Burnout and Stress Measurement in Police Officers: Literature Review and a Study With the Operational Police Stress Questionnaire.

Research has demonstrated that policing is a stressful occupation and that this stress has a negative impact on police officers' mental and physical health, performance, and interactions with citizens. Mental health at the workplace has become a concern due to the costs of depression, anxiety, burnout, and even suicide, which is high among police officers. To ameliorate occupational health, it is therefore crucial to identify stress and burnout levels on a regular basis. However, the instruments frequently used to measure stress have not valorized the specificity of policing tasks. This study aims to: (i) conduct a literature review to identify questionnaires used to assess occupational stress and burnout among police officers; (ii) analyze the psychometric characteristics of a Portuguese version of Operational Police Stress Questionnaire (PSQ-Op); and, using the PSQ-Op and other questionnaires, (iii) to identify operational stress, burnout, and distress levels among Portuguese police officers. The literature review identified 108 studies which use a multiplicity of questionnaires to measure burnout or occupational stress among police officers, but few studies use specific police stress questionnaires. Sample sizes were mostly below 500 participants and studies were mainly developed in the last decade in the USA and Brazil, but also in another 24 countries, showing the extent of the interest in this topic. This study applied to 2057 police officers from the National Portuguese Police, a force policing urban centers, and used the PSQ-Op, as well the Spanish Burnout Inventory and the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale. The results show that the psychometric properties of the Portuguese version of PSQ-Op are adequate. Factorial analysis revealed two dimensions defined as social and work issues, which were associated with measures of distress and burnout. Fit indices suggested a second-order solution called operational police stress. Overall, and considering the scale range of each questionnaire, the results showed moderate values of operational stress, distress, and burnout. However, considering their cut-off points, 85% of the sample presented high operational stress levels, 11% critical values for burnout, and 28% high distress levels, with 55% of the sample at risk of a psychological disorder. These results reinforce the need to prevent stress and to invest in police officers' occupational health.

Understanding the experience of psychopathology after intimate partner violence: the role of personality.

OBJECTIVES: To fully understand the dynamics of Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) it is necessary to understand the role of personality. The current understanding of which personality characteristics are associated with IPV victimization is, however, far from comprehensive. Given this gap in the literature, our objective was to examine the associations between the dimensions of the psychobiological model of personality and psychopathological symptoms in women who had experienced IPV. METHODS: Using a case-control design, a group of women who had experienced IPV and who were living in shelters (n = 50) were compared to a group of control women who had not experienced IPV (n = 50). All women completed the Temperament and Character Inventory-Revised and the Brief Symptom Inventory. RESULTS: Victims of IPV showed significantly higher levels of Harm Avoidance and Self-Transcendence, and lower levels of Reward Dependence and Self-Directedness, than the non-IPV control group. Victims of IPV also reported elevated levels of psychopathological symptoms. Personality dimensions showed a broadly consistent pattern of associations across different psychopathological symptoms. A regression analysis indicated that Novelty Seeking was negatively associated with psychopathological symptoms in victims of IPV, but not significantly associated in non-victims. CONCLUSIONS: The study highlights the important role of Harm Avoidance and Self-Directedness for understanding psychopathological symptoms. Novelty Seeking appears to play an important role in the expression of individuals' experiences of IPV. These results have important implications for research and practice, particularly the development and implementation of interventions.

Associations between sleep quality and domains of quality of life in a non-clinical sample: results from higher education students.

OBJECTIVE: The association between sleep quality and quality of life (QoL) in clinical samples diagnosed with sleep disorders, mental disorders, or other medical conditions has been widely investigated. However, few studies focused on this relationship in samples of mostly young and healthy adults. This study analyzed the associations between sleep quality and several dimensions of QoL in higher education students and examined whether or not sleep quality would significantly predict QoL after statistically controlling for psychopathological symptoms. DESIGN: Observational and transversal. SETTING: Non-clinical; higher education. PARTICIPANTS: A sample of 324 college students, aged 17 to 47 years (M=20.89±2.85) were enrolled. MEASUREMENTS: European Portuguese versions of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), the WHOQOL-Bref to measure QoL, and the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI) to measure psychopathological symptoms. RESULTS: All PSQI components were significantly associated with general QoL and the psychological and physical QoL domains. The subjective sleep quality and daytime dysfunction PSQI components were consistently associated with all WHOQOL-Bref domains and general QoL. Hierarchical regression analyses further showed that the PSQI components as a whole, and in particular subjective sleep quality, added significant contributions to the general QoL facet and to the psychological, physical, and environmental QoL domains, after controlling for psychopathological symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: Several components of sleep quality and different facets/domains of QoL are associated in higher education students, particularly subjective sleep quality, which remains a significant predictor of most aspects of QoL, regardless of the presence of psychopathological symptoms.

Adult attachment style and cortisol responses in women in late pregnancy.

BACKGROUND: Recent research has documented the association between attachment and cortisol rhythms. During pregnancy, when attachment patterns are likely to be activated, elevated levels of cortisol are associated with negative effects for the mother and the foetus. The aim of the present study was to examine the association of adult attachment style and cortisol rhythms in pregnant women. METHODS: Eighty women in the third trimester of pregnancy participated in the study. Adult attachment was assessed using the Adult Attachment Scale - Revised (AAS-R). Participants collected 4 samples of salivary cortisol at two different days; 3 samples were collected in the morning immediately after wakeup and one sample was collected by bedtime. RESULTS: Results found group significant differences in the cortisol diurnal oscillation (F (1,71) =26.46, p < .001,), with secure women reporting a steep decrease in cortisol from awakening to bedtime, while women with fearful avoidant attachment reported no changes. No group differences were found regarding the cortisol awakening response. CONCLUSIONS: These results highlight the importance of considering attachment patterns during pregnancy, suggesting fearful avoidant attachment style as a possible risk factor for emotional difficulties and dysregulation of the neuroendocrine rhythms.

Psychometric properties of Glasgow Sleep Effort Scale in Portuguese language.

Sleep effort is generally defined as the attempt to force and induce sleep in a voluntary manner. This study aimed to document the psychometric properties of a brief measure of sleep effort--the Glasgow Sleep Effort Scale--in its European (Portuguese) version using a large sample (N = 2,995). The results supported the good internal consistency of the overall scale scores (α = .79). Potential construct validity was evaluated with various methods, including criterion validity. There was also a convergent validity indicator. Principal components analysis revealed a 1-dimensional structure that accounted for 45% of the total variance. This preliminary study suggests that this Portuguese version of the Glasgow Sleep Effort Scale is a measure of sleep behavior suitable for research and clinical purposes. However, more studies are needed, particularly with clinical groups.

Women's attachment as a predictor of pain during labour and post-delivery: a prospective observational study.

INTRODUCTION: Labour is considered to be one of the most painful and significant experiences in a woman's life. The aim of this study was to examine whether women's attachment style is a predictor of the pain experienced throughout labour and post-delivery. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Thirty-two pregnant women were assessed during the third trimester of pregnancy and during labour. Adult attachment was assessed with the Adult Attachment Scale ' Revised. The perceived intensity of labour pain was measured using a visual analogue scale for pain in the early stage of labour, throughout labour and post-delivery. RESULTS: Women with an insecure attachment style reported more pain at 3 cm of cervical dilatation (p < 0.05), before the administration of analgesia (p < 0.01) and post-delivery (p < 0.05) than those securely attached. In multivariate models, attachment style was a significant predictor of labour pain at 3 cm of cervical dilatation and before the first administration of analgesia but not of the perceived pain post-delivery. DISCUSSION: These findings confirm that labour pain is influenced by relevant psychological factors and suggest that a woman's attachment style may be a risk factor for greater pain during labour. CONCLUSION: Future studies in the context of obstetric pain may consider the attachment style as an indicator of individual differences in the pain response during labour. This may have important implications in anaesthesiology and to promote a relevant shift in institutional practices and therapeutic procedures.

IntroduçÉo: O parto é considerado uma das experiências mais dolorosas e significativas na vida de uma mulher. O objectivo deste estudo foi avaliar se o estilo de vinculaçÉo da grávida é um preditor significativo da dor experienciada durante o parto e após o nascimento.Material e Métodos: Trinta e duas grávidas foram avaliadas durante o terceiro trimestre de gravidez e durante o parto. A vinculaçÉo no adulto foi avaliada através da Escala de AvaliaçÉo no Adulto ' Revista. A intensidade da dor de parto foi avaliada através de uma Escala Visual Analógica para a dor durante o parto e após o nascimento.Resultados: As mulheres com um estilo de vinculaçÉo inseguro reportaram maior dor aos 3 cm de dilataçÉo cervical (p < 0,05), antes da administraçÉo da analgesia (p < 0,01) e após o nascimento (p < 0,05) que as mulheres com uma vinculaçÉo segura. Nos modelos multivariados, o estilo de vinculaçÉo mostrou-se um preditor significativo da dor no parto aos 3 cm de dilataçÉo cervical e antes da administraçÉo da analgesia, mas nÉo na dor percebida após o nascimento.DiscussÉo: Estes resultados confirmam que a dor de parto é influenciada por factores psicológicos relevantes e sugerem que o estilo de vinculaçÉo da mulher pode ser um factor de risco para maior intensidade de dor no parto.ConclusÉo: Estudos futuros no contexto da dor obstétrica devem considerar o estilo de vinculaçÉo como um indicador de diferenças individuais na experiência de dor durante o parto. Isto pode ter importantes implicações para a Anestesiologia e promover importantes mudanças nas práticas institucionais e procedimentos terapêuticos.

[Knowledge, attitudes and behaviours about AIDS in Portuguese adolescents in urban and non-urban environment]. / Os conhecimentos, atitudes e comportamentos sobre SIDA dos adolescentes portugueses do meio urbano e não-urbano.

The main objective of this investigation was to identify and compare preventive knowledge, attitudes and behaviors regarding AIDS between adolescents at the secondary school in urban and non-urban areas in Portugal. This is a descriptive study with a sample of 826 individuals (455 adolescents from urban environment and 371 from a non-urban environment). The instrument for data collection adopted was based on the Health Belief Model conceptual model. It was recognized that there is a relation between the environment insertion of the adolescents and the recognition of AIDS as a serious threat, and the knowledge about the risks of infection with AIDS and the attitudes towards AIDS.