Critical incident stress management for law enforcement officials, 1999

Item — Call Number: MU Thesis Odo

Identifier: b2087904

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

From the Collection:

The collection consists of theses written by students enrolled in the Monmouth University graduate Criminal Justice program. The holdings are bound print documents that were submitted in partial fulfillment of university requirements for the Master of Arts degree.

Dates

Creation: 1999

Creator

Odom, Karen R. (Author, Person)
Liu, Peter W. (Peter Weizheng) (Thesis advisor, Person)

Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open for research use. Access is by appointment only.

Access to the collection is confined to the Monmouth University Library and is subject to patron policies approved by the Monmouth University Library.

Collection holdings may not be borrowed through interlibrary loan.

Research appointments are scheduled by the Monmouth University Library Archives Collections Manager (723-923-4526). A minimum of three days advance notice is required to arrange a research appointment for access to the collection.

Patrons must complete a Researcher Registration Form and provide appropriate identification to gain access to the collection holdings. Copies of these documents will be kept on file at the Monmouth University Library.

Extent

1 Items (print book) : 123 pages ; 8.5 x 11.0 inches (28 cm).

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between critical incident involvement and levels of critical incident stress. A critical incident is defined as an event faced by emergency personnel which causes them to experience unusually strong emotional reactions. These reactions have the ability to interfere with the officer's ability to perform his duties either at the scene or subsequently. Critical incident involvement is divided into four categories: personal, for officers personally involved in the critical incident; co-worker, for officers whose co-workers are involved in the critical incident; citizen victim, for officers whose exposure to the critical incident is a result of someone else's victimization; and finally, no involvement, for officers who have never been exposed to a critical incident. Three relationships are examined in this research. First, the relationship between patrol officers' level of critical incident involvement and their level of critical incident stress are examined. Secondly, an analysis of the relationship between police officers' career stage and levels of critical incident stress is examined. Thirdly, the relationship between police officers whose departments have a critical incident stress management protocol are compared to officers whose departments have no critical incident stress protocol.

The research hypotheses formulated for this research are based on the three aforementioned relationships. A questionnaire was distributed and the data was analyzed utilizing T-Tests and ANOVA procedures. The results of the data analysis indicate that the more personal the officer's level of involvement, the higher the officer's stress level. Herein lies the contribution this study makes to research in the field of critical incident stress. This research also indicates that an officer's career stage does not have an effect on an officer's critical incident stress level.

Finally, the data analysis reveals that there is a relationship between officers' critical incident stress levels and whether or not their departments have critical incident stress management protocols. In light of recent legislation regarding the enactment of critical incident protocol, the present research supports the need for such protocols and therefore has tremendous policy implications.