .60 after 2 years. Sandoval (1989) reports that

the emotional exhaustion scale tends to have a higher reliability

coefficient than the other two scales but the two remaining

scales have reliability coefficients consistent with those

reported by Hargrove. Convergent validity scores have been

90

http://www.psychometrics.com/


correlated with behavior ratings made by knowledgeable

informants, with job characteristics that are expected to

contribute to burnout, and with other measures of outcome that

are related to burnout (Sandoval). Further, Storm & Rothmann,

(2003) report that the Maslach Burnout Inventory has shown high

internal consistency. The Maslach Burnout Inventory is suggested

to have two primary uses by its authors. One, as a research

instrument to gain further knowledge of burnout, and two, as an

organizational assessment device to determine if large numbers of

employees are experiencing burnout in a particular setting

(Maslach & Jackson, 1986). The Maslach Burnout Inventory is

scored by using a scoring key that contains directions for each

of the three subscales. Each subscale has a cutoff score for low,

medium, or high scores for emotional exhaustion,

depersonalization, and personal achievement, with the cutoff

score for personal achievement being scored in reverse. Scores

can be correlated with other demographic information (Maslach,

Jackson, & Leiter, 1996).

For the purposes of this study substance abuse was measured

by asking participants to complete the Michigan Alcoholism

Screening Test. Conoley, Murdoh, & Reese (2001) and Murdoch

(2001) report that the Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test is a

25-item questionnaire developed for assessing alcohol abuse and

91


alcohol related problems. The Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test

can be licensed for reproduction, is inexpensive, is self-

administered, and takes approximately 10 minutes administration

time. The assessment itself and reproduction rights for the

Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test were purchased from its

author, Dr. Marvin Selzer by this study's principal researcher

for use with this study. Questionnaire items require a yes or no

response and the MAST is reported to have reasonable face

validity. Items on the questionnaire address drinking behavior,

consequences of drinking, and attempts to receive help for

drinking problems. The test is reported to be valid whether

administered orally or in writing. A score of <3 or less

indicates non-alcoholism. A score of 4 indicates possible

alcoholism and a score of >5 indicates the respondent is

alcoholic (Conoley, et al.; Piazza, Martin, & Dildine, 2000).

Scores are obtained by adding the number of "yes" or "no"

responses and assigning listed response values (Selzer, 1971;

Selzer 1975).

According to Murdoch (2001) the MAST was found to have good

internal consistency and good test-retest reliability. Internal

consistency estimates ranged from .83 to .95 among several

studies. Test-retest reliability estimates ranged from .97 for a

one-day interval to .84 for an average 4.8 month interval

92


(Murdoch). Items on the MAST are reported to be directly related

to drinking behavior and to the negative consequences associated

with drinking. However, Murdoch does report that the test allows

the possibility for alcoholics to deliberately "fake good".

According to Piazza, Martin, & Dildine (2000) this is a problem

characteristic of logically derived screening instruments. The

potential for respondents attempting to falsely report their

drinking behavior and affect results is minimized by low cut off

scores for the MAST. This assessment is also reported to have

reasonable concurrent validity with other measures of alcohol use

such as the Substance Abuse Subtle Screening Inventory (Fernandez

& Pittenger, 1997).

Data Analysis and Statistical Procedures

A probability sampling of sworn police officers regardless

of rank, in mid-sized Alabama law enforcement agencies was

measured to ensure the collection of data sufficient to obtain

statistically meaningful results and have sufficient statistical

power to detect effects at an alpha level of p <. 05 (Cone &

Foster, 1993; Sprinthall, 2003). Collecting data in the fashion

described provides a probability sampling of sworn officers

making up the total population of the officers in the six

participating Alabama cities. Each officer had an equal chance of

93


being selected to participate, with exception of the female

officers who were intentionally selected (Bernard, 2000;

Sprinthall). Data analysis was calculated upon the return of all

completed survey packages. Each of the presented hypotheses using

the variables and theoretical relationships from Figure 1, page

19, were entered into the Statistical Package for the Social

Sciences, Version 12 computer program and analyzed using a

Pearson r Correlation Coefficient to test the hypotheses of

association between variables and paired t-tests were conducted

to test the hypotheses of difference between male and female

groups (Sprinthall).

Descriptive statistics were generated to describe

participant demographics and summarize the important

characteristics of gathered data from those participating in the

study (Simon & Francis, 2001). These statistics also provide the

mean, standard deviation, kurtosis, skewness, and range for each

variable and were analyzed for potential difference in means with

the demographic variables identified (Bernard, 2000; Sprinthall,

2003).

Inferential statistics compare numerical results to a number

that is reflective of a chance happening and determine how

significant associations or differences are between variables or

groups (Benard, 2003; Simon & Francis, 2001; Sprinthall, 2003).

94


The instruments used in this study produced interval level data

and therefore the statistical procedures used were appropriate

for this level of data (Sprinthall). To generate these

inferential statistics this study made use of the Pearson r

Correlation Coefficient which is a parametric statistical test to

determine strength and direction of correlations between the

variables under study (Sprinthall). Although not a part of the

basic plan of analysis in this study, Stepwise Multiple

Regression Analysis of the correlations discovered were used in

this study. This method of regression analysis was also used by

researchers in a study of stress and burnout in athletic trainers

(Acevedo, Hebert, & Hendrix, 2000). These researchers conducted

this type of regression analysis to assess contributions of

personal and situational variables on three burnout factors

(e.g., emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and personal

accomplishment). In the present study the variable of gender was

assessed to determine its contribution to the three factors of

burnout in Alabama police officers. Anson, Carlson, & Thomas

(2003) report that investigations in the 1990s failed to detect

gender differences related to job stress and that few studies

examine gender differences on burnout. Examining differences

based on gender and the effect it has on stress, burnout, and

substance abuse in Alabama police officers working for mid-sized

95


agencies can yield useful and important information. This

suggested statistical procedure provides indications of the

amount of variance in one set of variables that may be accounted

for by another set. The minimum variance considered as being

significant and meaningful is 10% (Acevedo, et. al.).

To further support statistical calculations obtained from

analysis of data, paired t-tests were used to determine

differences in the means between the male and female samples

(Bernard, 2003; Sprinthall, 2003). As reported by Carroll,

DeSarbo, & Green, (1978) if variables are intercorrelated in a

multiple regression, as the three burnout sub-scales are with

burnout related to males and females, then their significance

cannot be accurately predicted. Paired t-tests were used to

strengthen this accuracy and uncover potential differences in the

two groups. The use of additional statistical analyses is further

supported by Brottman, (1990) because if stepwise procedure is

used it is up to the principal researcher to demonstrate that the

proposed model is logical, and the statistical relationships

reported are as expected.

Presentation of the data obtained and interpretations and

conclusions made from the data analysis are presented in Chapter

Four of this research. Coding legends used to enter data into the

Statistical Package for the Social Sciences is displayed in

96


Appendix C. All variables were assigned numerical values for

analysis. This data analysis is discussed in detail in Chapter

Five along with recommendations for future research, a summary of

the findings, practical applications of the findings, and

potential government policy implications related to the research

findings.

97

CHAPTER 4: PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS OF RESEARCH FINDINGS

Introduction

The purpose of this chapter is to describe in detail the

results of this research study. The research sought to determine

if a significant correlation existed between stress, burnout and

substance abuse in police officers working in mid-sized Alabama

cities. Additionally the research sought to determine if

significant differences existed in these variables when gender

was considered. Literature discussed in Chapter Two strongly

suggested that public safety professions such as police work were

characterized by high levels of stress, burnout and the

development of substance abuse Brehm & Khantzian, (1997); Euwema,

Kop, & Schaufeli, (1999); Feemster & Harpold, (2002); Finn,

(1997); Garland, (2002); Harris & Maloney, (1999); Hess &

Wrobleski, (1993); Hailstone, Kehoe, Richmond, Uebel-Yan, &

Wodak, (1999); Kosinski & Vettor, (2002); Kushnir & Milbauer,

(1994); Lacoursiere, (2001); Sewell, (2002). There are clearly

many variables that could affect the development of substance

abuse in police officers, but in this study the variables

hypothesized to play significant roles in its development in

police officers were stress and burnout. These variables were

measured with currently published assessments designed for their

measurement.


Once data was collected it was entered into the Statistical

Package for Social Sciences, Version 12, and was analyzed using

several statistical methods. Hypotheses were tested using

Pearson's Product Moment Correlation Coefficient analysis to

determine if significant associations existed between the

variables under study. Multiple Regression analysis was also

conducted to measure the proportion of variability that could be

explained between gender, stress, emotional exhaustion,

depersonalization, and personal accomplishment. Additionally

t-tests were conducted to determine if significant differences in

the means existed when analyzing these variables accounting for

gender.

This chapter begins with a discussion of the characteristics

and demographics of the study sample. This is followed by

descriptive statistics related to the study's variables. The

results of correlational and regression analysis, as well as the

results of t-tests are also reported so that the research

questions and hypotheses posed in Chapter One may be answered.

Sample Characteristics and Demographics

This research examined hypothesized relationships between

stress, burnout, and substance abuse, along with the demographic

variable of gender in police officers working in mid-sized

99


Alabama cities. The study sample was developed by randomly

selecting male police officers from an available male population

of 587. This sample was selected by creating a list of badge or

employee numbers, picking a random point of origination within

this sampling frame, and then selecting every third badge number

on the list to create the randomly selected sample. The available

female population was grossly disproportionate, a ratio of over

12:1, and only provided 46 potential female respondents. Because

of this, female officers were intentionally selected from the six

participating mid-sized Alabama law enforcement agencies to

create a male/female sample within the sample frame for gender

comparisons. The add-in population was a result of volunteers

from the participating agencies and thus resulted in three

categories of participant selection. There were 633 sworn

officers available for study overall. All available 46 females

were selected for inclusion and 187 male officers were randomly

selected bringing the total recruited population to 233 potential

respondents. Two hundred thirty-three survey packages were

distributed to attempt obtaining the sample size suggested by a

computed power analysis seeking to maintain a 95% confidence

level. From the 233 survey packages delivered, 148 were returned

and were usable for a return rate of 64%. This return rate

precludes generalizing statistical results more broadly than

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within the study sample itself, but indicates need for additional

research in the area of the burnout sub-scales within this

population. Thirteen respondents declined to participate in the

study and the remaining 82 survey packages have not been

returned. Data collection took place over a 40 day period between

April 7 and May 17, 2005. Table 1 shows the number of responses

from participating city agencies.

Table 1

Proportion of Respondents from Participating Cities and CityPopulation

Number of Responses Percent

Madison PD 23 16.0Florence PD 27 18.0Gadsden PD 9 6.0Hoover PD 24 16.0Decatur PD 29 20.0Dothan PD 36 24.0

148 100.0

Participants in the study reported a wide range in age,

ranging from a low of 25 to a high of 58. For this study sample

the mean age was 40.33. As expected, the majority of participants

were male, 81%. Respondents were 89.9% white-American; 9.5%

African-American; and .7% other races. Experience in the law

enforcement profession (e.g., tenure) was also reported and

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ranged from 15% reporting 1-5 years experience, 15% reporting 6-

10 years experience, 23% reporting 11-15 years experience, 23%

reporting 16-20 years experience, and finally 24% reporting

greater than 20 years experience in law enforcement. Those

reporting tenure in the range of 11 years to greater than 20

years were most prevalent. The majority of participants were

married, 55%, with 13% being divorced, 10% being single, 2% being

widowed, and 20% being divorced but remarried.

Descriptive Findings

This study sample was compiled from randomly selected male

participants, intentionally selected female participants, and a

small sample of volunteers that were "add-ins" came from the

agencies surveyed. The "add-in" group, (n=22), did not differ

significantly from the randomly or intentionally selected samples

when cross tabulated with the variables studied in this research

(e.g., stress, burnout, substance abuse). No "add-in" respondents

were female. Table 2, displays the frequency and percentage of

respondent types.

Table 2

Participant Selection

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Frequency Percent

Random Selection 99 67.0Add-in 22 15.0Intentional Selection 27 18.0Total 148 100.0

Overall, respondents were typically married, white-American

males that have been practicing law enforcement for an average of

11 to greater than 20 years. The majority of respondents worked

for a law enforcement agency that served an average population of

46,000.

Research Findings on Stress

In this research study the variable of stress was measured

using the Perceived Stress Scale (Cohen, 1994). The Perceived

Stress Scale does not make use of cutoff scores that are provided

by calculated norm standards, but makes comparisons within an

individual study sample. Possible scores on the Perceived Stress

Scale range from an extreme low of 0 to an extreme high of 40.

For the purposes of this research study, individual sample cutoff

scores were established for low, moderate, and high perceived

stress scores within the study sample. These were established by

dividing the distribution of scores into thirds. Low scores

ranged from 1-9 points, moderate scores ranged from 10-18 points,

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and high scores ranged from 19-35 points within the sample. This

pattern of cutoff scores was established by the researcher so

that results from the Perceived Stress Scale more closely matched

results from the Maslach Burnout Inventory, which has established

cutoff scores for each of three subscales, and the Michigan

Alcoholism Screening Test which also has three defined cutoff

scores. Resulting analysis of data could then be more

consistently reviewed. These low, medium, and high level stress

scores were used to calculate Pearson's Product Moment

Correlation Coefficients with the three categories of substance

abuse scores from the Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test. Thirty-

five percent of respondents (n=51), reported low levels of

stress, 51%, (n=76), reported moderate levels of stress, and 14%,

(n=21), reported high levels of stress.

Based on these scores, approximately two-thirds of the

police officers working for mid-sized cities in Alabama

experience stress at a moderate to high level. This finding is

consistent with current literature which reports police work as

being inherently stressful. Although 65% of stress levels were

reported as moderate to high in this study sample, Pearson's

Product Moment Correlation Coefficients demonstrate that

perceived stress was not significantly correlated with substance

abuse when Perceived Stress Scale scores were correlated with

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Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test scores, r = .126. Based on the

results of this correlation coefficient Hypothesis One, which

suggests there is a statistically significant correlation between

stress and substance abuse was not supported. The null was not

rejected and any correlation is assumed to be the result of

chance or potential confounding variables. This result reflects

no statistically significant relationships between levels of

stress and levels of substance abuse within the study sample.

Further, when measured for differences between genders there were

no significant differences in reported stress levels or substance

abuse, r = .069. Reported Perceived Stress Scale scores

correlated with Michigan Alcoholism Test Scores for the study

sample may be seen in Table 3.

Table 3

Stress Scores Correlated with Substance Abuse Scores examined for Gender Differences

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Gender Stress Substance Level Abuse

Gender Pearson Correlation 1 .012 .069 Sig. (2-tailed) . .881 .405 N 148 148 148Stress Pearson Correlation .012 1 .126Level Sig. (2-tailed) .881 . .127 N 148 148 148Substance Pearson Correlation .069 .126 1Abuse Sig. (2-tailed) .405 .127 . N 148 148 148

Research Findings on Burnout

The Maslach Burnout Inventory-Human Services Survey was used

to measure burnout in this study sample. Burnout is described by

Maslach, Jackson, & Leiter (1996) as consisting of three separate

sub-scales (e.g., emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and

personal accomplishment). In the case of emotional exhaustion,

depersonalization, and personal accomplishment individual scores

and percentage of total values were recorded for an overall study

sample comparison and overall measurement of burnout in police

officers working in mid-sized Alabama cities. Normative data were

established from a national study conducted by Maslach, Jackson,

& Leiter where police officers were studied along with other

human services personnel. The normative data were generated from

a study sample of 2,897 legal aid employees, attorneys, police

officers, probation officers, ministers, librarians, and agency

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administrators (Maslach, Jackson, & Leiter). The normative data

published in the Maslach Burnout Inventory Manual, 3rd. Edition

are re-printed in Appendix B as supportive data.

In this study sample burnout was measured to be low,

moderate, or high using the same cutoff scores as determined from

the Maslach study. Respondent officers reported emotional

exhaustion at the low level 63% of the time, (n=94), moderate

levels 17% of the time, (n=25), and high levels 20% of the time,

(n=29). Depersonalization was reported at low levels 20% of the

time, (n=29), moderate levels 29% of the time, (n=43), and high

levels 51% of the time, (n=76).

Levels of perceived personal accomplishment are scored in

reverse order from emotional exhaustion and depersonalization.

Scores that are > 40 represent low levels. Scores that are 39-34

are moderate, and scores that reflect high perceived personal

accomplishment are < 33. Respondents reported high levels of

personal achievement 47% of the time, (n=70), moderate levels of

personal achievement 32% of the time, (n=47), and low levels of

personal accomplishment 21% of the time, (n=31). Maslach Burnout

Inventory score frequencies for this study sample are expressed

as percentages and can be seen in Table 4.

Table 4

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Percentage of Total Burnout Reported in mid-sized Alabama PoliceDepartments

LOW MODERATE HIGH EE 63% 17% 20% DP 20% 29% 51% PA 21% 32% 47%

Based on the work of Maslach, Jackson, & Leiter (1996) high

levels of burnout are reflected by high scores on emotional

exhaustion and depersonalization and low scores on personal

accomplishment. Average or moderate levels of burnout are

reflected by average scores for all three subscales. Low levels

of burnout are reflected by low scores on emotional exhaustion

and depersonalization and high scores on personal accomplishment.

Based on the scores reported by police officers working for mid-

sized cities in Alabama officers most frequently reported overall

low levels of burnout. However, scores reflected in the

depersonalization scale give rise for concern.

In 80% of the cases reported by respondents from mid-sized

Alabama police agencies moderate to high levels of

depersonalization are reported. According to Maslach, Jackson, &

Leiter (1996, p. 4), "the depersonalization subscale measures an

unfeeling and impersonal response toward recipients of one's

service, care, treatment or instruction". Police officers are

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taught to portray a sterile disposition and to maintain

objectivity while working with the public (Hennessey, 1999).

However, one must begin to wonder at this significant level of

depersonalization if the majority of officers in this study

sample cope with the stressors of police work by looking at the

public they serve as an unfeeling object rather than human

beings. Further support for this question, and indeed support for

further research in this area is indicated when one considers the

descriptions of low, moderate, and high burnout offered by

Maslach, Jackson, & Leiter. Even though low burnout is indicated

when emotional exhaustion and depersonalization are low and

personal accomplishment is high, the current sample reports low

emotional exhaustion, moderately high personal accomplishment,

and high depersonalization overall.

It would be both interesting and professionally beneficial

to public service to examine this phenomenon more deeply in an

effort to proactively relieve symptoms of burnout in officers.

However, as reported by Hennessey (1999) more officers are

reported to have a personality type that is objective, fair, and

looks to rules and regulations when making decisions, as opposed

to the type that makes use of feelings for making decisions.

As with stress, burnout did not correlate significantly with

substance abuse. Hypothesis Two reflects the idea that a

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statistically significant correlation exists between burnout and

substance abuse in officers working for mid-sized Alabama police

agencies. Pearson's Product Moment Correlation Coefficients

demonstrated no statistically significant relationship among the

scores for burnout subscales, EE, r = .069; DP, r = .024; and PA,

r = -.067. These results reflect no statistically significant

difference between respondents within the study sample that

experience the varying levels of burnout as described by the

burnout subscale levels and those that do not. Further, when

measured for difference between genders there were no

statistically significant differences in reported substance abuse

levels when correlated with burnout subscales, (EE),

r = .020; (DP), r = .069; (PA) r = -.80; and (SA) =.069. The null

hypothesis cannot be rejected related to these variables.

Correlation results can be seen in Table 5. Statistically

significant correlations did exist among stress and two of the

burnout subscales. Perceived Stress and Emotional Exhaustion

correlated at a significance level of p < .01,

r = .493. Perceived Stress and Depersonalization, r = .285; and

Perceived Stress and Personal Accomplishment, r = .175,

correlated at significance level of p < .05. Emotional Exhaustion

and Depersonalization as well as Emotional Exhaustion and

Personal Accomplishment correlated at a significance level of p <

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.01, r = .484 and r = .306 respectively. Depersonalization and

Personal Accomplishment also correlated at a significance level

of p < .01, r = .250. These correlations are consistent with the

findings of Acevedo, Hebert, & Hendrix (2000) when they

discovered that levels of Perceived Stress could be predicted by

levels of Emotional Exhaustion and Personal Accomplishment.

However their findings were the result of Multiple Regression

Analysis.

Table 5

Burnout Sub-Scale Scores Correlated with Substance Abuse Scores examined for Gender Differences

GENDER PSS MBI-EE MBI-DP MBI-PA MAST

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GENDER r=.020 r=.069 r=-.080 r=.069

PSS r=.493** r=.285** r=.175*

MBI-EE r=.484** r=.306**

MBI-DP

MBI-PA r=.250**

MAST

** Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (1-tailed).* Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (1-tailed).

Research Findings with Multiple Regression Analysis

While calculating correlations between stress, burnout, and

substance abuse did not reveal significant correlations between

these variables, significant correlations were indicated between

perceived stress and two of the dimensions of burnout. Multiple

Regression Analysis conducted in this study partially replicated

results from a study conducted by Acevedo, Hebert, & Hendrix

(2000). In their study of stress and burnout of athletic trainers

at Division I-A Universities these researchers found multiple

regression analysis provided an indication of the amount of

variance in one set of variables that could be accounted for by

another set of variables. In the present study part of the

Acevedo study was replicated. In both studies the Perceived

Stress Scale and the Maslach Burnout Inventory were used as

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assessment instruments. In this study perceived stress was used

as the criterion variable and the burnout dimensions of emotional

exhaustion, depersonalization, and personal accomplishment were

used as the predictor variables. The Multiple r was significant

for emotional exhaustion in the Alabama police study at a level

of P < .05: r = 0.38, F = 9.73. This finding is consistent with

results found by Acevedo, et al, in a study of athletic trainers,

although personal accomplishment was also significant in that

study. Based on these findings a significant amount of stress can

be explained by the burnout subscale of emotional exhaustion in

the present study. Higher perceived stress levels are predicted

by higher levels of emotional exhaustion in Alabama police

officers working for mid-sized cities.

Multiple Regression Analysis was also calculated for this

study's primary variables of stress, burnout, and substance

abuse. Difference related to gender was also explored using this

statistical method. No significant correlations were indicated

using this calculation. Results of this analysis can be seen in

Tables 6, 7, & 8.

Table 6

Regression Analysis for Burnout Subscales and Substance Abuse(a)

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Std. B Error Beta t Sig.

(Constant) .920 .249 3.690 .000MBI EE .375 .071 .449 5.268 .000 MBI DP .051 .072 .059 .709 .479MBI PA .025 .067 .030 .383 .702MAST SA .104 .079 .096 1.312 .192Gender .016 .126 -.009 -.129 .897

Dependent Variable: Stress Level

Table 7

Model Summary of Regression Analysis for Burnout Subscales and Substance Abuse

R R Adjust Std. Error R Square F Sig. F Square R Square of Estimate Change Change Change

.505 .255 .229 .594 .255 9.727 .000

Table 8

ANOVA for Regression Analysis of Burnout Subscales and Substance Abuse

Sum of Squares Mean Square F Sig. Regression 17.174 3.435 9.727 .000Residual 50.144 .353Total 67.318

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Predictors: (Constant) Gender, emotional Exhaustion, Officer Substance Abuse, Officer Personal Accomplishment, Officer DepersonalizationDependent Variable: Stress Level

Research Findings on Substance Abuse

For the purposes of this study substance abuse potential was

measured by use of the Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test.

Respondents were asked to complete this self-administered

assessment of alcoholic potential that was developed by Selzer

(1971). The assessment measures drinking habits and attempts to

get help for substance abuse. Each question is answered with a

yes/no response with each answer being assigned a point value.

Cutoff scores for the MAST are >5 points indicating the

respondent is in the alcoholic category, 4 points being

suggestive of alcoholism, and <3 points indicating the respondent

is not alcoholic.

The work of Blum & Roman (2002) suggests that approximately

7% of full time employees in America are heavy drinkers and one-

third of these use illegal drugs. Additionally, Corelli (1994, ¶

23) reports from his study of Royal Canadian Mounted Police that…

"the culture of policing seems too attached to alcohol as a means

of coping. This suggests that alcohol use and abuse is an

insidious pattern that builds up for police officers over time".

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Based on these studies and others the hypothesis was developed

that stress and burnout in police officers in mid-sized Alabama

cities leads to substance abuse and/or dependence. The reported

data indicate differently for the Alabama police sample.

Responses from the 148 participants indicate that 78%, (n=116),

of officers surveyed report no problems or concerns with

substance use or abuse, although officers do report consumption

of alcoholic beverages. This does not indicate a strong

attachment to alcohol in Alabama police officers in mid-sized

cities as a means of coping. Thirteen percent of respondents,

(n=19), reported answers reflecting alcoholism being suggested,

and 9%, (n=13), reported being alcoholic. Respondents reporting

alcoholism or suggestive alcoholism were 16% male and 5% female

with the remaining respondents reporting no alcoholism. Those

reporting alcoholism reported a range of scores from a low of 5

to a high of 46. The 9% reporting alcoholism is slightly higher,

but consistent with the reports from a national study conducted

by Blum & Roman. Table 9, shows the distribution of scores

reported for the Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test.

Table 9

Alabama Officer Substance Abuse Reports

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Frequency Percent0-3 pts. Not 116 78.4 Alcoholic4 pts. Suggests 19 12.8 Alcoholism> 5 pts. Alcoholic 13 8.8Total 148 100.o

Based on these reported figures not only is substance

abuse not statistically significant in its correlation with

stress and burnout, alcohol use is not reported as a significant

coping mechanism for police officers practicing law enforcement

in mid-sized Alabama police agencies, see Table 5. More in-depth

research examining how officers in mid-sized Alabama agencies do

cope with stress and burnout, as well as other like sized cities

and agencies, would be beneficial to the profession.

Variable Differences Due to Gender

This research hypothesizes a statistically significant

difference between gender groups when examining substance abuse

intensified by stress and burnout. To measure this hypothesized

variance paired t-tests were calculated using the variables under

study. This study sample was significantly disproportionate in

its sample of males and females. Data were collected from 120

males and only 28 females. To create paired samples useful for

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examining a hypothesis of difference, 28 males were selected with

a paired sampling technique using SPSS statistical software. This

pairing of samples was conducted to create a proportionate sample

with which to examine between group variance. Based on the

results of Paired Samples t-Tests there is no statistically

significant variance in substance abuse related to stress or

burnout when pairing gender with these variables. This finding

indicates that the null hypothesis for Hypotheses Three and Four

cannot be rejected. However, Table 10, reflects the results of

paired samples t-tests for the variables of perceived stress,

emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, personal accomplishment,

and substance abuse with gender and indicates a statistically

significant difference between males and females and reported

alcoholism potential, t = 1.96, at a significance level of

P < .05. This t-test also reflects statistically significant

differences between genders when analyzing perceived stress, t =

9.61, emotional exhaustion, t = 5.25, depersonalization, t =

16.12, and personal accomplishment, t = 15.38, all at a

significance level of

p < .001.

Table 10

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Paired Samples Test for Study Variables and Gender

Mean Std. Std. t Sig. (2- Dev. Error tailed)

Mean PSS-Pair Gender .615 .778 .064 9.611 .0001

MBI-EEPair Gender .385 .892 .073 5.251 .0002

MBI-DPPair Gender 1.128 .851 .070 16.123 .0003

MBI-PAPair Gender 1.074 .850 .070 15.378 .0004

MASTPair Gender .115 .715 .059 1.956 .0525

Summary of Research Findings

This research examined the effects of stress and burnout in

police officers practicing law enforcement in mid-sized Alabama

cities. It was hypothesized that these variables potentially led

to the use or abuse of substances such as alcohol or prescription

drugs as a coping mechanism. Correlational relationships were

tested between stress and substance abuse and burnout and

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substance abuse. In the first hypothesis the null was not

rejected since significant correlations did not exist between

stress and the development of substance abuse. In the second

hypotheses the null was not rejected since significant

correlations did not exist between burnout and the development of

substance abuse. In the third hypothesis the null was not

rejected since no significant difference in the means existed in

the development of substance abuse from perceived stress when

examined for variance between genders. In the fourth hypothesis

the null was not rejected since no significant difference in the

means existed in the development of substance abuse from burnout

when examined for variance between genders. Chapter Five will

examine these findings in greater detail and will also discuss

issues of limitations and potential future research questions.

Implications for policy change in government regulation and

employment standards for police officers in Alabama will also be

addressed.

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CHAPTER 5. RESULTS, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Introduction

This research project sought to investigate relationships

between stress, burnout, and the development of substance abuse

in police officers working for mid-sized Alabama cities. Its goal

was to add to the understanding of what leads to police stress

and burnout and if, as reported by prior research, this

population of police officers was attached to alcohol as a means

of coping with stress and burnout. Having a better understanding

of these concepts will provide agency administrators, individual

officers, and counselors who lie outside the tightly knit circles

of those that wear the blue uniform, valuable information with

which to better serve and protect society's protectors.

In this final chapter, the research study is summarized,

including a review of the problem, conceptual framework, and

proposed hypotheses used in the study. This is followed by

discussion and conclusions of the findings for each hypothesis,

recommendations for future research, and finally implications for

modification in regulatory policy related to the employment and

retention of Alabama police officers is presented.

Statement of the Problem Review


It was hypothesized that stress or burnout in law

enforcement personnel led to substance abuse with alcohol. It was

also reported that law enforcement professionals often

experienced stress since the profession was found to be

inherently stressful. Left unmanaged, stress and burnout was

hypothesized to lead to substance abuse to reduce suffering.

Conducting research to explore how often and to what magnitude

stress and burnout leads to substance abuse has the potential for

providing helpful information to the law enforcement profession.

Use of such information can enable administrators and police

trainers to educate experienced, newly employed, and prospective

officers alike. Additionally the individual officer can have

access to information on what can influence stress, burnout, and

substance use in their profession and what impact these can have

personally and professionally. Without this knowledge police

officers and others in the human service professions may continue

to suffer the effects of stress, burnout, and substance abuse.

The topic of this research study was concerned with determining

if correlations existed between these variables and if so how

significant those associations were. Additionally, it sought to

understand whether or not officer gender played any role in the

development of substance abuse behaviors based on the experience

of stress or burnout.

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Review of Conceptual Framework

The theoretical model used for this study was comprised of

four variables; stress, burnout, substance abuse, and officer

gender. The goal of the study was to explore hypothesized

relationships among those four variables to assist Alabama

officers in learning how stress and burnout might lead to

substance abuse if strategies were not developed for preventing

their development. This work also has the potential for

enlightening officers as to what may happen during the course of

their career if stress, burnout, or substance abuse begins to

develop.

Review of Hypotheses

The hypotheses used for this research study included:

H: 1 As the amount of perceived stress increases the amount of

substance abuse to relieve stress symptoms also increases.

H: 2 As the amount of burnout increases the amount of substance

abuse to relieve burnout symptoms also increases.

H: 3 There is statistically significant difference in the amount

of substance abuse that takes place as a result of stress when

measuring these variables between male and female groups.

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H: 4 There is statistically significant difference in the amount

of substance abuse that takes place as a result of burnout when

measuring these variables between male and female groups.

Discussion

Discussion of the findings of this study begins with a

review of the methodology used. This study was conducted using

quantitative methods that resulted in a descriptive,

correlational, non-experimental design. The data was collected

using a developed self-administered questionnaire and currently

published, self-administered assessments designed to measure

stress, burnout, and substance abuse Creswell, (2003); Leedy &

Ormrod, (2001); Cohen, (1994); Maslach & Jackson, (1986);

Maslach, Jackson, & Leiter, (1996); Conoley, Murdoh, & Reese,

(1980); Murdoch, (2001); Selzer, (1971); Selzer, Vinokur, &

Rooijen, (1975). It was expected that this researcher's

familiarity with law enforcement and being a former part of the

police subculture would afford a degree of credibility and access

to participants that might otherwise be unavailable to civilian

researchers. This involved an understanding of or being highly

sensitized to potential mental and physical health crises police

officers face on the job (Chamberlin, 2000). This expectation did

not prove to be true. Participation in the study was not met with

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enthusiasm by many and the status of former or retired police

officer did not seem to encourage any participation. Perhaps this

is due to a cynical and mistrusting attitude of those that try to

infiltrate this culture. The study sample was drawn from a random

selection of male officers from six mid-sized cities in Alabama,

as well the intentional selection of all available female

officers due to a disproportionate sample size. A small add-in

population was also included in the study sample from individuals

that volunteered to participate. Three assessment instruments and

one questionnaire were used to gather data from this population.

Data analysis was conducted using SPSS Version 12 software,

which generated descriptive statistics. Inferential statistics

were also generated and included Pearson's Product Moment

Coefficient Correlation and Multiple Regression analysis for

hypothesis one and two. Hypothesis three and four were analyzed

using a paired t-test to discover differences in calculated means

between gender groups.

Sample of Alabama Police Officers

There were a total of 148 sworn police officers that

participated in the study. This figure does not include 13

potential participants that declined to participate. All 148 of

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the completed surveys were usable. Before the study was conducted

a power analysis revealed that 233 participants were needed to

maintain a confidence level of p = < .05 and be able to measure

at least moderate effect of the independent variables on the

dependent variable. These participants were sought over a 40 day

period and resulted in a 64% return rate. Based on this rate of

return the data obtained from this study may only be generalized

across the study sample itself.

The study sample was comprised of males and females that

were a mixture of white-Americans, African-Americans, and

Hispanic-Americans. The age range for this sample was 33 years

with most being in their forties. Significantly more males

responded to this study than females but this was as expected due

to the disproportionate numbers of males to females available for

study at the six participating agencies. Although this study did

not focus on marital status or tenure in the law enforcement

profession more often respondents were married and had been

working in law enforcement from 11 to greater than 20 years. This

makes the study population more so middle aged, married,

experienced law enforcement professionals that may indeed

maintain a stable lifestyle that is relatively free of stress,

burnout, and substance abuse as a coping mechanism. More times

than not with age comes maturity and perhaps police officers in

126


this study population have developed means to relieve stress and

burnout other than the use or abuse of mood altering substances.

Stress and burnout and how they lead to substance abuse was not

statistically significant in this study's population. However,

certain aspects of the subscales of burnout were statistically

significant in this population and warrant deeper investigation

related to the causes of development and what affects these have

on the individual and the public.

Relationship Between Stress and Substance Abuse, Hypothesis One

Stress was measured by administration of the Perceived

Stress Scale. This scale is a widely used psychological

instrument for measuring the perception of stress (Cohen, 1994).

It has reported correlations with stress measures, reported

health behavior measures, and help seeking behavior, as well as

age and gender. The Perceived Stress Scale is a 10-item self-

administered questionnaire that asks about feelings and thoughts

in the last month and is designed for use with populations that

have at least a junior high school education. There are no cutoff

scores for the Perceived Stress Scale, but cutoff scores were

established for this study sample to determine low, moderate, and

high levels of reported stress. The data obtained provides a

comparison of stress within this study's population sample.

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Police work is described as inherently stressful and is thought

to be one of society's most stressful occupations. The mere

nature of police work does not allow this stress level to change

over time. An example of a stressor that does not change over

time is the officer's need to always be vigilant. For officers to

allow their attention level to drop while at work becomes a

dangerous safety issue.

Approximately two-thirds, 65%, of participant officers in

this study reported their perceived stress being at a moderate to

high level. This finding is consistent with current literature

which reports police work as being inherently stressful, even

across different cultures and genders (Storm & Rothman, 2003).

However, this particular stress scale does not differentiate

between the causes of stress as reported by Depue, (1981);

Hanson, (1985); Hurrell, (1995); Scott, (2004); Sheehan & Van

Hasselt, (2003); Walker, (1997). Sixty-five percent of stress

levels in Alabama police in mid-sized cities were reported as

moderate to high in this study sample but stress was not

significantly correlated with substance abuse. Based on the

results of this correlation coefficient Hypothesis One cannot

reject the null hypothesis. This result reflects no significant

differences between respondents within the study sample that

experience moderate to high stress and cope by using mood

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altering substances and those that do not. Gender created no

variance in the amount of substance abuse reported, but gender

was significantly correlated with the burnout subscales. This is

an indication that a difference in the way males and females

report stress and burnout exists in this study sample. To analyze

this finding further and determine which gender reported the

variables more so than the other, the variable of gender was

recoded as a dummy variable where 0 = males and

1 = females and where 0 = females and males = 1. Paired t-tests

were again calculated with stress, burnout subscales, and

substance abuse. In all cases female officers were found to

experience stress, emotional exhaustion, depersonalization,

personal accomplishment, and substance abuse more so than male

officers. All obtained scores were statistically significant at a

significance level of p < .05. Table 11, depicts t-test scores

for males and females for comparison.

Table 11

Paired Samples t-Test for Male and Female Officers

t-female t-male Sig.(2-tailed)

PSS- 25.242 15.358 .000

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Pair Gender1

MBI-EE 18.884 10.250 .000Pair Gender2

MBI-DP 30.412 20.374 .000Pair Gender3

MBI-PA 29.692 19.506 .000Pair Gender4

MAST 18.982 7.891 .000Pair Gender5

Relationship Between Burnout and Substance Abuse, Hypothesis Two

Burnout is associated with the subscales of emotional

exhaustion, depersonalization, and personal accomplishment and is

frequently measured with use of the Maslach Burnout Inventory

(Maslach, Jackson, & Leiter, 1996). This particular assessment is

based on the idea that burnout is a progressive syndrome that

over time occurs as a direct result of helping others in

difficult situations (Arthur, 1990). The Maslach Burnout

Inventory-Human Services Survey was used in the present study and

revealed some significant correlations that were consistent with

the work of Acevedo, Hebert, & Hendrix, (2000). However, Pearson

Correlation Coefficients did not reveal any significant

130


correlation between burnout and substance abuse in the Alabama

police population. Based on these findings Hypothesis Two cannot

reject the null hypothesis. There was no significant correlation

between burnout and substance abuse, nor was there any variance

between male and female groups when considering these two

variables. However, when analyzing burnout subscales with

perceived stress, emotional exhaustion was found to correlate

significantly indicating that higher scores on emotional

exhaustion are indicative of higher scores on perceived stress in

the Alabama police sample. Additionally significant variance was

found between the male and female groups when examining gender

and depersonalization as well as gender and personal

accomplishment. A high percentage of both respondent groups

reported a significant amount of depersonalization.

According to Hawkins (1990) the subscale of

depersonalization can often turn into callous or dehumanized

perceptions of others and can lead professionals to view their

clients as deserving their troubles. The development of this

depersonalization also appears to be linked to emotional

exhaustion. Eighty percent of respondents in this study of

Alabama police in mid-sized cities reported a high level of

depersonalization. This finding alone causes reason for alarm

related to the effects of depersonalization on the quality of

131


service provided by police to the public. This high level of

depersonalization may also be significant in that it relates to

reports of moderately high levels of personal accomplishment in

this same study sample. The natural question for one to ask would

be what is achieved with this level of depersonalization and at

what expense or whose expense does it occur. Further, knowing the

reasons for the development of such a high level of

depersonalization will provide helpful information to officers

and those that try to help them. Considering that officers are

trained to portray a sterile disposition on the street and more

times than not have a completely different personality type than

the majority of society, depersonalization may have developed as

a coping strategy rather than substance abuse. It is suggested

that depersonalization being reported at this level is

significant and raises concerns for public service in the Alabama

police population serving in mid-sized cities.

Variance Between Gender Groups for Stress, Burnout, Substance,

Hypotheses Three and Four

This study also examined differences in the two gender

groups for variance in the means of measured stress, burnout, and

132


substance abuse. Sixteen percent of the male population reported

alcoholism, but only 5% of the female population reported the

same findings. It was necessary to use a paired sampling t-test

statistical method to generate heterogeneous groups of males and

females to calculate any differences in the means. This

calculation resulted in no significant variance when related to

stress or burnout and substance abuse indicating that gender

creates no significantly measurable differences when examining

these variables together. However, significant differences do

exist between males and females with the development of stress

and all three of the individual burnout subscales.

Limitations of the Study

Data collection made use of randomly selecting male

participants, intentionally selecting female participants, and

including volunteers in the study sample. This leads to the

collection of a study sample that in effect is a non-probability

sampling rather than the probability sampling originally intended

for use. The use of intentionally selected participants and

volunteers may not necessarily weaken the study but does give

rise to potential concerns for sampling procedure. However,

without intentionally selecting all potential available female

officers (n=46) there may have been none randomly selected for

133


use in the study at all. Even though the proportion of males to

females in Alabama law enforcement is broad, without

intentionally selecting the females available the study

population would not have been an accurate representation of

Alabama police officers. Volunteers were ultimately made use of

when some officers contacted the researcher to inquire as to why

they were not included in the study sample. They were included as

"add-ins" to the sample population (n=22), but this population

posed no significant differences with the remaining sample

population.

Use of the Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test as a research

instrument in this study may have been an inappropriate

selection. Either the question of selection must arise or

concerns arise related to some of the questions asked on the

assessment being worded suggestively or with circular reasoning.

The assessment is used primarily for those individuals that are

assumed to have a drinking problem and to measure alcoholic

potential. Evidence of this suggestive content is present in

question number 4 which asks "Can you stop drinking without a

struggle after one or two drinks". It assumes that all

respondents consume alcoholic beverages, but this was not found

to be the case. Several respondents objected to the question and

indicated this on the assessment itself or in one case the

134


researcher was telephoned for an explanation. This respondent

made the issue by saying what if the judge in a courtroom asked,

"Officer, do you still beat your wife"? Either way the officer

could answer suggests he or she is guilty and this would

certainly have negative effect in the case of domestic violence,

and could also in the case of use of the MAST as a research

instrument in this study. Other questions on the MAST that give

rise for concern are question number 6, "Do friends or relatives

think you are a normal drinker"; question number 1, "Do you feel

you are a normal drinker"; and question number 16, "Do you drink

before noon fairly often"? All these questions gave rise to

concerns for individual participants and accurate reporting of

their consumptive behaviors.

The response rate with this study precludes generalizing the

findings of this research any broader than back to the sample

population itself. It was originally believed that police

responses might be more easily obtained if a retired officer was

identified as being the researcher; however the researcher was

more times than not looked at with cynicism and distrust and was

still viewed as an outsider. It is believed that being former law

enforcement had no positive effect on the study's return rate.

Recommendations for Future Research

135


This study looked at a small sample of Alabama police

officers and how they experience stress and burnout. Being able

to enlarge the study sample sufficiently so that generalization

of the findings could be applied more broadly would create more

effective results and stronger research. This would allow for

greater diversity and perhaps would include a broader range of

races, ages, or law enforcement tenure.

Although this study was correlational in nature, future

research with this population could be modified to include

qualitative research measures as discussed in Chapter Three.

Using a qualitative study methodology might allow more in-depth

research into phenomenon such as depersonalization of the public

the police serve and protect. Implications of this

depersonalization might also be more easily uncovered with the

researcher participating in longitudinal phenomenology or an

ethnographic study of police sub-culture while riding along with

officer on the beat (Schulman, 2001).

This study might also be more effective by modifying it to

include the entire United States or regions of it. Originally

this research planned to make use of a sample of convenience by

surveying officers attending an international conference for the

Commission on Accreditation of Law Enforcement Agencies. If the

commission had approved of participation in this study the

136


results would have been a cross sectional study of police

officers from the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Barbados.

This would have been a study population much broader than exists

with the present study and would have yielded more effective

results.

Future research could also focus on an in-depth study of

stress and burnout as it relates to organizational factors,

officer role conflict, or individual officer personality traits

and how these characteristics affect officers mentally and

physically or affect their professional performance.

Additionally, research focused on how male and female officers

experience emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, or personal

accomplishment, the three subscales of burnout, could yield

useful and more in-depth information than the present study was

designed to provide.

One last area that is ripe for research is the long-term

effects of stress and burnout on the police population. As

reported by Cherniss (1992) there is a large amount of research

investigating the immediate consequences of burnout but little

work conducted on the long-term effects. Cherniss conducted a 12-

year longitudinal study of human services workers in an effort to

determine if burnout was a phenomenon of early career life, or if

its effects followed through over the course of one's career when

137


that person stayed in the same profession. Finding that the

majority of the present study's sample was more mature in age,

tenure, and general life style stability, it would be interesting

and helpful to determine if and how this population changes over

time. Cherniss' findings indicated that of the small sample that

was followed many were able to develop flexibility later in the

career life. However, the data analyzed indicated few

statistically significant relationships. The possible explanation

offered for these findings was that the impact of early career

experiences becomes relatively weak over time suggesting that

officer tenure may have a mitigating effect on stress and

burnout. This lends support to a notion that there may be a

decrease in stress, burnout, or substance abuse with an increase

in professional tenure. This particular variable is a meaningful

area for exploration for future studies.

Policy Implications of Study Results

Sharing of findings in this study with the Alabama Peace

Officers Standards and Training Commission is believed to be an

appropriate action. According to Alabama Peace Officers Standards

and Training Commission rules, Rule 650-X-2-.05, related to

officer character, prospective police applicants must undergo

138


certain background examinations to become eligible for

certification as a peace officer in Alabama. One such examination

is a psychological examination that must be approved by the

Commission in cases where there is concern for an applicant's

stability or suitability for certification as a peace officer in

Alabama (http://apostc.state.al.us). Many agencies already have

in place policies for administering initial psychological

examinations for prospective employees but few if any have

policies in place providing for subsequent or regular evaluations

to maintain psychological fitness for duty standards. Guller &

McDaniel (2002) report that law enforcement agencies have a duty

to take reasonable precautions in hiring and retaining officers

who are not psychologically disturbed. They further report that

the doctrine of official immunity may not be invoked to protect

an agency from civil claims arising out of negligent retention.

This being the case an amendment in regulatory policy for the

state of Alabama at the very least seems clearly appropriate.

Even though the present study does not reflect significant

correlations in stress and burnout with substance abuse it does

reflect need for examination of such a high level of

depersonalization of the public. Depersonalization on the part of

Alabama officers may in fact be a negative coping skill that

develops over time. The fact that only this one aspect of officer

139


emotional fitness may develop over time gives rise for the need

to regularly evaluate officers for psychological fitness for

duty. Doing so proactively and requiring that everyone

participates on a regular schedule will serve not only the public

but the individual officer and his or her family as well.

This notion is supported by the National Institute of

Justice in its (2001) report on responding to problem police

officers with an early warning system. According to the National

Institute of Justice a growing body of evidence suggests that in

any police agency a small percentage of officers are responsible

for a disproportionate share of citizen complaints. An early

warning system assists police managers with identifying problem

officers early, intervening and facilitating assistance with

them, and monitoring their performance. The system encourages

changes in behavior of supervisors as well as officers and the

programs appear to reduce problem behaviors significantly. As of

2001 only 27% of agencies serving populations of 50,000 or more

had an early warning system in place. As reported by Guller &

McDaniel (2002) proactively addressing problems within the police

agency not only promotes professional performance, good emotional

and physical health, but also creates an environment where

careers can be built and fostered over the long term rather than

140


losing substantial investments by employing new officers on a

regular basis.

Summary and Conclusions

As reported in this study, Corelli (1994) suggests that law

enforcement as a culture is strongly attached to alcohol as a

means of coping with stressors. He further supports the assertion

that workplace culture tended to support some maladaptive aspects

of alcohol consumption. Additionally, according to Brady & Sonne

(1999) perceived stress was found to be a major facilitator for

first time alcohol or drug use as well as relapse after treatment

for abuse or dependence. Alcoholism was listed as the top symptom

of stress when it was studied in public safety organizations

across the United States and costs the government billions of

dollars each year due to poor job performance, lost time from

work, and medical expenses (Shearer, 1989).

The intent of this study was to examine the development of

stress and burnout and how these problems potentially led to

substance abuse. The information collected in this study was

gathered to provide valuable information for police officers and

police managers to help them understand themselves and the

possible ramifications of allowing stress and burnout to go

untreated.

141


The data analyzed in this study suggests that there is no

significant relationship between stress, burnout and substance

abuse but significant correlations between stress and the

subscales of burnout were noted and warrant further study. This

also means that mental health professionals and employee

assistance program professionals may want to understand the

development of stress and burnout and what coping skills are

commonly developed to cope with these difficulties. Additionally

they may want to gain a better understanding of substance abuse

and co-occurring disorders that so frequently appear in their

offices and behavioral medicine centers.

In conclusion, law enforcement officers are frequently asked

why they wanted to become police officers in the first place. The

most frequent answer is to help others and make a difference in

the quality of their lives as well as their own. Officers may not

realize at the beginning of a law enforcement career all of the

issues, pressures, and job-related stressors they will face in

relatively short order after completing basic police training.

Those with advanced tenure have learned from that experience and

realize that before they can offer quality, professional service

they must take care of themselves first. How they do this for

themselves is of paramount concern to agency administrators and

the tax paying public.

142

Stress, Burnout, and Substance Abuse in Police 143

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Morrissette, P.J. (2001). Self-supervision; A primer for counselors and helping professionals. New York, NY: Brunner-Routledge.

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http://www/

APPENDIX A

CAPELLA UNIVERSITY225 South 6th. St., 9th. FloorMinneapolis, Minnesota 55402

1-888-CAPELLA Ext. 5377

GRADUATE SCHOOL RESEARCH STUDY:A Doctoral Dissertation On:

Police Officer Stress, Burnout, and Substance Abuse

This letter is to kindly ask you for your assistance. Your agency chief has approved participation in a research study being conducted to learn more about the effects of stress and burnout on police officers in Alabama cities such as yours. You may be randomly selected to participate in the completion of a doctoral dissertation research study being conducted by me under the supervision of Dr. Joanna Oestmann. Completion of this dissertation is part of the Ph.D. degree requirements for Capella University.

As a retired Police Lieutenant with 26-years active duty law enforcement experience, I have a passionate interest in the factors that lead police officers to the development of difficulty in their professional and personal lives. I am diligently working toward a better understanding of such issues that so often cause chronic physical and emotional disease, and all too often the early end to promising careers. Over the course of my law enforcement career I have come to understand the demands on your time and your agency. Completing this entire survey package should not take more than 20-30 minutes and your police chief has approved of your participation. Please understand that your participation is completely voluntary and if you decide to participate but find you do not want to complete the survey package you have the right to do so absent of questions or duress.

During the small amount of time it takes to complete the survey package your truthful and honest responses will help our profession to better understand the issues under study and assist other professionals in helping brother or sister officers as well as ourselves.


Please understand that all of the results obtained from the survey packages will be strictly confidential at all times. You will not be identified to anyone as having provided any specific or particular responses. You will be identified with a control number (your badge or employee number) to be used for package inventory or follow-up purposes only. The information used in completing the dissertation will have no source identification other than aggregate demographics and that participants were all sworn police officers, regardless of rank. All completed survey packages will be kept secure by me in a locked file cabinet. At the completion of the study paper copies of the assessments and questionnaire will be shredded leaving behind only raw data and numbers in electronic format.

If you are randomly selected to participate in this study which is important to our entire profession, you will be asked to fill out a consent form indicating whether or not you choose to do so and return it to me with a completed survey package. I will be physically present at your agency to conduct this survey procedure and collect completed survey packages. An area will be set up for face-to-face contact with me to obtain the survey package and it should be returned to me at that same location. If you have any questions or you would like a summary of the statistical results, you may contact me by telephoning at (256) 353-7542 in Decatur, Alabama, USA or your may e-mail me at [email protected] to request the summary or have your questions answered.

Thank you so very kindly for your participation in this study and realize that your participation is just another part of our chosen profession, helping others. Good luck and stay safe.

Sincerely,

J. Danny Dutton, MS,MA,LPC,NCC,CCJASCapella UniversityPolice Lieutenant (Ret.)

No. ______ / ______

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mailto:[email protected]





Police Officer Stress, Burnout,And Substance Abuse: A Crossectional View of Officers

in mid-sized Alabama Police Departments

INFORMED CONSENT DOCUMENTATION

The research study you are about to take part in is related to

stress, burnout, and substance abuse by police officers in mid-

sized Alabama police departments. You role in the study is to

complete a demographics questionnaire and three (3) assessments

that are in this survey package, along with endorsing this

Informed Consent Form with you badge or employee number and the

date only. Please do not put your name on any of these documents.

The entire survey package should take no more than 30 minutes to

complete from start to finish. There are no financial inducements

or rewards being offered for your voluntary participation. You

were selected by your badge or employee number being randomly

selected from a pool of officer numbers that are employed for six

(6) mid-sized Alabama police departments. Your participation in

this study is completely voluntary and you may terminate your

participation at any time during completion of your role in the

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study without any consequence what so ever. All of your

individual responses will be kept strictly private and

confidential. This study asks you to rate your perception of the

stress you experience on the job, the burnout you experience as a

result of working in close contact with people in difficult

situations, and the amount of your individual substance use such

as alcohol. During your participation in this study should you

become uncomfortable with the assessment package in any way you

may terminate further participation without any consequence. If

you become distressed over participation then you may be referred

to you agency Employee Assistance Program or be referred to a

licensed counselor who will assist you with processing your

discomfort. The principal researcher in the study is Danny

Dutton, a retired police officer with the City of Decatur,

Alabama that is now a licensed practicing counselor in Alabama.

If you wish to contact this researcher about the study you may do

so by telephoning (256) 353-7542 or e-mailing Danny Dutton at

[email protected]. You may also contact Danny Dutton's

academic supervisor connected to this study, Dr. Joanna Oestmann,

by telephoning the Capella University telephone number provided

or e-mailing her at [email protected]. You may also

contact Capella University by writing or telephoning at the

address or telephone number provided. At the completion of this

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study, if interested, you may obtain a summary report of

aggregate collected data and its analysis. To obtain this

information, request it from the principal researcher using the

telephone number or e-mail address provided or make your desire

known when submitting your survey package. Thank you very much

for your considerate participation in this doctoral dissertation

study.

Researcher: J. Danny Dutton, MA,LPC,NCC,CCJAS ________________ _______________Participant Badge or DateEmployee Number

Participant Declines to Participate

_____________________ _______________Badge or employee Number Date

CAPELLA UNIVERSITYMinneapolis, Minnesota

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Police Officer Stress, Burnout,And Substance Abuse in mid-sized Alabama Agencies

Dear Sworn Police Officer:

Thank you very much for consenting to participate in a study that is sure be valuable to the profession of law enforcement. Since you have endorsed your participation with an Informed Consent Form with your badge or employee number, I am presenting you with the package of assessments and a demographic questionnaire. While completing these assessments if you chose to discontinue your participation in this study you are free to do so without consequences. These instruments will serve as tools to gather data related to the influences of stress and burnout and their impact on professional police officers practicing law enforcement today. Please be reminded that you SHOULD NOT put your name on any of these instruments or in any way identify yourself other than as requested while completing this assessment package. All questionnaires and assessments will only be handled by me and will be kept strictly confidential at all times. After their use they will be kept in my personal locked file cabinet in my private residence.

Inside this assessment package you will find 1) a demographic questionnaire asking you for information about demographic descriptions; 2) a Perceived Stress Scale that takes approximately 2 minutes to complete; 3) a Human Services Survey that takes approximately 10-15 minutes to complete; and 4) a Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test which takes approximately 10 minutes to complete. After completing the assessment package please seal the envelope and return it directly to me. Thank you very much for taking approximately 20 minutes of your valuable time to help me complete this research study. If you have any questions about this study you may contact me at (256)353-7542 or [email protected]. Sincerely,

Lt. J. Danny Dutton, (Ret.)MS,MA,LPC,NCC,CCJAS

The following letter of introduction and request for permission to survey officers from eight mid-sized Alabama Law

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Enforcement agencies was mailed to the police chiefs listed below on January 12, 2005.

**Ken Swindle *Rick SingletonChief of Police Chief of PoliceTuscaloosa Police Department Florence Police DepartmentP.O. Box 2089 702 S. Seminary St.Tuscaloosa, AL 35403-2089 Florence, AL 35630(205) 349-2121 (256) 768-2737

*Nick Monday *David BuskinChief of Police Chief of PoliceDothan Police Department Madison Police Department210 N. Saint Andrews St. Municipal ComplexDothan, AL 36303 100 Hughes Road(334) 615-3000 Madison, AL 35758

(256) 772-5689

*Joel T. Gilliam *Richard CrouchChief of Police Chief of PoliceDecatur Police Department Gadsden Police DepartmentP.O. Box 488/402 NE Lee St. P.O. Box 267 / 90 Broad St.Decatur, Al 35602 Gadsden, AL 35902(256) 341-4660 (256) 549-4582

*Nick DerzisChief of PoliceHoover Police Department * = Approved Participation100 Municipal Drive ** = Participation DeclinedHoover, AL 35216(205) 444-7700

**Frank DeGraffenriedChief of PoliceAuburn Police Department141 North Ross St.Auburn, AL 36830(334) 887-4907

12 JANUARY 2005CEO's Name

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Chief of PoliceAlabama Police DepartmentP.O. Box 0000Any town, AL 00000-9999

Lt. Danny Dutton (Ret.)319 Robinson St. SWDecatur, Al [email protected](256) 353-7542

RE: Doctoral Research Study with Alabama Police Officers

Dear Chief of Police:

My name is Danny Dutton and I am a retired police Lieutenant from Decatur Alabama Police Department. At my retirement July 31, 2003 I was a 26 year veteran of the department. Since retiring I have begun a second career in psychotherapy and I am actively involved in completing a doctoral dissertation that is related to Alabama police officers working in mid-sized Alabama police departments. Your city, along with seven others in the north, central, and south Alabama area meet the inclusion criteria for participation in this research study (e.g., population).

I am pursuing a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Health and Human Services specializing in Counseling Studies from Capella University which is located in Minneapolis, Minnesota. This dissertation effort is being supervised by Dr. Joanna Oestmann who serves as my academic committee chairperson. She may be e-mailed at [email protected] for any verification that you deem necessary.

To briefly explain the research purpose it is a simple matter to ask a police officer if his or her work is stressful and the answer would be yes, absolutely. Stress seems to be inherent in the profession. You as well as the men and women that you work with know this all too well. That stress, left unmanaged, often turns into the syndrome of burnout. Both these physical and emotional maladies frequently result in the use or abuse of substances such as alcohol or prescription drugs. The main goal of this research effort is to survey and determine if correlations exist in these variables and if there is any variance in the correlations when one considers officer gender.

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To collect data for this research study I am asking for your department's participation and your permission to travel to your department and survey a random sampling of the male and female officers working in your department. I would be asking this random sampling of officers to complete a demographics questionnaire, and three currently published assessments that measure stress, burnout, and substance use. The entire survey package will take no longer than 15-20 minutes for each individual to complete. This can be accomplished in groups at shift briefings, the end of the shift, report times or whenever officers that are willing to voluntarily participate would be allowed to give me 15-20 minutes of their time.

If you approve of your department's participation I will ask that you provide me with a dual list of sworn officers only, one male and one female that are identified by their badge numbers or employee numbers only. In this way I have no idea what the names of any voluntary participant might be and their anonymity is guaranteed in this way. Further, to support documentation that you do approve of the agency's participation I would need a letter from you on your department letter head indicating your approval to satisfy Institutional Review Board requirements. The random sampling would then be accomplished by my selection of every "nth." badge number on the list to make up the randomly selected population that I would solicit voluntary participation from. Based on currently published data from the Alabama Criminal Justice Information Center (2003) the eight Alabama cities meeting criteria employ 975 sworn officers, 911 male and 64 female and this provides a respectable population to attempt to draw data from.

If you will allow your department's participation in my study I would be so very grateful and will gladly share any findings that you might be interested in. I must however guarantee complete anonymity to participants for the study's methodology to be approved through Capella University's Institutional Review Board and my dissertation committee.

If you allow participation from your department please send me the requested information via the e-mail address or USPS address listed on page one of this correspondence. Once your approval has been documented and I have completed Institutional Review Board review and the Dissertation Proposal conference, (prior to the end of March 2005) I will contact you again to set

166


up a date or dates to travel to your department and survey for data.

Thank you very much for your consideration.

Sincerely,

Lt. Danny Dutton (Ret.)MS,MA,LPC,NCC,CCJASDecatur, Alabama

QUESTIONNAIRE Date _________ No. ____/_____

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This questionnaire contains questions designed to identify demographic data only. Please complete each question by circling the appropriate response or filling in the blank with appropriate information.

What is your gender?

(1) Male_________ (2) Female_________

What is your race? (1) African-American _____(2) White-American ____(3) Hispanic ____(4) Other ____; Please describe_______________________

What is your age? __________

What is your marital status? (1)Single_____; (2)Married_____; (3)Divorced_____; (4) Divorced, remarried_______; (5) Widowed_____.

Please check the appropriate answer regarding your complete tenure as a sworn law enforcement officer. Please combine your total number of years of experience whether with the same agency or not.

I have been a sworn police officer

(1) ____1-5 years.

(2)____6-10 years.

(3)____11-15 years.

(4)____16-20 years.

(5)____more than 20 years.

Census Data –Source of City size

Thank you for taking the time to fill out this questionnaire.

PERCEIVED STRESS SCALE Date ___________ No. _____/_____

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The questions in this scale ask you about your feelings and thoughts during the last month. In each case, you will be asked to indicate by circling how often you felt or thought a certain way.

0=Never 1=Almost Never 2=Sometimes 3=Fairly Often 4=Very Often

1. In the last month, how often have you beenupset because of something that happenedunexpectedly?...............................0 1 2 3 4

2. In the last month, how often have you feltyou were unable to control the important thingsIn your life?...............................0 1 2 3 4

3. In the last month, how often have you feltnervous and "stressed"?.....................0 1 2 3 4

4. In the last month, how often have you feltconfident about your ability to handle yourpersonal problems?..........................0 1 2 3 4

5. In the last month, how often have you feltthat things were going your way?............0 1 2 3 4

6. In the last month, how often have you found that you could not cope with all the things thatyou had to do?..............................0 1 2 3 4

7. In the last month, how often have you beenable to control irritations in your life?...0 1 2 3 4

8. In the last month, how often have you feltthat you were on top of things?.............0 1 2 3 4

9. In the last month, how often have you beenangered because of things that were outside ofyour control?...............................0 1 2 3 4

10.In the last month, how often have you feltDifficulties were piling up so high that youCould not overcome them?...................0 1 2 3 4

Mind Garden, Inc.

169


1690 Woodside Road, Suite #202Redwood City, CA 94061 USA

Phone (650) 261-3500 FAX (650) 261-3505E-mail: [email protected]

www.mindgarden.com

References

The PSS Scale is reprinted with permission of the American Sociological Association, from Cohen, S., Kamarck, T., and Mermelstein, R. (1983). A global measure of perceived stress. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 24, 386- 396.

Cohen, S. and Williamson, G. Perceived Stress in a Probability Sample of the United States. Scacapan, S., and Oskamp, S. (Eds.). The Social Psychology of Health. Newbury Park, CA: Sage, 1988.

Reproduced from original electronic download;

Cohen, S. (1994). The Perceived Stress scale. MindGarden.com.

Retrieved July 29, 2004 from http://www.mindgarden.com/

assessments/name(p-s).htm

Christina Maslach – Susan E. Jackson

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http://www.mindgarden.com/

http://www.mindgarden.com/



MBI Human Services Survey

(NOT LICENSED FOR DUPLICATION, EACH INSTRUMENT MUST BE PURCHASED FOR RESEARCH USE BUT IS REPRODUCED HERE FOR IRB REVIEW)

The purpose of this survey is to discover how various persons in human services or helping professions view heir job and the people with whom they work closely. Because persons in a wide variety of occupations will answer this survey, it uses the term recipients to refer to the people for whom you provide your service, care, treatment, or instruction. When answering this survey please think of these people as recipients of the service you provide, even though you may use another term in your work.

On the following page there are 22 statements of job-related feelings. Please read each statement carefully and decide if you ever feel this way about your job. If you have never had this feeling, write a "0" (zero) before the statement. If you have had this feeling, indicate how often you feel it by writing the number (from 1 to 6) that best describes how frequently you feel that way. An example is shown below.

Example:________________________________________________________________HOW OFTEN: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 Never A few Once a A few Once A few every

times month times a times day a year or month week a

or less less week

HOW OFTEN0-6 Statement:

_______ I feel depressed at work.

If you never feel depressed at work, you should write the number "0" (zero) under the heading "HOW OFTEN". If you rarely feel depressed at work (a few times a year or less), you should write the number "1". If your feelings of depression are fairly frequent (a few times a week, but not daily) you should write a "5".

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CPP, Inc. 3803 E. Bayshore Road, Palo alto, CA 94303

(NOT LICENSED FOR DUPLICATION, EACH INSTRUMENT FOR USE MUST BE PURCHASED)

MBI Human Services Survey___________________________________________________________HOW OFTEN: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 Never A few Once a A few Once A few every


or less less week

HOW OFTEN0-6 Statements:

1. ____ I feel emotionally drained from my work.

2. ____ I feel used up at the end of my workday.

3. ____ I feel fatigued when I get up in the morning andhave to face another day on the job.

4.____ I can easily understand how my recipients feelabout things.

5.____ I feel I treat some recipients as if they wereimpersonal objects.

6.____ Working with people all day is really a strain for me.

7.____ I deal very effectively with the problems of myrecipients.

8.____ I feel burned out from my work.

9.____ I feel I'm positively influencing other people's lives through my work.

10.____ I've become more callous toward people since Itook this job.

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11.____ I worry that that this job is hardening meemotionally.

12.____ I feel very energetic.

13.____ I feel frustrated by my job.

14.____ I feel I'm working too hard on my job.

15.____ I don't really care what happens to some recipients.

16.____ Working with people directly puts too much stress on me.

17.____ I can easily create a relaxed atmosphere with my recipients.

18.____ I feel exhilarated after working closely with my recipients.

19.____ I have accomplished many worthwhile things in this job.

20.____ I feel like I'm at the end of my rope.

21.____ In my work, I deal with emotional problems very calmly.

22.____ I feel recipients blame me for some of their problems.

(Administrative use only) cat. cat. cat.

EE:____ ____ DR: ____ ____ PA: ____ ___

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Revised 8-25-80 Melvin L. Selzer, M.D., F.A.C.P.6967 Paseo LaredoLa Jolla, CA 92037(619) 459-1035

(THIS ASSESSMENT IS LICENSED FOR USE AND REPRODUCTION IN THIS RESEARCH STUDY)

MICHIGAN ALCOHOLISM SCREENING TEST (MAST)

Points YES NO

0. Do you enjoy a drink now and then? ___ ___

(2) *1. Do you feel you are a normal drinker? (By normal we mean you drink less than or as much as most other people). ___ ___

(2) 2. Have you ever awakened the morning after some drinking the night before and found

that you could not remember a part of the evening? ___ ___

(1) 3. Does your wife, husband, a parent, or other near relative ever worry or complain about your drinking? ___ ___

(2) *4. Can you stop drinking without a struggle after one or two drinks? ___ ___

(1) 5. Do you ever feel guilty about your drinking? ___ ___

(2) *6. Do friends or relatives think you are a normal drinker? ___ ___

(2) *7. Are you able to stop drinking when you want to? ___ ___

(5) 8. Have you ever attended a meeting of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA)? ___ ___

(1) 9. Have you gotten into physical fights when drinking? ___ ___

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YES NO(2) 10. Has your drinking ever created problems between you and your wife, husband, a parent, or other relative? ___ ___

(2) 11. Has your wife, husband, (or other family member) ever gone to anyone for help about your drinking? ___ ___

(2) 12. Have you ever lost friends because of your drinking? ___ ___

(2) 13. Have you ever gotten into trouble at work or school because of drinking? ___ ___

(2) 14. Have you ever lost a job because of drinking? ___ ___

(2) 15. Have you ever neglected your obligations, your family, or your work for two or more days in a row because you were drinking? ___ ___

(1) 16. Do you drink before noon fairly often? ___ ___

(2) 17. Have you ever been told you have liver trouble? Cirrhosis? ___ ___

(2) **18. After [heavy] drinking have you ever had Delirium Tremens (D.T.s) or severe shaking, or heard voices or seen things that really were not there? ___ ___

(5) 19. Have you ever gone to anyone for help about your drinking? ___ ___

(5) 20. Have you ever been in a hospital because of drinking? ___ ___

(2) 21. Have you ever been a patient in a psychiatric hospital or on a psychiatric ward of a general hospital where drinking was part of the problem that resulted in hospitalization? ___ ___

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YES NO(2) 22. Have you ever been at a psychiatric or mental health clinic or gone to any doctor, social worker, or clergyman for help with any emotional problem, where drinking was a part of the problem? ___ ___

(2) ***23. Have you ever been arrested for drunk driving, driving while intoxicated, or driving under the influence of alcoholic beverages? ___ ___

(IF YES, How many times?____)

(2)***24. Have you ever been arrested, or taken into custody even for a few hours, because of other drunk behavior? ___ ___

(IF YES, Howe many times?____)* Alcoholic Response is Negative** 5 points for Delirium Tremens***2 points for each arrest

SCORING SYSTEM In general, five points or more would place the subject in an "alcoholic" category. Fours points would be suggestive of alcoholism, three points or less would indicate the subject was not an alcoholic.

Programs using the above scoring system find it very sensitive at the five point level and it tends to find more people alcoholic than anticipated. However, it is a screening test and should be sensitive at its lower levels.

References:

Selzer, M.L., The Michigan Alcoholism screening Test (MAST): The quest for a New Diagnostic Instrument. American Journal of Psychiatry, 3: 176-181. 1971.

Selzer, M.L., Vinokur, A., and van Rooijen, L., A Self- Administered Short Version of the Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test (SMAST). Journal of Studies On Alcohol, 36: 117-126, 1975.

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APPENDIX B

Normative Data for Maslach Burnout Inventory-Human Services Survey

Normative Data for MBI-HSS Subscales

Normative data listed in the manual reflect police officers being listed in the "other" category along with attorneys, legal aid employees, probation officers, ministers, librarians, and agency administrators (Maslach, Jackson, & Leiter, 1996, p.6). LOW AVERAGE HIGHOther EE <16 17-27 >28 DP <5 6-10 >11 PA > 40 39-34 <33

APPENDIX C

Data Coding Key SheetDemographics Survey

Survey Number Column 1 Agency Code Column 21. Gender Col. 42. Race Col. 53. Age Col. 64. Marital Status Col. 75. Tenure Col. 8

Gender 1 – Male2 - Female

Race 1 – African American2 – White-American3 – Hispanic4 – Other

Age Reported in Years

Marital Status 1 – Single2 - Married3 – Divorced4 – Divorced, Remarried5 – widowed

Tenure 1 – 1 – 5 years2 – 6 – 10 years3 – 11 – 15 years4 – 16 – 20 years5 – More than 20 years

City Size/Population2000 Census data rounded up to thenearest thousand


Data Coding Key SheetPerceived Stress Scale

Items 1 – 100 – Never1 – Almost Never2 – Sometimes3 – Fairly Often4 – Very Often

*Item 1 Column 11 Item 2 Column 12 Item 3 Column 13 Item 4 Column 14 Item 5 Column 15 Item 6 Column 16 Item 7 Column 17 Item 8 Column 18 Item 9 Column 19 Item 10 Column 20

Column 22 – Total Score

Items 4, 5, 7, & 8 are recoded with numbers being reversed.

*Items 4, 5, 7, & 8 – positively stated, responses are reversed

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Data Coding Key SheetMaslach Burnout Inventory-Human Services Survey

1 Column 24 0 – Never2 Column 25 1 – A few times a month 3 Column 26 2 – Once a month4 Column 27 3 – A few times a month5 Column 28 4 – Once a week6 Column 29 5 – A few times a week7 Column 30 6 – Everyday8 Column 319 Column 3210 Column 3311 Column 3412 Column 3513 Column 3614 Column 3715 Column 3816 Column 3917 Column 4018 Column 4119 Column 4220 Column 4321 Column 4422 Column 45

Column 47 – Emotional ExhaustionColumn 48 - DepersonalizationColumn 49 - Personal Accomplishment

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Data Coding Key SheetMichigan Alcoholism Screening Test

1 Column 52 1 – Yes2 Column 53 2 – No3 Column 544 Column 555 Column 566 Column 577 Column 588 Column 599 Column 6010 Column 6111 Column 6212 Column 6313 Column 6414 Column 6515 Column 6616 Column 6717 Column 6818 Column 6919 Column 7020 Column 7121 Column 7222 Column 7323 Column 74

Follow-up – DUI Column 75 Actual Number24 Column 76

Follow-up – PI Column 77 Actual Number

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APPENDIX D

CAPELLA UNIVERSITYInstitutional Review Board

225 South 6th Street, 9th FloorMinneapolis, Minnesota 55402

Institutional Review Board Application(When this IRB application is completed, it is to be submitted with the research proposal for the next stage of review. The Provost, or designee, gives final approval. See the checklists at the end of this form to verify that you have completed all of the information for this application.)

Name (e.g., Learner, Faculty Employee, Consultant, Directed Employee/Agent, Independent Contractor, Adjunct Faculty) Jeffery D. DuttonDate March 19, 2005Address 319 Robinson St. SW Decatur, Alabama 35601________________________________________________________________Phone (Work) (256) 306-4111 (Home) (256) 353-7542Email Address(es) [email protected]________________________________________________________________Field of Study Health and Human Services, Professional Counseling Degree Program Ph.D.

Supervisor Name Dr. Joanna OestmannSupervisor Title Mentor, Dissertation Committee Chairperson ; Chair, Counseling & General Human Services Areas & First Course Team Address No. 1: 4790 Summerset Dr. Rapid City, South Dakota, 57702; No. 2: 8311 Haven Harbor Way, Bradenton, Florida 34212Phone (Work) (941) 746-5913 (Home) (941) 224-1559 - CellEmail Address(es) No. 1: [email protected] No. 2: [email protected]

Provost Dr. Karen Viechnicki

11/ 13/ 04 Fill in date you successfully completed the online IRB Training required modules and optional modules appropriate to research topic (See attached documentation)

1. Project Title: (Use same title as Final Proposal)

POLICE OFFICER STRESS, BURNOUT, AND SUBSTANCE ABUSE: A CROSSECTIONAL VIEW

OF OFFICERS WORKING IN MID-SIZED ALABAMA POLICE DEPARTMENTS

2. Inclusive dates of project: March 19, 2005 through July 31, 2005




3. AbstractDescribe your research, including research questions and methods to be used (research question, hypothesis, and methodology). Describe the purpose of the research and explain what the research subjects/participants will be asked to do. Please use language that can be understood by a person unfamiliar with the area of research. Avoid area-specific jargon as much as possible. If you must use area-specific jargon, also include an explanation of its meaning. If using existing data or records, describe the sources of the data and your means of access to the data. If you are not using human participants, clearly indicate the nature of the data collection.

Background for the Study

Police officers routinely face exposure to humantragedy when dealing with traumatic injuries and man's inhumanity toward man (Kosinski & Vettor, 2002). Add to these stressors the demands of the public, differences in personnel demographics, conflicting personality characteristics; along with complex social systems created by organizational and administrative bureaucracy, and it becomes easy to see how occupational stress develops in police officers and eventually leads to burnout.

Stress or burnout in police officers is often difficult to recognize because officers are trained to portray a basic sterility in their personality and behavior, yet they are certainly human and are providing human services that usually involve close contact with the public they serve. The stress and burnout experienced by these police officers frequently leads to the use or abuse of substances such as alcohol or drugs that can have an impact on their work performance.

Substance abuse in the workplace or altered performance because of substance abuse can be considered unacceptable professional behavior based on police officers being society's protectors. Continuous substance abuse may also lead to dependence upon alcohol, drugs, or other substances as a means of relieving the negative emotions being experienced. The topic of this proposed research is concerned with determining if a positive correlation exists between the variables stress, burnout, and substance abuse and if so how significant that association is. Additionally, it seeks to understand whether or not officer gender plays a role in the development of substance abuse behaviors based on the experience of stress or burnout. Therefore stress and burnout will be examined for their association with abuse of alcohol or drugs in police officers working in mid-sized Alabama police agencies.

Purpose of the Study

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The purpose of this proposed study is to examine a hypothesized association between two different variables influencing the development of substance abuse in male and female sworn police officers working in mid-sized Alabama police departments.

The specific objectives of this research study will be the following,

5. To determine a global measure of job stress and itscorrelation with substance abuse in the selected population.

6. To determine a global measure of burnout and itscorrelation with substance abuse in the selected population.

7. To determine if there is a stronger or weakerrelationship between stress and substance abuse or burnout and substance abuse in the selected population.

8. To determine if the gender of officers creates anysignificant differences in the association of stress, burnout, and substance abuse with alcohol or drugs in the selected population.

Rationale

Stress or burnout in police officers can eventually lead to individual substance abuse or other dangerous behaviors leading to health problems, marital problems, career difficulties, abuse of family, abuse, of the public or even suicide (Feemster & Harpold, 2002). Also, according to reports from Euwema, Kop, & Schaufeli, (1999) burnout in police officers is characterized by negative, callous, and cynical attitudes towards the citizens they are supposed to protect and serve. Police officers that are emotionally exhausted are often left feeling incompetent, lack energy, and have fewer alternatives to choose from when problem solving. Conflict resolution skills, which police officers are regularly in need of, are less often used in a positive way. One negative way of solving individual problems is substance abuse with alcohol or drugs.

A problem that often results from stress and burnout issubstance abuse with alcohol, drugs, or other behaviors that

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can become self-destructive. Emotional suffering is often caused by stress and burnout and the problems that result. One way people choose to cope with this pain is through the use of substances such as alcohol or drugs or even risky behaviors like gambling, flamboyant sexual encounters, or excessive spending. These behaviors can be described as coping mechanisms to relieve the emotional pain of stress and burnout that ultimately can pose major problems for anyone involved.

Research Design

This study will be conducted using quantitative methods that result in a descriptive, correlational, non-experimental design. The data will be collected using a developed self-administered questionnaire and currently published, self-administered assessments designed to measure stress, burnout, and substance abuse (Creswell, 2003; Leedy & Ormrod, 2001).

Sampling Procedure

The sampling of participants will be generated from sampling subframes of sworn police officers employed by eight mid-sized Alabama law enforcement agencies. A request to participate will be made of officers selected by means of a systematic stratified random sampling technique to complete survey packages on-site at the agency where they are currently employed. The principal investigator will physically go to the participant at his or her place of employment and distribute the survey packages and be available for participant questions. Potential participants will be contacted by distribution of a letter of introduction for the study and principal investigator. This letter will precede the principal investigator's site visit and will be distributed by agency administrative personnel. The entire population of potential participants will receive this correspondence.

Data Collection Procedures

Participants for this study will be recruited by use of a letter of introduction introducing the researcher, the study, its purpose, the participant's confidential role in the study, and explaining to potential participants that they may be randomly selected and recruited to participate in the study. This letter of introduction will be sent to all participating agencies in

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advance of the researcher's site visit to distribute survey packages. These will be sent in a sufficient number to provide all potential participants a copy of this document so all agency members are informed about the study.

The researcher has been assigned a point of contact by the police chief at each agency. When the researcher makes his site visit to participating agencies he will meet with this point of contact, provide him or her with a list of randomly selected badge numbers, and while accompanied by the point of contact attempt to hand the survey package to each selected participant and ask this individual to take the time to complete the survey package and return it to the researcher immediately after completing it or declining to participate. This will be the procedure followed with both male and female participants, however only 46 female participants are available from the entire population and they will all be requested to participate in the study rather than be randomly selected. With the prior approval of police chiefs this individual officer contact can be accomplished immediately prior to, during, or after work briefings, reports times, break times or other times during the participants regularly scheduled work hours that he or she is available.

It is already known that at least one agency police chief will not allow outside persons to attend work briefings due to agency security initiatives. With this agency the point of contact will be given the complete list of randomly and deliberately selected participants and the survey packages to distribute to all potential participants. The point of contact will be given specific verbal instructions regarding informing each selected participant that his or her participation is completely voluntary and there is no consequence for not participating. The survey package instruction sheet provides the participant specific instructions for completing the assessments and questionnaire or opting to decline participation. The participant will then complete the package or decline to participate on the informed consent form, complete the assessments, and return the survey package sealed to the point of contact. This point of contact will then deliver the completed packages to the researcher. With the remaining agencies the case may present itself where the researcher cannot remain on-site at the agency to provide all selected participants the opportunity to participate in person. In these potential cases the remaining survey packages will be left with the assigned point of contact

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to distribute to selected participants, along with the same specific verbal instructions regarding voluntariness and the absence of consequences for declining participation in the study.

Selected participants will be asked to complete a demographics questionnaire, the Perceived Stress Scale, the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Human Services Survey, and the Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test. These tests are self-administered. The data will be collected in some cases on an individual basis and in groups in those cases that permit the researcher access to group meetings. Survey packages can be completed in 30 minutes or less. Any survey packages that are not completely filled out will be discarded. No monetary inducement will be offered or provided for participation in the study.

There are 633 potential participants that work for agencies meeting criteria for inclusion in this study. According to Leedy & Ormrod (2001, P. 221) "the basic rule is, the larger the sample, the better. In selecting an appropriate number of survey respondents Leedy & Ormrod suggest that if the population is around 500, at least half of the population should be sampled. This leads to approximately 300 needed participants. The number needed for an adequate sample of police officers, a relatively heterogeneous group, needs to be as high as possible. The only homogeneity expected with this group will be related to gender. A power analysis was conducted based on a 5% margin of error, a desired 95% confidence level, and a 50% response rate on the male population of 587 officers. The number required to maintain a level of confidence at p<.05 was 233. Completing the suggested sample size included adding all 46 female participants bringing the suggested total to 279.

Research Questions

The following research questions facilitate this proposed study:

4. Does a statistically significant correlation existbetween stress and substance abuse in Alabama police officers and is the direction of this hypothesized correlation positive or negative and reach a significance level of p<.05?

5. Does a statistically significant correlation exist

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between burnout and substance abuse in Alabama police officers and is the direction of this hypothesized correlation positive or negative and reach a significance level of p<.05?

6. Does a statistically significant difference in themeans exist between these hypothesized correlations when they are analyzed relative to officer gender and does any difference in the means reach a significance level of p<.05?

Hypotheses

The following hypotheses will be tested in this study:

Hypothesis No. 1, Ha: There is a statistically significant positive correlation between measured stress and the occurrence of substance abuse with alcohol or drugs in Alabama police officers that reaches a level of significance at p<.05. This correlation and its direction will be determined by calculating a Pearson r Correlation Coefficient (Leedy & Ormrod, 2001; Sprinthall, 2003).

Hypothesis No.1a, Ho: There is no statistically significant positive or negative correlation between measured stress and substance abuse with alcohol or drugs in Alabama police officers. This will be determined by calculating a Pearson r Correlation Coefficient (Leedy & Ormrod, 2001; Sprinthall, 2003).

Hypothesis No. 2, Ha: There is a statistically significant positive correlation between measured burnout and the occurrence of substance abuse with alcohol or drugs in Alabama police officers that reaches a level of significance at p<.05. This correlation and its direction will be determined by calculating a Pearson r Correlation Coefficient (Leedy & Ormrod, 2001; Sprinthall, 2003).

Hypothesis No. 2a, Ho: There is no statistically significant positive or negative correlation between measured burnout and substance abuse with alcohol or drugs in Alabama police officers. This will be determined by calculating a Pearson r Correlation Coefficient (Leedy & Ormrod, 2001; Sprinthall, 2003).

Hypothesis No. 3, Ha: There is statistically significant difference in the means of measured stress in male and female Alabama police officers and the occurrence of substance abuse

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with alcohol or drugs that reaches a level of significance at p<.05. The hypothesized difference will be calculated using an Independent t test to measure any difference between these two groups (Leedy & Ormrod, 2001; Sprinthall, 2003).

Hypothesis No. 3a, Ho: There is no statistically significant difference in the means of measured stress in male and female Alabama police officers and the occurrence of substance abuse with alcohol or drugs. The difference between these two groups will be calculated using an Independent t test (Leedy & Ormrod, 2001; Sprinthall, 2003).

Hypothesis No. 4, Ha: There is statistically significant difference in the means of measured burnout in male and female Alabama police officers and the occurrence of substance abuse with alcohol or drugs that reaches a level of significance at p<.05. The difference will be calculated using an Independent t test to measure difference between these two groups (Leedy & Ormrod, 2001; Sprinthall, 2003).

Hypothesis No. 4a, Ho: There is no statistically significant difference in the means of measured burnout in male and female Alabama police officers and the occurrence of substance abuse with alcohol or drugs. The difference between these two groups will be calculated using an Independent t test (Leedy & Ormrod, 2001; Sprinthall, 2003).

Instruments for the Study

The demographic questionnaire proposed for use inthis study was constructed by the study's principal investigator and is short, concise, and will be used to collect demographic data only. This questionnaire asks participants to report individual characteristics (e.g., gender, age, marital status, and tenure with his or her agency). The additional collected demographic data, although seemingly extemporaneous, will be made use of for future research and further study of the variables presently under investigation. The currently published assessments proposed for use in this study are The Perceived Stress Scale, (Cohen, 1994); The Maslach Burnout Inventory-Human Services Survey, (Maslach & Jackson, 1986; Maslach, Jackson, & Leiter, 1996); and The Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test (Conoley, Murdoh, & Reese, 1980; Murdoch, 2001).

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The Perceived Stress Scale is a valid and reliable instrument developed by Sheldon Cohen (1994). The Perceived Stress Scale and the Stress in General Scale were both evaluated for use in this proposed study with the Perceived Stress Scale being selected because it is reported to be the most widely used psychological test to measure perceived stress and because some normative data are available. This measurement instrument was evaluated for this proposed study since it is self-administered, short and simple, takes approximately 2-5 minutes to complete, free to non-profit researchers, and enjoys reasonable validity and reliability.

The assessment's author reports correlations with stress measures, reported health behavior measures, and help seeking behavior. Normative data for the Perceived Stress Scale are available related to gender, age, and race, which produces a reasonable fit with the design of this study. The Perceived Stress Scale is a 10-item self-administered questionnaire that asks about feelings and thoughts in the last month with responses ranging from 0 = never, to 4 = very often, and is designed for use with populations that have at least a junior high school education (Cohen, 1994). The Perceived Stress Scale is available in the public domain from an internet resource www.mindgarden.com. In this study burnout will be measured by asking participants to complete the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Human Services Survey to assess the different aspects of burnout experienced by police officers. The Maslach Burnout Inventory-Human Services Survey measures burnout in staff members in service settings that often require staff to spend considerable time in close, intense involvement with other people (http://www.psychometrics.com; Maslach, Jackson, & Leiter, 1996). The Maslach Burnout Inventory is self-administered, inexpensive, and has a short administration time of 10-15 minutes. The Maslach Burnout Inventory-Human Services Survey is designed to assess three identified aspects of experienced burnout: emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and lack of personal accomplishment (Maslach, Jackson, & Leiter). These aspects of burnout are thought to be characteristic of workers in human service settings or government such as police officers. Each aspect is measured by separate subscales (Hargrove, 1989; Maslach & Jackson, 1986; Maslach, Jackson, & Leiter, 1996; Sandoval, 1989). The Maslach Burnout Inventory-Human Services Survey is not licensed for reproduction and must be purchased in quantity by

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http://www.psychometrics.com/


the principal investigator for use in this study. It is electronically produced here for Institutional Review purposes only.

In this study substance abuse will be measured by asking participants to complete the Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test. Conoley, Murdoh, & Reese (2001) and Murdoch (2001) report that the Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test is a 25-item questionnaire developed for assessing alcohol abuse and alcohol related problems. The Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test can be licensed for reproduction, is inexpensive, is self-administered, and takes approximately 10 minutes administration time. The assessment itself and reproduction rights for the Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test have been purchased from its author, Dr. Marvin Selzer by the principal investigator for use with this study. Questionnaire items require a yes or no response and the MAST is reported to have reasonable face validity. Items on the questionnaire address drinking behavior, consequences of drinking, and attempts to receive help for drinking problems. The test is reported to be valid whether administered orally or in writing. A score of 3 or less indicates non-alcoholism. A score of 4 indicates possible alcoholism and a score of 5 indicates the respondent is alcoholic (Conoley, et al.). The propensity for respondents to attempt to fake good on this assessment is countered by a low cutoff score.

The research instruments, including the questionnaire developed by this study's principal investigator are attached to this application.

Attach abstract. See checklist to verify that you have completed the abstract.

4. Participant/Subject Population (or Final Sample to be selected)

a. Number: Male __587___ Female __46____ Total 633 potential participants

b. Age Range: __21_ to _Oldest participant at participating police agencies

c. Location of Participants:(Check all that apply)

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____ business ____elementary / secondary school ____outpatient ____hospital / clinic ____university / college

__X__ other special institution / agency: Mid-sized Alabama Law EnforcementAgencies, (e.g., populations ranging from 30,000 to 100,000.

d. Special Characteristics:(Check all that apply) _X_ adults with no special characteristics ___Capella University learner, faculty, and/or staff ___inpatients ___outpatients ___prisoners ___students _X__other special characteristics: specify Police Officers

If research is conducted through organizations or agencies, written documentation of approval / cooperation from each agency (e.g., business, school, hospital, clinic) must accompany this application. See attached correspondence to Alabama Police Chiefs requesting their departments' participation and their responses acknowledging their approval or declination to participate.

e. Recruitment of Participants/SubjectsDescribe how participants/subjects will be identified and selected for recruitment. Attach recruitment information (e.g., advertisement, bulletin board notices, recruitment letters): Recruitment letter is attached.

A request to participate will be made of officers selected by means of a systematic stratified random sampling technique to complete survey packages on-site at the agency where they are currently employed. The principal investigator will physically go to the participant at his or her place of employment and

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distribute the survey packages and be available for participant questions. Potential participants will be contacted by distribution of a letter of introduction for the study and principal investigator. This letter will precede the principal investigator's site visit and will be distributed by agency administrative personnel. The entire population of potential participants will receive this correspondence.See attached introduction/recruitment letters

Attach description and examples of information as it will appear to potential participants. See attached at the end of this document.

f. Approval for Use of RecordsIf participants/subjects are chosen from records (e.g., email address list, postal address list, telephone number list, patient charts, student grades), indicate who approved use of the records. If records consist of medical, student, or other private records, provide the protocol for securing consent of the participants/subjects in the records and approval from the custodian of the records. If appropriate, specify how Standards for Privacy of Individually Identifiable Health Information (the Privacy Rule) under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) have been observed.See website found at http://privacyruleandresearch.nih.gov/

N/A.

Attach description.

The only records requested consist of two lists from each participating agency. One list for male participants and one list for female participants. Both lists should identify potential participants by badge number or employee number only and was requested in this format. These records were requested in initial correspondence to the Police Chiefs of eight (8) mid-sized Alabama Police departments that all met inclusion criteria for the study (e.g., population size consisting of 30,000 to 100,000). This correspondence and a list of the police chiefs they were addressed to are attached.

g. Initial Contact with Participants/SubjectsWho will make the initial contact with participants/subjects? Describe how contact will be made. Attach description.

This study's principal investigator will make initial contact with study participants by sending sufficient copies of the attached letter of introduction to each participating agency to facilitate providing all employees at each participating department with a letter of introduction. This letter will

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http://privacyruleandresearch.nih.gov/


introduce the study, the principal investigator, what the participants will be asked to do, and guarantee confidentiality to study participants. The correspondence planned for use is attached to this IRB review application.

h. Inducements or Rewards to Participants/SubjectsWill participants/subjects receive inducements before, or rewards after the study?

No financial inducements or rewards will be provided to study participants. However, individuals participating in the study will be doing so on the approval of their individual agency's police chief and therefore survey packages will likely be completed "on the clock". Those individuals or agency administrators who are interested in the research findings will be provided a summary report of the findings reported in aggregate form with no personal identifiers attached to prevent any potential identification on individual participants. These reports will be printed and mailed to each individual requesting a copy.

Include this information in your assent/consent documents. See checklist at the end of this form to verify that you have completed the informed assent/consent documents or the cover to an anonymous questionnaire.Attach description. Informed Consent Document is attached to this application.

i. Activity for Control GroupIf some of the participants/subjects are in a control group, describe in detail the activity planned for that group. (This information must be included in the consent/assent forms.)

N/A.

5. Confidentiality of Data

a. Describe what provisions will be made to establish and maintain confidentiality of data and who will have access to data. If anonymous surveys are distributed, provide all the information that would have been given in an informed consent form as a cover to the survey (see the checklist at the end of this form to verify that you have completed the cover to the survey).Attach description.

Confidentiality will be maintained by using anonymous survey responses. The survey packages will be coded with the participant's badge or employee number along with a code for the individual department, both of which are intended for follow-up purposes and to be able to distinguish individual departments

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from the total population if analysis of the data is requested by participants or individual agency administrators. Even the principal investigator is blind to the names of individual participants based on having lists of badge or employee numbers. No one but the principal investigator will have access to consent forms, although even consent forms are designed to endorsed with a badge or employee number rather than name. The only other individuals having access to completed questionnaires and assessments will be data entry personnel or statistical consultants. Neither of these individuals will know who completed the assessments. Once the raw data has been entered into computer statistical programs, the completed demographics questionnaires and assessment instruments will be kept in a locked file cabinet at the private residence of the principal investigator. All but one of the departments participating in the study is outside the principal investigator's home town. Findings will be reported in aggregate form and no personal identifiers will be attached.

b. Where will the data be stored and for how long? Whatever media (e.g., audiotape, paper, digital recording, videotape) are used to record the data, explain who will have access and how long the media will be retained. It is required that data be stored for a minimum of seven years after publication of results (such as a dissertation). If data will be destroyed, describe the secure method for destroying the materials that will maintain confidentiality.Attach description.

The data will be stored in a locked file cabinet at the principal investigator's private residence.

Ethical Issues

Any possible risks to volunteer participants mustbe taken into consideration and necessary allowances made. Participants will be asked to anonymously but candidly report their level of job stress, their level of job burnout, and most particularly their level of substance use and abuse, which has the potential to lead participants to "fake good". This may provoke intense emotions in some participants since they will be reporting something that is usually hidden. Old emotions related to previous substance use or abuse in times of celebration, holidays, or successful police operations may surface and be found to contain unresolved issues. If necessary a debriefing period after completion of the survey packages will be provided to handle resurfaced uncomfortable issues. Further, the principal

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investigator is a Licensed Professional Counselor, Nationally Certified Counselor, and a Certified Criminal Justice Addictions Specialist in the state of Alabama. Professional debriefing services will be provided to participants without charge and appropriate referrals made if these are necessary.

Participation in this study was first approved by the agency chief executive officer. After that respondent participation is voluntary and the freedom to withdraw at any time will be outlined in writing. All respondents must endorse an Informed Consent Form but they will be asked to do so with their individual badge or employee number rather than their name. All completed survey packages must contain an endorsed Informed Consent Form. The Informed Consent Form may be reviewed at the end of this document.

All documents relating to ethical treatment of human participants/subjects which will be used in the course of the research must be attached to this form. These documents include consent forms, cover letters and other relevant material.

See checklist at the end of this document to verify that the application form has been completed.

Submit completed checked checklists with this application form to your school’s designated IRB reviewer.

Signature of Researcher

As a Researcher (e.g., Learner, Faculty Employee, Consultant, Directed Employee/Agent, Independent Contractor, Adjunct Faculty) you certify that:

The information provided in this application form is correct and complete. You will seek and obtain prior written approval from the Committee for any substantive

modification in the proposal. You will report promptly to your Supervisor any unexpected or otherwise significant

adverse events in the course of this study.

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You will report to the Supervisor and to the participants/subjects, in writing, any significant new findings which develop during the course of this study which may affect the risks and benefits to participation in this study.

You will not begin the research until final written approval is granted. You understand that this research, once approved, is subject to continuing review and

approval by your Supervisor. You will maintain records of this research according to Supervisor guidelines. Substantive change requires submitting an addendum to a previously approved application. An addendum is a totally new application form with attachments. The cover letter with the addendum describes the changes that were made from the originally approved application.

If these conditions are not met, approval of this research could be suspended.

Signature of the Researcher:

J. Danny Dutton_____________ Date March 19, 2005

----------------------------------------------------------

Signature of Supervisor

As a Supervisor (e.g., Mentor, Instructor, Practicum Supervisor, Internship Supervisor, Staff Supervisor) you certify that:

The information provided in this application form is correct and complete. You will review and provide prior written approval to your Supervisee for any

substantive modification in the proposal. You will inform the committee members appointed to oversee the research and its results.

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You will receive reports from your Supervisee about any unexpected or otherwise significant adverse events in the course of this study. You will inform the committee members appointed to oversee the research and its results.

You will review research records maintained by your Supervisee until the final written document is produced and approved by you and the oversight committee.

You will inform the oversight committee about the progress of your Supervisee from the time of developing research questions, through the proposal, IRB application, collection of data, writing results, and completing the documentation of the research.

You will contact the Lead Subject Matter Expert (e.g., Chair of the Specialization, Faculty Director) if additional review is needed.

You will make sure that this application has been completed by your Supervisee including all accompanying attachments before signing your name for approval.

You assume responsibility for ensuring that the research complies with University regulations regarding the use of human participants/subjects in research.

If these conditions are not met, approval of this research could be suspended.

Signature of the Supervisor:

Name _________________________________________ Date____________

Title _____________________________________________

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Signature of Provost or DesigneeAs Provost, or designee, I acknowledge that this research is in keeping with the standards set by the university and assure that the researcher has met all requirements for review and approval of this research.

Signature of Provost or Designee

Name __________________________________________ Date____________

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Completed forms should be sent as email attachments. Scan signature pages and attach as files. Send email messages with attachments to the designated IRB reviewers in one of the following schools representing your specialization affiliation:

Harold Abel School of PsychologySchool of BusinessSchool of EducationSchool of Human ServicesSchool of Technology

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Checklist: Form Completed

Use this form to verify that an application has all the necessary information completed in the Institutional Review Board (IRB) Application

1. __X__ all items answered (use NA where item is Not Applicable)__X__ demographics of learner and supervisor__X__ #1. Project Title__X__ #2. Dates of Project__X_ #3. Abstract (see checklist)__X__ #4. Population__X__ #4.a. number__X__ #4.b. age range__X__ #4.c. location of participants/subjects__X__ #4.d. special characteristics of participants/subjects__X__ #4.e. recruitment of participants__N/A__ #4.f. approval for use of records__X__ #4.g. initial contact with participants/subjects__N/A__ #4.h. inducements or rewards to participants/subjects__N/A__ #4.i. activity for non-participants/non-subjects

(e.g., control group)__X__ #5. Confidentiality of data

__X__ #5.a. establish, maintain confidentiality, access to data__X__ #5.b. storage/destruction of data

__X__ signatures__X__ researcher____ supervisor

2. __X__ application attachments (use NA where item is Not Applicable)__X__ approval from institution housing participants_N/A___ approval from institution housing records _N/A__ assent form for minor participants (see checklist)_N/A___ checklist for extracting information from files or records__X__ consent form for parent/guardian/adult participant (see checklist)__N/A__ cover letter for mailed consent form__N/A__ cover letter for mailed questionnaire__X__ cover information for questionnaire (see checklist)

__X__ instrument(s) to elicit responses from participants__N/A__ questions to be asked during interviews__X__ script/letter/email message to recruit participants_N/A___ other ________________________________________________

3. ___X ___ IRB Application complete action: forward to School designee to review for approvaldate of action March 15, 2005

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Checklist: AbstractUse this form to verify that item #3 has been completed on the

Institutional Review Board (IRB) Application

1. The application is fora. use of human participants in research (including record review) – answer

items below and submit to Capella School IRB reviewer b. use of animal subjects in research (including record review) – contact Capella

University IRB Committee before completing applicationc. other type of research (specify _______N/A______________) – contact Capella

University IRB Committee before completing application

2. Describe what the proposed research is about, and the research design to be used.(state, in one or two sentences, the research question to be answered, and any hypotheses to be tested) (research design choices include: historical, descriptive, developmental, case/field study, correlational, causal-comparative, experimental/quasi-experimental, action

3. State the research topic; describe what research has previously been done related to this topic; and restate the research question in terms of the implications from the results that are expected to be found.

4. Describe how the data will be collected through one or more of the following:a. using standardized tests with human participants, b. interviewing human participants, c. asking human participants to complete questionnaires, d. reviewing files containing information about human participants, or e. some other procedure ______________________________________). (NOTE: attach the tests, interview questions, questionnaire, checklist for record review, or summary of other procedures) (NOTE: attach documentation from officials who give authorization to access participants, files, or other sources that will provide the data) Alabama Police Chiefs.

5. (Omit for record review)Describe how the participants will be recruited, and the characteristics of the population that is represented. Letter attached

6. (Omit for research using human participants)Specify the characteristics of the records that will be selected. N/A

7. Describe how the sample will be selected.(specify the type of sampling, such as convenience, periodic, random, snowball, or systematic), (explain how the process will be conducted),

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(specify the number of participants or records in the sample), and(specify the characteristics of the sample, such as sex, age, and other variables to be studied).

8. (Omit for record review)Describe how participants will be contacted for recruitment as a participant.(describe how participants will be identified),(describe how participants will be approached), and(describe how participants will be recruited).(NOTE: attach advertisement, bulleting board notices, recruitment letters, script for telephone call, script for announcement at gatherings, or other documentation supporting the descriptions and explain any inducements to be offered to participants) 9. (Omit for record review or mailed questionnaires)Describe how informed consent will be provided.(specify the process of obtaining consent from adults, assent from minors, and/or consent from guardians of minors).(NOTE: attach the form(s) that will be used to obtain consent and/or assent)(NOTE: attach the cover letter if mailing the request for the form(s) that will be used to obtain consent and/or assent)

10. (Omit for record review or when informed consent is required)Describe how the participant will participate.(specify how participants will have the following information: what they are expected to do, how long their participation will take, who is conducting the research, the topic of the research, the reason for conducting the research, why they were selected, how anonymity will be protected, how data are kept confidential, and how to contact those who will have answers to any questions about the research, i.e., the researcher, the faculty mentor, and Capella University).(NOTE: attach the cover letter that will accompany the questionnaire

11. Describe how the data will be analyzed.(specify the type of quantitative analysis or qualitative analysis, and include a variable code sheet where appropriate).

12. Describe how the data will be stored, for what length of time, who will have access to the data, how it will be available to others, how the data will be destroyed, and how the confidentiality of the data will be maintained.

13. Describe how the results will be interpreted in terms of answering the research questions.

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Checklist: Informed Consent/Assent Form

for Participants to Sign

Use this form to verify that a consent form has all the necessary information, if a consent form is to be attached to the Institutional Review Board (IRB) Application. If the participant/subject is a minor, both an assent form for the participant/subject and a parent/guardian consent form are required.

__X__ 1. name of researcher

__X__ 2. title of researcher

__X__ 3. location of researcher

__X__ 4. reason for conducting research

__X__ 5. title of research project

__X__ 6. reason person was selected to participate

__X__ 7. explanation of how person was selected to participate

__X__ 8. description of what participant is to do

__X__ 9. length of time participation will take

__X__ 10. how anonymity of participant will be protected

__X__ 11. how data collected will be kept confidential

_N/A___ 12. benefits to the participant, including any rewards

__X__ 13. risks to the participant, including protections from those risks

__X__ 14. assurance of voluntary participation

__X__ 15. assurance that withdrawing from the research has no consequences

__N/A__ 16. request that participant print name participant badge number

__N/A__ 17. request that participant sign name and date signature badge number

__X__ 18. make provision that participant will receive a copy of the form

__X__ 19. provide the name of the researcher and contact information for questions or concerns

__X__ 20. provide the name of the supervisor and contact information for questions or concerns

__X__ 21. provide the name of Capella University as a contact for questions or concerns using the designated IRB reviewer’s contact information

__X__ 22. print the form on letterhead of the organization authorizing the research, or use the header of Capella University, 225 South 6th Street, 9th Floor, Minneapolis, MN 55402

__X__ 23. refer to the person as “participant” rather than “subject”

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Checklist: Cover for Questionnaire Used by Participants

Use this form to verify that a cover for a questionnaire has all the necessary information if a questionnaire is to be attached to the Institutional Review Board (IRB) Application

__X__ 1. name of researcher

__X__ 2. title of researcher

__X__ 3. location of researcher

__X__ 4. reason for conducting research

__X__ 5. title of research project

__X__ 6. reason person was selected to participate

__X__ 7. explanation of how person was selected to participate

__X__ 8. description of what participant is to do

__X__ 9. length of time participation will take

__X__ 10. how anonymity of participant will be protected

__X__ 11. how data collected will be kept confidential

__X__ 12. benefits to the participant, including any rewards

__X__ 13. risks to the participant, including protections from those risks

__X__ 14. assurance of voluntary participation

__X__ 15. assurance that withdrawing from the research has no consequences

__X__ 16. provide the name of the researcher and contact information for questions or concerns

__X__ 17. provide the name of the supervisor and contact information for questions or concerns

__X__ 18. provide the name of Capella University as a contact for questions or concerns

__X__ 19. provide the name of Capella University as a contact for questions or concerns using the designated IRB reviewer’s contact information

__X__ 20. print the form on letterhead of the organization authorizing the research, or use the header of Capella University, 225 South 6th Street, 9th Floor, Minneapolis, MN 55402

__X__ 21. refer to the person as “participant” rather than “subject

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CITI Course in The Protection of Human Research Subjects

Print This Report

Saturday, November 13, 2004

CITI Course Completion Record for Jeffery Dutton

To whom it may concern:

On 11/13/2004, Jeffery Dutton (username=DDutton2; Employee Number=) completed all CITI Program requirements for the Basic CITI Course in The Protection of Human Research Subjects.

Learner Institution: Capella University

Learner Group: Group 5.

Learner Group Description: Learners from the School of Human Services

Contact Information: Department: School of Human Services Role in human subjects research: Principal Investigator Mailing Address:

319 Robinson St. SW Decatur Alabama 35601 USA

Email: [email protected] Office Phone: 256-306-4111 Home Phone: 256-353-7542

The Required Modules for Group 5. are: Date completed

Introduction 11/11/04

History and Ethical Principles - SBR 11/11/04

Defining Research with Human Subjects - SBR 11/11/04

The Regulations and The Social and Behavioral Sciences - SBR 11/12/04

Assessing Risk in Social and Behavioral Sciences - SBR 11/12/04

Informed Consent - SBR 11/13/04

Privacy and Confidentiality - SBR 11/13/04

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https://www.citiprogram.org/members/courseandexam/certificate_print.asp?strKeyID=646DD608-F916-4BB5-9607-F65A46D5E251-200838


CAPELLA UNIVERSITY 11/13/04

Additional optional modules completed: Date completed

For this Completion Report to be valid, the learner listed above must be affiliated with a CITI participating institution. Falsified information and unauthorized use of the CITI course site is unethical, and may be considered scientific misconduct by your institution.

Paul Braunschweiger Ph.D.Professor, University of MiamiDirector Office of Research EducationCITI Course Coordinator

CR# 52235

PERCEIVED STRESS SCALE

Sheldon Cohen

The Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) is the most widely used psychological instrument for measuring the perception of stress. It is a measure of the degree to which situations in one’s life are appraised as stressful. Items were designed to tap how unpredictable, uncontrollable, and

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overloaded respondents find their lives. The scale also includes a number of direct queries about current levels of experienced stress. The PSS was designed for use in community samples with at least a junior high school education. The items are easy to understand, and the response alternatives are simple to grasp. Moreover, the questions are of a general nature and hence are relatively free of content specific to any subpopulation group. The questions in the PSS ask about feelings and thoughts during the last month. In each case, respondents are asked how often they felt a certain way.

Perceived Stress ScaleThe questions in this scale ask you about your feelings and thoughts during the last month. In each case, you will be asked to indicate by circling how often you felt or thought a certain way.

Badge or Employee Number ___________________Date _________

Age ________ Gender (Circle): M F Other _____________________________________

0 = Never 1 = Almost Never 2 = Sometimes 3 = Fairly Often 4 = Very Often

1. In the last month, how often have you been upsetbecause of something that happened unexpectedly?................................... 0 1 2

3.................................................................................................................4

2. In the last month, how often have you felt that you were unableto control the important things in your life?.................................................... 0 1 2

3.................................................................................................................4

3. In the last month, how often have you felt nervous and “stressed”?......... 0 1 23.................................................................................................................4

4. In the last month, how often have you felt confident about your abilityto handle your personal problems?................................................................ 0 1 2

3.................................................................................................................4

5. In the last month, how often have you felt that thingswere going your way?.................................................................................... 0 1 2

3.................................................................................................................4

6. In the last month, how often have you found that you could not copewith all the things that you had to do?............................................................ 0 1 2

3.................................................................................................................4

7. In the last month, how often have you been ableto control irritations in your life?..................................................................... 0 1 2

3.................................................................................................................4

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8. In the last month, how often have you felt that you were on top of things? 0 12.................................................................................................................3 4

9. In the last month, how often have you been angeredbecause of things that were outside of your control?.................................... 0 1 2

3.................................................................................................................4

10. In the last month, how often have you felt difficultieswere piling up so high that you could not overcome them?........................... 0 1 2

3.................................................................................................................4

Please feel free to use the Perceived Stress Scale for your research.

Mind Garden, Inc.1690 Woodside Road, Suite #202Redwood City, CA 94061 USA

Phone: (650) 261-3500 Fax: (650) 261-3505e-mail: [email protected]

www.mindgarden.comReferencesThe PSS Scale is reprinted with permission of the American Sociological Association, from

Cohen, S., Kamarck, T., and Mermelstein, R. (1983). A global measure of perceived stress. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 24, 386-396.

Cohen, S. and Williamson, G. Perceived Stress in a Probability Sample of the United States. Spacapan, S. and Oskamp, S. (Eds.) The Social Psychology of Health. Newbury Park, CA: Sage, 1988.

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Christina Maslach – Susan E. JacksonMBI Human Services Survey

(NOT LICENSED FOR DUPLICATION, EACH INSTRUMENT MUST BE PURCHASED FOR RESEARCH USE BUT IS REPRODUCED HERE FOR IRB REVIEW)

The purpose of this survey is to discover how various persons in human services or helping professions view heir job and the people with whom they work closely. Because persons in a wide variety of occupations will answer this survey, it uses the term recipients to refer to the people for whom you provide your service, care, treatment, or instruction. When answering this survey please think of these people as recipients of the service you provide, even though you may use another term in your work.

On the following page there are 22 statements of job-related feelings. Please read each statement carefully and decide if you ever feel this way about your job. If you have never had this feeling, write a "0" (zero) before the statement. If you have had this feeling, indicate how often you feel it by writing the number (from 1 to 6) that best describes how frequently you feel that way. An example is shown below.

Example:________________________________________________________________HOW OFTEN: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 Never A few Once a A few Once A few every


or less less week

HOW OFTEN0-7 Statement:

_______ I feel depressed at work.

If you never feel depressed at work, you should write the number "0" (zero) under the heading "HOW OFTEN". If you rarely feel depressed at work (a few times a year or less), you should write the number "1". If your feelings of

209


depression are fairly frequent (a few times a week, but not daily) you should write a "5".

CPP, Inc. 3803 E. Bayshore Road, Palo alto, CA 94303

(NOT LICENSED FOR DUPLICATION, EACH INSTRUMENT FOR USE MUST BE PURCHASED)

MBI Human Services Survey___________________________________________________________HOW OFTEN: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 Never A few Once a A few Once A few every


or less less week

HOW OFTEN0-7 Statements:

1. ____ I feel emotionally drained from my work.

2. ____ I feel used up at the end of my workday.

3. ____ I feel fatigued when I get up in the morning and have to face another day on the job.

4.____ I can easily understand how my recipients feel about things.

5.____ I feel I treat some recipients as if they were impersonal objects.

6.____ Working with people all day is really a strain for me.

7.____ I deal very effectively with the problems of my recipients.

8.____ I feel burned out from my work.

9.____ I feel I'm positively influencing other people's lives through my work.

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10.____ I've become more callous toward people since I took this job.

11.____ I worry that that this job is hardening meemotionally.

12.____ I feel very energetic.

13.____ I feel frustrated by my job.

14.____ I feel I'm working too hard on my job.

15.____ I don't really care what happens to some recipients.

16.____ Working with people directly puts too much stress on me.

17.____ I can easily create a relaxed atmosphere with my recipients.

18.____ I feel exhilarated after working closely with my recipients.

19.____ I have accomplished many worthwhile things in this job.

20.____ I feel like I'm at the end of my rope.

21.____ In my work, I deal with emotional problems very calmly.

22.____ I feel recipients blame me for some of their problems.

(Administrative use only) cat. cat. cat.

EE:____ ____ DR: ____ ____ PA: ____ ___

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Revised 8-25-80 Melvin L. Selzer, M.D., F.A.C.P.6967 Paseo LaredoLa Jolla, CA 92037

No. _____/_____ (619) 459-1035

(THIS ASSESSMENT IS LICENSED FOR USE AND REPRODUCTION IN THIS RESEARCH STUDY)

MICHIGAN ALCOHOLISM SCREENING TEST (MAST)

Points YES NO

0. Do you enjoy a drink now and then? ___ ___

(2) *1. Do you feel you are a normal drinker? (By normal we mean you drink less than or as much as most other people). ___ ___

(2) 2. Have you ever awakened the morning after some drinking the night before and found that you could not remember a part of the evening? ___ ___

(1) 3. Does your wife, husband, a parent, or other near relative ever worry or complain about your drinking? ___ ___

(2) *4. Can you stop drinking without a struggle after one or two drinks? ___ ___ (1) 5. Do you ever feel guilty about your drinking? ___ ___ (2) *6. Do friends or relatives think you are a normal drinker? ___ ___

(2) *7. Are you able to stop drinking when you want to? ___ ___

(5) 8. Have you ever attended a meeting of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA)? ___ ___

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(1) 9. Have you gotten into physical fights when drinking? ___ ___

YES NO(2) 10. Has your drinking ever created problemsbetween you and your wife, husband, a parent, or other relative? ___ ___

(2) 11. Has your wife, husband, (or other family member) ever gone to anyonefor help about your drinking? ___ ___

(2) 12. Have you ever lost friends becauseof your drinking? ___ ___

(2) 13. Have you ever gotten into trouble atwork or school because of drinking? ___ ___

(2) 14. Have you ever lost a job because ofdrinking? ___ ___

(2) 15. Have you ever neglected your obligations,your family, or your work for two or moredays in a row because you were drinking? ___ ___

(1) 16. Do you drink before noon fairly often? ___ ___

(2) 17. Have you ever been told you have livertrouble? Cirrhosis? ___ ___

(2) **18. After [heavy] drinking have you ever had Delirium Tremens (D.T.s) or severe shaking, or heard voices or seen things that really were not there? ___ ___

(5) 19. Have you ever gone to anyone for helpabout your drinking? ___ ___

(5) 20. Have you ever been in a hospital becauseof drinking? ___ ___

(2) 21. Have you ever been a patient in a psychiatrichospital or on a psychiatric ward of a generalhospital where drinking was part of the problem

213


that resulted in hospitalization? ___ ___

YES NO

(2) 22. Have you ever been at a psychiatric or mental health clinic or gone to any doctor, social worker, or clergyman for help with any emotional problem, where drinking was a part of the problem? ___ ___

(2) ***23. Have you ever been arrested for drunk driving, driving while intoxicated, or driving under the influence of alcoholic beverages? ___ ___


(2)***24. Have you ever been arrested, or taken into custody even for a few hours, because of other drunken behavior? ___ ___


* Alcoholic Response is Negative** 5 points for Delirium Tremens***2 points for each arrest

SCORING SYSTEM In general, five points or more would place the subject in an "alcoholic" category. Fours points would be suggestive of alcoholism, three points or less would indicate the subject was not an alcoholic.

Programs using the above scoring system find it very sensitive at the five point level and it tends to find more people alcoholic than anticipated. However, it is a screening test and should be sensitive at its Lower levels.

References:Selzer, M.L., The Michigan Alcoholism screening Test (MAST): The quest for a New Diagnostic Instrument. American Journal of Psychiatry, 3: 176-181. 1971.

Selzer, M.L., Vinokur, A., and van Rooijen, L., A

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Self-Administered Short Version of the Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test (SMAST). Journal of Studies On Alcohol, 36: 117-126, 1975.Dr. Selzer: I have today mailed a personal check in the amount of $40 for the Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test copy. Please return it to the address listed below. Thanks, J. Danny Dutton, MS., MA., ALC, NCC Board Eligible319 Robinson St. SWDecatur, AL 35601(256) 353-7542(256) 306-1131 - cell(256) 341-1541 - [email protected] Original Message ----- From: [email protected] To: [email protected] Sent: Friday, August 06, 2004 4:51 PMSubject: Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test

There is a $40 charge for a copy of the MAST with scoring key. You are free to duplicate it for your testing use. Mail the check to: Dr. Melvin Selzer 6967 Paseo Laredo La Jolla, CA 92037-6425 The test will be sent out by return mail. Thank you.

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QUESTIONNAIRE Date _________ No.____/_____This questionnaire contains questions designed to identify demographic data only. Please complete each question by circling the appropriate response or filling in the blank with appropriate information.

What is your gender?

(1) Male_________ (2) Female_________

What is your race? (1) African-American _____(2) White-American ____(3) Hispanic ____(4) Other ____; Please describe_______________________

What is your age? __________

What is your marital status? (1)Single_____; (2)Married_____; (3)Divorced_____; (4)Divorced, remarried_______;(5)Widowed____

Please check the appropriate answer regarding your complete tenure as a sworn law enforcement officer. Pleasecombine your total number of years of experience whether with the same agency or not.

I have been a sworn police officer

(1) ____1-5 years.

(2)____6-10 years.

(3)____11-15 years.

(4)____16-20 years.

(5)____more than 20 years.

Census Data –Source of City size

Thank you for taking the time to fill out this questionnaire.

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12 JANUARY 2005CEO's NameChief of PoliceAlabama Police DepartmentP.O. Box 0000Any town, AL 00000-9999

Lt. Danny Dutton (Ret.)319 Robinson St. SWDecatur, Al [email protected](256) 353-7542

RE: Doctoral Research Study with Alabama Police Officers

Dear Chief of Police:

My name is Danny Dutton and I am a retired police Lieutenant from Decatur Alabama Police Department. At my retirement July 31, 2003 I was a 26 year veteran of the department. Since retiring I have begun a second career in psychotherapy and I am actively involved in completing a doctoral dissertation that is related to Alabama police officers working in mid-sized Alabama police departments. Your city, along with seven others in the north, central, and south Alabama area meet the inclusion criteria for participation in this research study (e.g., population).

I am pursuing a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Health and Human Services specializing in Counseling Studies from Capella University which is located in Minneapolis, Minnesota. This dissertation effort is being supervised by Dr. Joanna Oestmann who serves as my dissertation committee chairperson. She may be e-mailed at [email protected] for any verification that you deem necessary.

To briefly explain the research purpose it is a simple matter to ask a police officer if his or her work is stressful and the answer would be yes, absolutely. Stress seems to be inherent in the profession. You as well as the men and women that you work with know this all too well. That stress, left unmanaged, often turns into the syndrome of burnout. Both these physical and emotional maladies frequently result in the use or abuse of substances such as alcohol or prescription drugs. The

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main goal of this research effort is to survey and determine if correlations exist in these variables and if there is any variance in the correlations when one considers officer gender.

To collect data for this research study I am asking for your department's participation and your permission to travel to your department and survey a random sampling of the male and female officers working in your department. I would be asking this random sampling of officers to complete a demographics questionnaire, and three currently published assessments that measure stress, burnout, and substance use. The entire survey package will take no longer than 15-20 minutes for each individual to complete. This can be accomplished in groups at shift briefings, the end of the shift, report times or whenever officers that are willing to voluntarily participate would be allowed to give me 15-20 minutes of their time.

If you approve of your department's participation I will ask that you provide me with a dual list of sworn officers only, one male and one female that are identified by their badge numbers or employee numbers only. In this way I have no idea what the names of any voluntary participant might be and their anonymity is guaranteed in this way. Further, to support documentation that you do approve of the agency's participation I would need a letter from you on your department letter head indicating your approval to satisfy Institutional Review Board requirements. The random sampling would then be accomplished by my selection of every "nth." badge number on the list to make up the randomly selected population that I would solicit voluntary participation from. Based on currently published data from the Alabama Criminal Justice Information Center (2003) the eight Alabama cities meeting criteria employ 975 sworn officers, 911 male and 64 female and this provides a respectable population to attempt to draw data from.

If you will allow your department's participation in my study I would be so very grateful and will gladly share any findings that you might be interested in. I must however guarantee complete anonymity to participants for the study's methodology to be approved through Capella University's Institutional Review Board and my dissertation committee.

If you allow participation from your department please send me the requested information via the e-mail address or USPS address listed on page one of this correspondence. Once your

219


approval has been documented and I have completed Institutional Review Board review and the Dissertation Proposal conference, (prior to the end of March 2005) I will contact you again to set up a date or dates to travel to your department and survey for data.

Thank you very much for your consideration.

Sincerely,

Lt. Danny Dutton (Ret.)MS, MA, LPC, NCC, CCJASDecatur, Alabama

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The previous letter of introduction and request for permission is to survey officers from eight mid-sized Alabama Law Enforcement agencies and was mailed to the police chiefs listed below on January 12, 2005.

**Ken Swindle *Rick SingletonChief of Police Chief of PoliceTuscaloosa Police Department Florence Police Depart.P.O. Box 2089 702 S. Seminary St.Tuscaloosa, AL 35403-2089 Florence, AL 35630(205) 349-2121 (256) 768-2737

*Nick Monday *David BuskinChief of Police Chief of PoliceDothan Police Department Madison Police Department210 N. Saint Andrews St. Municipal ComplexDothan, AL 36303 100 Hughes Road(334) 615-3000 Madison, AL 35758

(256) 772-5689*Joel T. GilliamChief of PoliceDecatur Police DepartmentP.O. Box 488/402 NE Lee St.Decatur, AL 35602(256) 341-4660

*Nick DerzisChief of PoliceHoover Police Department *= Participation Approved100 Municipal Drive ** = Declined ParticipationHoover, AL 35216(205) 444-7700

**Frank DeGraffenried *Richard CrouchChief of Police Chief of PoliceAuburn Police Department Gadsden Police Department141 North Ross St. P.O. Box 267 / 90 Broad St.Auburn, AL 36830 Gadsden, AL 35902(334) 887-4907 (256) 549-4582

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E-mail received in response to follow-up request for agency participation at Auburn, Alabama Police Department received 02/08/2005 at 1650 hours. Participation in the project is declined.

Mr. Dutton, We appreciate your request and think the project is very interesting. However, this department will not be able to assist you in your research. Due to scheduling and other important projects that we had previously allocated resources, we cannot assist you. Thank you for your interest and the invitation to participate.

Sincerely, Capt. Wilbur Brown Auburn Police

E-mail in response to follow-up request for agency participation at Tuscaloosa, Alabama Police Department received 02/08/2005 at 1452 hours. Participation in the project is declined.

Chief Swindle advised at this time we have so much going on that we won't be able to participate.

-----Original Message-----From: danny dutton [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Tuesday, February 08, 2005 11:21 AMTo: Kaye PiersonSubject: research assistance request - Danny Dutton

Please see the attached correspondence created in MS Word. Please forward to Chief Swindle for his action as soon as possible. Thanks in advance. J. Danny Dutton MS, MA, LPC, NCC, CCJAS319 Robinson St. SWDecatur, Al 35601cell: (256) 306-1131work: (256) 306-4111home: (256) 353-7542

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E-mail received in response to follow-up request for agency participation at Gadsden, Alabama Police Department received 02/08/2005 at 1505 hours. Participation in the project is approved.

danny dutton wrote:

Please see the attached correspondence and advise at your earliest convenience. Thanks in advance. J. Danny Dutton MS, MA, LPC, NCC, CCJAS319 Robinson St. SWDecatur, Al 35601cell: (256) 306-1131work: (256) 306-4111

Lt. Dutton,

Your letter has been forwarded to Capt. Troy Higdon who will serve as your GPD point of contact for this project. Capt. Higdon can be reached at (256) 549-4696 or by e-mail at [email protected]. Good luck with your research.

Richard Crouch

E-mail received in response to follow-up request for agency participation at Dothan, Alabama Police Department received 02/15/2005 at 0805 hours. Participation in the project is approved.

Mr. Dutton,

It would be a pleasure to help you with your research. If you would please give me a call at (334)615-3690 we can talk about getting this set up for you. My office hours are 0800-1700 Monday through Friday. If you cannot reach me at the office, please feel free to call my cell # (334)797-0262.

Lt. Greg BentonSpecial Operations DivisionDothan Police [email protected]

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E-mail received in response to follow-up request for agency participation at Hoover, Alabama Police Department received 02/17/2005 at 0936 hours. Participation in the project is approved.

Hello Danny, No you are not a PIA, Chief Derzis has just been making a lot of changes and moves here in the department (all for the good, of course) and we have all been busier than usual. Not to mention the office renovations we are trying to get done! He has agreed to allow officers to complete questionnaires. He does not allow, nor have we ever, anyone to come to roll calls. I have been with the department for 15 years, and know of no visitors in roll call. Is this something you can give me to give to the officers? I'll be glad to help in any way possible. Ellen-----Original Message-----From: danny dutton [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Wednesday, February 16, 2005 6:57 PMTo: Madden, EllenSubject: Follow-up contact for research assistance

Ellen: This e-mial is to follow-up on our previous contact and tries to determine if your police chief has had opportunity to determine if he will allow Hoover PDs participation in the mentioned research study. If so, correspondence from his office along with the lists of male and female officer's badge or ID numbers would be very much appreciated. I do realize that in the big scheme of things my request is very low priority and if I begin to become a PIA please let me know right away. At this point the effort to complete dissertation is simply "on hold" until I am able to determine which departments will allow participation and I know what my total population will be. Thanks so much for your patience. J. Danny Dutton MS, MA, LPC, NCC, CCJAS319 Robinson St. SWDecatur, Al 35601cell: (256) 306-1131work: (256) 306-4111

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CAPELLA UNIVERSITYGRADUATE SCHOOL RESEARCH STUDY

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A Doctoral Dissertation On:

CAPELLA UNIVERSITY225 South 6th. St. 9th. FloorMinneapolis, Minnesota, 55402

1-888-CAPELLA Ext. 5377GRADUATE SCHOOL RESEARCH STUDYA Doctoral Dissertation On:

Police Officer Stress, Burnout, and Substance Abuse in mid-sized Alabama Agencies

Dear Sworn Police Officer:

Thank you very much for consenting to participate in a study that will be valuable to the profession of law enforcement. Since you have endorsed an Informed Consent Form with your badge or employee number, I am presenting you with the package of assessments and the demographic questionnaire. While completing these assessments if you chose to discontinue your participation in this study you are free to do so without consequences. These instruments will serve as tools to gather data related to the influences of stress and burnout and their impact on professional police officers practicing law enforcement today. Please be reminded that you SHOULD NOT put your name on any of these instruments or in any way identify yourself other than as requested while completing this assessment package. All questionnaires and assessments will only be handled by me and will be kept strictly confidential at all times. After their use they will be kept in my personal locked file cabinet in my private residence.

Inside this assessment package you will find 1) a demographic questionnaire asking you for information about yourself; 2) a Perceived Stress Scale that takes approximately 2 minutes to complete; 3) a Human Services Survey that takes approximately 10-15 minutes to complete; and 4) a Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test which takes approximately 10 minutes to complete. After completing the assessment package please seal the envelope and return it directly to me as soon as possible. Thank you very much for taking approximately 20 minutes of your valuable time to help me complete this research study. If you have any questions about this study you may contact me at (256) 353-7542 or at [email protected].

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Sincerely, Lt. Danny Dutton (Ret.)

CAPELLA UNIVERSITY225 South 6th. St. 9th. FloorMinneapolis, Minnesota, 55402


GRADUATE SCHOOL RESEARCH STUDYA Doctoral Dissertation On:

Police Officer Stress, Burnout, and Substance Abuse in mid-sized Alabama Agencies

This letter is to kindly ask you for your assistance. Your agency chief has approved your department's participation in a research study being conducted to learn more about the effects of stress and burnout on police officers in Alabama cities such as yours. You may be asked to participate if chosen in a random selection process. Your voluntary participation will help facilitate the completion of a doctoral dissertation research study being conducted by me under the supervision of Dr. Joanna Oestmann. Completion of this dissertation is part of the Ph.D. degree requirements for Capella University. If you have questions you may contact Dr. Oestmann by e-mailing her at [email protected]. You may also contact Capella University at the letter head address listed in this correspondence. If you are chosen to participate and do so voluntarily you may withdraw from the study at any time without consequences.

As a retired Police Lieutenant with 26-years active duty law enforcement experience, I have a passionate interest in the factors that lead police officers to the development of difficulty in their professional and personal lives. I am diligently working toward a better understanding of such issues that so often cause chronic physical and emotional disease, and all too often the early end to promising careers. Over the course of my law enforcement career I have come to understand the demands on your time and your agency. Completing this entire survey package should not take more than 20-30 minutes and your police chief has approved of your participation.

During the small amount of time it takes to complete the survey package your truthful and honest responses will help our

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profession to better understand the issues under study and assist other professionals in helping brother or sister officers as well as ourselves.

Please understand that all of the results obtained from the survey packages will be kept strictly confidential at all times. You will not be identified to anyone as having provided any specific or particular responses. You will be identified with a control number (your badge or employee number) to be used for package inventory or follow-up purposes only. The information used in completing the dissertation will have no source identification other than aggregate demographics and that participants were all sworn police officers, regardless of rank. All completed survey packages will be kept secure by me in a locked file cabinet. At the completion of the study paper copies of the assessments and questionnaire will be shredded leaving behind only raw data and numbers in electronic format.

If you are randomly selected to participate in this study which is important to our entire profession, you will be asked to fill out a consent form indicating whether or not you choose to do so. Please return it to me when turning in the survey package. I will be physically present at your agency to conduct this survey procedure and collect completed survey packages. An area will be set up for face-to-face contact with me to obtain the survey package and it should be returned to me at that same location. If you have any questions or you would like a summary of the statistical results, you may contact me by telephoning at (256) 353-7542 in Decatur, Alabama, USA or your may e-mail me at [email protected] to request the summary or have your questions answered.

Thank you so very kindly for your participation in this study and realize that your participation is just another part of our chosen profession, helping others. Good luck and stay safe.

Sincerely,

Lt. J. Danny Dutton, (Ret.) MS,MA,LPC,NCC,CCJAS

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No. ______ / ______




Police Officer Stress, Burnout,And Substance Abuse: A Crossectional View of Officers in mid-

sized Alabama Police Departments

INFORMED CONSENT DOCUMENTATION

The research study you are about to take part in is related to

stress, burnout, and substance abuse by police officers in mid-

sized Alabama police departments. You role in the study is to

complete a demographics questionnaire and three (3) assessments

that are in this survey package, along with endorsing this

Informed Consent Form with you badge or employee number and the

date only. Please do not put your name on any of these documents.

The entire survey package should take no more than 30 minutes to

complete from start to finish. There are no financial inducements

or rewards being offered for your voluntary participation. You

were selected by your badge or employee number being randomly

selected from a pool of officer numbers that are employed for six

(6) mid-sized Alabama police departments. Your participation in

this study is completely voluntary and you may terminate your

participation at any time during completion of your role in the

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study without any consequence what so ever. All of your

individual responses will be kept strictly private and

confidential. This study asks you to rate your perception of the

stress you experience on the job, the burnout you experience as a

result of working in close contact with people in difficult

situations, and the amount of your individual substance use such

as alcohol. During your participation in this study should you

become uncomfortable with the assessment package in any way you

may terminate further participation without any consequence. If

you become distressed over participation then you may be referred

to you agency Employee Assistance Program or be referred to a

licensed counselor who will assist you with processing your

discomfort. The principal researcher in the study is Danny

Dutton, a retired police officer with the City of Decatur,

Alabama that is now a licensed practicing counselor in Alabama.

If you wish to contact this researcher about the study you may do

so by telephoning (256) 353-7542 or e-mailing Danny Dutton at

[email protected]. You may also contact Danny Dutton's

academic supervisor connected to this study, Dr. Joanna Oestmann,

by telephoning the Capella University telephone number provided

or e-mailing her at [email protected]. You may also

contact Capella University by writing or telephoning at the

address or telephone number provided. At the completion of this

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study, if interested, you may obtain a summary report of

aggregate collected data and its analysis. To obtain this

information, request it from the principal researcher using the

telephone number or e-mail address provided or make your desire

known when submitting your survey package. Thank you very much

for your considerate participation in this doctoral dissertation

study.

Researcher: J. Danny Dutton, MA,LPC,NCC,CCJAS ________________ _______________Participant Badge or DateEmployee Number

Participant Declines to Participate

_______________________ _______________Badge or Employee Number Date

Data Coding Key Sheet

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Demographics Survey

Survey Number Column 1 Agency Code Column 21. Gender Col. 42. Race Col. 53. Age Col. 64. Marital Status Col. 75. Tenure Col. 8

Gender 1 – Male2 - Female

Race 1 – African American2 – White-American3 – Hispanic4 – Other

Age Reported in Years

Marital Status 1 – Single2 - Married3 – Divorced4 – Divorced, Remarried5 – widowed

Tenure 1 – 1 – 5 years2 – 6 – 10 years3 – 11 – 15 years4 – 16 – 20 years5 – More than 20 years

City Size/Population 2000 Census data rounded up to thenearest thousand

Data Coding Key Sheet

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Perceived Stress Scale

Items 1 – 100 – Never1 – Almost Never2 – Sometimes3 – Fairly Often4 – Very Often

*Item 1 Column 11 Item 2 Column 12 Item 3 Column 13 Item 4 Column 14 Item 5 Column 15 Item 6 Column 16 Item 7 Column 17 Item 8 Column 18 Item 9 Column 19 Item 10 Column 20

Column 22 – Total Score

Items 4, 5, 7, & 8 are recoded with numbers being reversed.

*Items 4, 5, 7, & 8 – positively stated, responses are reversed

Data Coding Key SheetMaslach Burnout Inventory-Human Services Survey

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1 Column 24 0 – Never2 Column 25 1 – A few times a month 3 Column 26 2 – Once a month4 Column 27 3 – A few times a month5 Column 28 4 – Once a week6 Column 29 5 – A few times a week7 Column 30 6 – Everyday8 Column 319 Column 3210 Column 3311 Column 3412 Column 3513 Column 3614 Column 3715 Column 3816 Column 3917 Column 4018 Column 4119 Column 4220 Column 4321 Column 4422 Column 45

Column 47 – Emotional ExhaustionColumn 48 - DepersonalizationColumn 49 - Personal Accomplishment

Data Coding Key SheetMichigan Alcoholism Screening Test

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1 Column 52 1 – Yes2 Column 53 2 – No3 Column 544 Column 555 Column 566 Column 577 Column 588 Column 599 Column 6010 Column 6111 Column 6212 Column 6313 Column 6414 Column 6515 Column 6616 Column 6717 Column 6818 Column 6919 Column 7020 Column 7121 Column 7222 Column 7323 Column 74

Follow-up – DUI Column 75 Actual Number24 Column 76

Follow-up – PI Column 77 Actual Number

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8696014 Maslach Scoring Key

Documents

police officers

police officer stress

substance abuse

sample of police

study burnout

perceived significant

showed stress

substance sample