The role of job stress and burnout on health-related problems in the Trinidad and Tobago police service

The police in Trinidad experience extremely stressful job conditions (e.g., elevated rates of violent crime, the rapid spread of organized crime, financial constraints, and staff shortages) which could lead to health-related problems. The purpose of the current study is to examine the relationship between job stress and health-related problems and to determine whether burnout mediates this relationship. Data from police officers in Trinidad was used to test these relationships.

Using self-report questionnaires from all eight police station districts in Trinidad (N = 331 police officers), this study conducted structural equation modeling (SEM) to examine the relationship between job stress, burnout and health-related problems.

The results indicated that officers' job stress increased their burnout and health-related problems. As the authors expected, officers' burnout, served as a mediating variable between job stress and health-related problems. In other words, job-related stress can lead to burnout, which in turn, leads to health-related problems.

Despite meaningful findings, a few limitations (e.g., measurement issues and missing values) were present in this study.

Policing studies have paid less attention to Caribbean policing. Findings in this study have implications for addressing officers' health-related problems.