Purpose

Job stressor exposure is associated with mental health in police officers. Police stress research rarely draws a distinction between urban and rural policing, raising the possibility that stressors specific to the rural context remain unidentified and their implications unknown. This may hinder actions to protect the mental health of those involved in policing rural communities.

Design/methodology/approach

Among rural policing teams in an English county police force this study used an exploratory sequential mixed method design to (1) identify and quantify exposure to rural policing stressors and (2) examine links between job stressor exposure and psychological distress.

Findings

Interviews (N = 34) identified three rural policing job stressor themes: (1) job demands, (2) isolation and (3) critical decisions. Survey data (N = 229) indicated significant differences in exposure by rank to demand and critical decision stressors, with police community support officers (PCSOs) reporting lower exposure than officers of constable and sergeant rank. Overall, 44% of respondents reported symptoms of psychological distress indicative of likely minor psychiatric disorder; higher levels of psychological distress were associated with higher stressor exposure across all three job stressor themes for PCSOs and constables and within the job demand theme for sergeants.

Originality/value

Findings point towards practical actions focussed on resource provision for officers and a research strategy to ameliorate the impact of stressors in English rural policing.

中文翻译：

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英国农村警务：工作压力和心理困扰

目的

工作压力源的暴露与警察的心理健康有关。警方对压力的研究很少区分城乡之间的警务工作，这增加了针对农村背景的压力源仍然未知且其影响未知的可能性。这可能会阻碍采取行动保护参与治安农村社区人士的心理健康。

设计/方法/方法

在英国县警察部队的农村警务团队中，本研究使用探索性顺序混合方法设计来（1）识别和量化农村警务压力源的暴露程度，以及（2）检查工作压力源暴露与心理困扰之间的联系。

发现

访谈（N  = 34）确定了三个农村警务工作压力源主题：（1）工作需求，（2）孤立和（3）关键决策。调查数据（N  = 229）表明，按需求等级和关键决策压力等级的暴露程度存在显着差异，警察社区支持官员（PCSO）报告的等级暴露低于警官和中士级别的官员。总体而言，有44％的受访者报告了心理困扰症状，表明可能患有轻度精神病。在PCSO和警员的所有三个工作压力源主题中，以及在中士的工作需求主题中，较高的心理压力都与较高的压力源暴露相关。

创意/价值

调查结果表明，着眼于实际行动的重点是为官员提供资源和研究策略，以减轻压力源在英国农村警务中的影响。