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 of Human 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 between showed stress, no statistically and significant abuse associations in the study

burnout,

substance

sample. However, analyzed data did partially replicate findings from a published correlational study of perceived stress and burnout. between Statistically perceived significant stress, differences emotional were found

exhaustion,

depersonalization, substance abuse, and gender in the sample of police were no officers from mid-sized Alabama cities although there

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.

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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.

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Table of Contents Acknowledgements Table of Contents List of Tables List of Figures CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION Introduction to the Problem Background of the Study Statement of the Problem Purpose, Rationale, & Objectives of the Study Research Questions Hypotheses Significance of the Study Nature of the Study: Theoretical/Conceptual Framework Theoretical Model, Figure 1 Variables in the Study Definition of Terms Stress Burnout Substance Abuse Self-medication Gender Sworn Police Officer vii 1 2 7 8 10 10 14 16 19 19 20 20 20 21 21 22 22 iv vii xii xiii

Mid-sized Alabama Law Enforcement Agency SPSS Assumptions and Limitations in the Study Organization of the Remainder of the Study CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW Stress and Burnout in General Sources of Stress and Burnout Symptomology of Stress and Burnout Stressors Specific to Police Work Role Conflict as a Stressor for Police Officers Personality as a Stressor for Police Officers Organizational Factors as a Stressor Burnout in Police Officers Substance Abuse in Police Officers and its Prevalence Alcohol Consumption as a Function of Camaraderie, Socialization, and Stress Relief Substance Abuse in the Workplace and its Costs Defining Substance Abuse, Dependence, and its Neurobiology Help-Seeking Behaviors in Police and Others CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY Research Methodology & Study Design

22 22 23 26 27 27 29 31 33 39 41 45 50 55

60 63

65 70 77

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77 79

Sample Population & Setting Sampling Procedure 82

Data Collection Procedures Assessment Instrument Reliability & Validity The Perceived Stress Scale Maslach Burnout Inventory-Human Services Survey Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test Data Analysis & Statistical Procedures CHAPTER 4: PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS OF RESEARCH FINDINGS Introduction Sample Characteristics and Demographics Descriptive Findings Research Findings on Stress Research Findings on Burnout Research Findings with Multiple Regression Analysis Research Findings on Substance Abuse Variable Differences due to Gender Summary of Research Findings CHAPTER 5: SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS Introduction Statement of Problem Review

84 88 90 90 92 94 99 99 100 103 104 107 113 116 119 121 123 123 124

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Conceptual Framework Review Review of Hypothesis Discussion Sample of Alabama Police Officers Relationship Between Stress and Substance Abuse, Hypothesis One Relationship Between Burnout and Substance Abuse, Hypothesis Two Variance Between Gender Groups for Major Variables, Hypotheses Three and Four Limitations of the Study Recommendations for Future Research Policy Implications of Study Results Summary and Conclusions REFERENCES: APPENDIX A: RESEARCH INSTRUMENTATION AND CORRESPONDENCE Introductory Letter to Study Participants Informed Consent Form Instructions to Study Participants Alabama Police Chief Address List Correspondence to Police Chiefs: Permission for their department to participate in the study Demographic Questionnaire x

125 125 126 128

129

132

135 135 138 141 143 146 160 160 162 165 166

167 170

The Perceived Stress Scale The Maslach Burnout InventoryHuman Services Survey The Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test APPENDIX B: Normative Data for MBI-HSS APPENDIX C: DATA CODE KEY SHEETS Demographics Survey Code Sheet Perceived Stress Scale Code Sheet Maslach Burnout Inventory-HSS Code Sheet Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test Code Sheet APPENDIX D: HUMAN PARTICIPANTS IN RESEARCH APPLICATION

171 173 176 179 180 180 181 182 183 184

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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 Table 7: Model Summary of regression Analysis for Burnout Subscales and Substance Abuse Table 8: ANOVA for Regression Analysis of Burnout Subscales and Substance Abuse Table 9: Alabama Officer Substance Abuse Reports Table 10: Paired Samples Test for Study Variables And Gender Table 11: Paired Samples t-Test for Male and Female Officers 115 116 116 118 120 132

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List of Figures

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 19

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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 midsized 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

Stress, Burnout, and Substance Abuse in Police 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 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.

Stress, Burnout, and Substance Abuse in Police 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 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).

Stress, Burnout, and Substance Abuse in Police 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 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

Stress, Burnout, and Substance Abuse in Police 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 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,

Stress, Burnout, and Substance Abuse in Police 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, & 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

Stress, Burnout, and Substance Abuse in Police 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 selfmedication 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 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

Stress, Burnout, and Substance Abuse in Police 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 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 selfmedicate 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

Stress, Burnout, and Substance Abuse in Police 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 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

Stress, Burnout, and Substance Abuse in Police significant differences in the association of stress, burnout, and substance abuse with alcohol or drugs in the selected population.

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Research Questions The following research questions facilitate this proposed study: 1. Does a statistically significant correlation exist between

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

Stress, Burnout, and Substance Abuse in Police 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

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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 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

Stress, Burnout, and Substance Abuse in Police 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).

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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 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).

Stress, Burnout, and Substance Abuse in Police

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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 ttest to measure differences 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 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 Alabama police officers and the occurrence of substance abuse with alcohol or drugs that reaches a level of significance at p<.05. The difference was calculated using a t-test to measure

Stress, Burnout, and Substance Abuse in Police differences between these two groups (Leedy & Ormrod, 2001; Sprinthall, 2003).

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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 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, 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

Stress, Burnout, and Substance Abuse in Police 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 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

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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

Stress, Burnout, and Substance Abuse in Police police officers, as well as the protection and services they

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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.

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

Stress, Burnout, and Substance Abuse in Police 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

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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 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

Stress, Burnout, and Substance Abuse in Police officers, 975 of which work for agencies that serve populations

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

Stress, Burnout, and Substance Abuse in Police 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

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user become evasive. These factors motivated this proposed study.

Stress Substance Abuse Burnout

Gender

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.

Stress, Burnout, and Substance Abuse in Police 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

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the dependent variable substance abuse. Hypothesis Four includes the independent variable gender related burnout and the dependent variable of substance abuse.

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,

Stress, Burnout, and Substance Abuse in Police

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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 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 selfmedicate and with what substance. Alcohol, the only legal drug other than prescription medications, is a type of sedativehypnotic 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

Stress, Burnout, and Substance Abuse in Police of alcohol or prescription drugs (substance abuse) to relieve perceived or experienced physical or emotional pain resulting from distress and burnout.

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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 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).

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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. 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 InventoryHuman Services Survey, and the Michigan Alcoholism

Stress, Burnout, and Substance Abuse in Police 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). 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

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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,

Stress, Burnout, and Substance Abuse in Police 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

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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 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.

Stress, Burnout, and Substance Abuse in Police However, every effort has been made to eliminate any bias by using totally quantitative data.

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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 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.

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

Stress, Burnout, and Substance Abuse in Police 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

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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

Stress, Burnout, and Substance Abuse in Police 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-medicate emotional pain. Police officers do not

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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).

Stress, Burnout, and Substance Abuse in Police

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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 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

Stress, Burnout, and Substance Abuse in Police criminal justice system and the public served that are often

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manifested as role conflict. Because of these stressors powerful symptoms and reactions often occur.

Symptomology of Stress and Burnout 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, &

Stress, Burnout, and Substance Abuse in Police 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 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,

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(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

Stress, Burnout, and Substance Abuse in Police burnout must be thought of in personal terms. What some workers

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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 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

Stress, Burnout, and Substance Abuse in Police 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 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

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mutilations and fatalities, public disorder events, line of duty

Stress, Burnout, and Substance Abuse in Police injuries like being wounded by gunfire, or seeing abused or deceased children are also man-made sources of stress that must

35

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 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-thejob experience may not cover up. Older

Stress, Burnout, and Substance Abuse in Police 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

36

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 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

Stress, Burnout, and Substance Abuse in Police 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

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stress than critical incidents. Examples of these organizational stressors are inadequate training, poor supervision and leadership, lack of recognition for superior performance, the 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

Stress, Burnout, and Substance Abuse in Police

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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 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 helpseeking behavior requires men, the majority population of officers, to set aside a large portion of their masculine

Stress, Burnout, and Substance Abuse in Police 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

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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.

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

Stress, Burnout, and Substance Abuse in Police 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

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goals 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

Stress, Burnout, and Substance Abuse in Police 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.

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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

Stress, Burnout, and Substance Abuse in Police 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 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 doesnt

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Stress, Burnout, and Substance Abuse in Police 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

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comfortable focusing on 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) Sensingthinking; b) Sensing-feeling; c) Intuitive-thinking; and d)Intuitive-feeling. These combinations of cognitive styles, along with the characteristics of introversion or extroversion,

Stress, Burnout, and Substance Abuse in Police characterize a variety of behaviors that a person demonstrates

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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 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

Stress, Burnout, and Substance Abuse in Police conflict simply by making routine contacts with the public they

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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, 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

Stress, Burnout, and Substance Abuse in Police perform duties appropriately; b) the failure to recognize that

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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 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

Stress, Burnout, and Substance Abuse in Police 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

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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 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

Stress, Burnout, and Substance Abuse in Police 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.

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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 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

Stress, Burnout, and Substance Abuse in Police

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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 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

Stress, Burnout, and Substance Abuse in Police organization will rise up and the development of stress, or burnout in the long term will become a problem (de Jaeger, 2001).

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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 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

Stress, Burnout, and Substance Abuse in Police (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

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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 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

Stress, Burnout, and Substance Abuse in Police 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

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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 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

Stress, Burnout, and Substance Abuse in Police 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 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

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Stress, Burnout, and Substance Abuse in Police organizational structure, lack of participation in decision

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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 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

Stress, Burnout, and Substance Abuse in Police impacts of early career experiences become relatively weak over

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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 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

Stress, Burnout, and Substance Abuse in Police 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

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alcohol use 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

Stress, Burnout, and Substance Abuse in Police alcohol use are difficult to conduct in alcoholic humans simply

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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 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

Stress, Burnout, and Substance Abuse in Police 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

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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 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.

Stress, Burnout, and Substance Abuse in Police 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

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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 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

Stress, Burnout, and Substance Abuse in Police consistent with the findings of DeBakey & Stinson (1992).

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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 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

Stress, Burnout, and Substance Abuse in Police 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

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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 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

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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 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

Stress, Burnout, and Substance Abuse in Police to the problem of drug abuse and the problems associated with

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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.

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

Stress, Burnout, and Substance Abuse in Police 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

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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 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

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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 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

Stress, Burnout, and Substance Abuse in Police 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

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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. 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

Stress, Burnout, and Substance Abuse in Police 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 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

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the action of key neurotransmitters working in a cascade fashion

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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, & 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

Stress, Burnout, and Substance Abuse in Police 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

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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, GABAgamma-aminobutyric acid, Glutamate, and Acetylcholine) are not working in harmony and are functionally 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

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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.

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

Stress, Burnout, and Substance Abuse in Police attempting to self-medicate themselves to relieve symptoms of

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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 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

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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 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.

Stress, Burnout, and Substance Abuse in Police Tucker (2001) reports that the disease perspective on addiction requires a formal treatment process that involves Alcoholics Anonymous participation to start change in ones

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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 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

Stress, Burnout, and Substance Abuse in Police problems more often than denial or poor motivation (King & Tucker).

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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 nonresilient. 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

Stress, Burnout, and Substance Abuse in Police 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

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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). 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

Stress, Burnout, and Substance Abuse in Police 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.

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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

Stress, Burnout, and Substance Abuse in Police design. The data was collected using a developed selfadministered questionnaire and currently published, self-

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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

Stress, Burnout, and Substance Abuse in Police meaning to collected data and strengthen the study's internal validity (Benard, 2000; Benton & Craib, 2001). 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

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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

Stress, Burnout, and Substance Abuse in Police or employee numbers for development of a sampling frame. The

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total number of sworn officers available for this study was 633, 587 males and 46 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

Stress, Burnout, and Substance Abuse in Police size of 233 randomly selected officers from the six mid-sized Alabama police agencies. This sample size allows generalization of findings back to the population sampled. This calculation is

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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

Stress, Burnout, and Substance Abuse in Police 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).

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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

Stress, Burnout, and Substance Abuse in Police 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 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.

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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,

Stress, Burnout, and Substance Abuse in Police 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 study of the variables presently under investigation.

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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

Stress, Burnout, and Substance Abuse in Police 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 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

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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

Stress, Burnout, and Substance Abuse in Police 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 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.

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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.

Stress, Burnout, and Substance Abuse in Police Any survey packages that were not completely filled out were discarded. No monetary inducement was offered or provided for participation in the study. 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

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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%.

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Assessment Instrumentation Reliability and Validity For the purposes of this study demographic data related to study participants was generated from a research questionnaire 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

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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. 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.

Stress, Burnout, and Substance Abuse in Police 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 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

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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 InventoryHuman Services Survey to assess the different aspects of burnout

Stress, Burnout, and Substance Abuse in Police experienced by police officers. The Maslach Burnout InventoryHuman 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

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(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

Stress, Burnout, and Substance Abuse in Police 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 correlated with behavior ratings made by knowledgeable informants, with job characteristics that are expected to contribute to burnout, and with other measures of

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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

Stress, Burnout, and Substance Abuse in Police 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

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alcohol related problems. The Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test can be licensed for reproduction, is inexpensive, is selfadministered, 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

Stress, Burnout, and Substance Abuse in Police consistency estimates ranged from .83 to .95 among several

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studies. Test-retest reliability estimates ranged from .97 for a one-day interval to .84 for an average 4.8 month interval (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

Stress, Burnout, and Substance Abuse in Police 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 being selected to participate, with exception of the female officers who were intentionally selected (Bernard, 2000;

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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).

Stress, Burnout, and Substance Abuse in Police 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). 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

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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

Stress, Burnout, and Substance Abuse in Police 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

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and the effect it has on stress, burnout, and substance abuse in Alabama police officers working for mid-sized 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

Stress, Burnout, and Substance Abuse in Police demonstrate that the proposed model is logical, and the statistical relationships reported are as expected. Presentation of the data obtained and interpretations and

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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 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.

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

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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

Stress, Burnout, and Substance Abuse in Police This research examined hypothesized relationships between

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stress, burnout, and substance abuse, along with the demographic variable of gender in police officers working in mid-sized 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 thirtythree survey packages were distributed to attempt obtaining the sample size suggested by a computed power analysis seeking to

Stress, Burnout, and Substance Abuse in Police 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 within the study sample itself, but indicates need for additional research in the area of the

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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 City Population Number of Responses Madison PD Florence PD Gadsden PD Hoover PD Decatur PD Dothan PD 23 27 9 24 29 36 148 Percent 16.0 18.0 6.0 16.0 20.0 24.0 100.0

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

Stress, Burnout, and Substance Abuse in Police participants were male, 81%. Respondents were 89.9% white-

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American; 9.5% African-American; and .7% other races. Experience in the law enforcement profession (e.g., tenure) was also reported and 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.

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Table 2 Participant Selection Frequency Random Selection Add-in Intentional Selection Total 99 22 27 148 Percent 67.0 15.0 18.0 100.0

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,

Stress, Burnout, and Substance Abuse in Police 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

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scores into thirds. Low scores ranged from 1-9 points, moderate scores ranged from 10-18 points, and high scores ranged from 1935 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

Stress, Burnout, and Substance Abuse in Police 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

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perceived stress was not significantly correlated with substance abuse when Perceived Stress Scale scores were correlated with 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.

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Table 3 Stress Scores Correlated with Substance Abuse Scores examined for Gender Differences Gender Gender Stress Level Substance Abuse Pearson Correlation Sig. (2-tailed) N Pearson Correlation Sig. (2-tailed) N Pearson Correlation Sig. (2-tailed) N 1 . 148 .012 .881 148 .069 .405 148 Stress Level .012 .881 148 1 . 148 .126 .127 148 Substance Abuse .069 .405 148 .126 .127 148 1 . 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

Stress, Burnout, and Substance Abuse in Police study conducted by Maslach, Jackson, & Leiter where police

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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 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

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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 Percentage of Total Burnout Reported in mid-sized Alabama Police Departments LOW EE DP PA 63% 20% 21% MODERATE 17% 29% 32% HIGH 20% 51% 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.

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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 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.

Stress, Burnout, and Substance Abuse in Police However, as reported by Hennessey (1999) more officers are

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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 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

Stress, Burnout, and Substance Abuse in Police burnout subscales. Perceived Stress and Emotional Exhaustion correlated at a significance level of p < .01,

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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 < .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.

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Table 5 Burnout Sub-Scale Scores Correlated with Substance Abuse Scores examined for Gender Differences GENDER GENDER PSS MBI-EE MBI-DP MBI-PA 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 r=.250** PSS MBI-EE r=.020 r=.493** MBI-DP r=.069 r=.285** r=.484** MBI-PA r=-.080 r=.175* r=.306** MAST r=.069

Stress, Burnout, and Substance Abuse in Police 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

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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 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

Stress, Burnout, and Substance Abuse in Police statistical method. No significant correlations were indicated

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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) B .920 .375 .051 .025 .104 .016 Std. Error .249 .071 .072 .067 .079 .126 Beta .449 .059 .030 .096 -.009 t 3.690 5.268 .709 .383 1.312 -.129 Sig. .000 .000 .479 .702 .192 .897

(Constant) MBI EE MBI DP MBI PA MAST SA Gender

Dependent Variable: Stress Level

Table 7 Model Summary of Regression Analysis for Burnout Subscales and Substance Abuse R .505 R Square .255 Adjust R Square .229 Std. Error of Estimate .594 R Square Change .255 F Change 9.727 Sig. F Change .000

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Table 8 ANOVA for Regression Analysis of Burnout Subscales and Substance Abuse Sum of Squares Regression Residual Total 17.174 50.144 67.318 Mean Square 3.435 .353 F 9.727 Sig. .000

Predictors: (Constant) Gender, emotional Exhaustion, Officer Substance Abuse, Officer Personal Accomplishment, Officer Depersonalization Dependent 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.

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The work of Blum & Roman (2002) suggests that approximately 7% of full time employees in America are heavy drinkers and onethird 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". Based on these studies and others the hypothesis was developed that stress and burnout in police officers in midsized 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 midsized 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

Stress, Burnout, and Substance Abuse in Police alcoholism is slightly higher, but consistent with the reports

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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 Frequency 116 19 13 148 Percent 78.4 12.8 8.8 100.o

0-3 pts. Not Alcoholic 4 pts. Suggests Alcoholism > 5 pts. Alcoholic Total

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.

Stress, Burnout, and Substance Abuse in Police Variable Differences Due to Gender This research hypothesizes a statistically significant

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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 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

Stress, Burnout, and Substance Abuse in Police reflects statistically significant differences between genders

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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 Paired Samples Test for Study Variables and Gender Mean PSSPair Gender 1 MBI-EE Pair Gender 2 MBI-DP Pair Gender 3 MBI-PA Pair Gender 4 MAST Pair Gender 5 Std. Dev. .778 Std. Error Mean .064 t Sig. (2tailed) .000

.615

9.611

.385

.892

.073

5.251

.000

1.128

.851

.070

16.123

.000

1.074

.850

.070

15.378

.000

.115

.715

.059

1.956

.052

Stress, Burnout, and Substance Abuse in Police Summary of Research Findings

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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 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

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employment standards for police officers in Alabama will also be addressed.

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.

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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

Stress, Burnout, and Substance Abuse in Police 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.

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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. 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

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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 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.

Stress, Burnout, and Substance Abuse in Police 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

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potential participants that declined to participate. All 148 of 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,

Stress, Burnout, and Substance Abuse in Police married, experienced law enforcement professionals that may indeed maintain a stable lifestyle that is relatively free of

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stress, burnout, and substance abuse as a coping mechanism. More times than not with age comes maturity and perhaps police officers in 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 selfadministered questionnaire that asks about feelings and thoughts in the last month and is designed for use with populations that

Stress, Burnout, and Substance Abuse in Police have at least a junior high school education. There are no

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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. 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

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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 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.

Stress, Burnout, and Substance Abuse in Police Table 11 Paired Samples t-Test for Male and Female Officers t-female PSSPair Gender 1 MBI-EE Pair Gender 2 MBI-DP Pair Gender 3 MBI-PA Pair Gender 4 MAST Pair Gender 5 25.242 t-male 15.358

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Sig.(2-tailed) .000

18.884

10.250

.000

30.412

20.374

.000

29.692

19.506

.000

18.982

7.891

.000

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

Stress, Burnout, and Substance Abuse in Police Inventory-Human Services Survey was used in the present study

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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 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

Stress, Burnout, and Substance Abuse in Police 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 service provided by police to the public. This high level of

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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.

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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 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

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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 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

Stress, Burnout, and Substance Abuse in Police question number 4 which asks "Can you stop drinking without a struggle after one or two drinks". It assumes that all

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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 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

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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 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).

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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 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

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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 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.

Stress, Burnout, and Substance Abuse in Police Policy Implications of Study Results Sharing of findings in this study with the Alabama Peace

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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 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

Stress, Burnout, and Substance Abuse in Police seems clearly appropriate. Even though the present study does

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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 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

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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 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

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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. 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

Stress, Burnout, and Substance Abuse in Police 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

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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.

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APPENDIX A

CAPELLA UNIVERSITY
225 South 6th. St., 9th. Floor Minneapolis, 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

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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 ddutton319@charter.net 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,CCJAS Capella University Police Lieutenant (Ret.)

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No. ______ / ______

CAPELLA UNIVERSITY
225 South 6th. St., 9th. Floor Minneapolis, Minnesota 55402 1-888-CAPELLA Ext. 5377

GRADUATE SCHOOL RESEARCH STUDY:

A Doctoral Dissertation On: 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 midsized 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

Stress, Burnout, and Substance Abuse in Police voluntary and you may terminate your participation at any time during completion of your role in the study without any

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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 ddutton319@charter.net. 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 joanna.oestmann@capella.edu. You

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may also contact Capella University by writing or telephoning at the address or telephone number provided. At the completion of this 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 Employee Number Participant Declines to Participate _____________________ Badge or employee Number _______________ Date _______________ Date

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CAPELLA UNIVERSITY
Minneapolis, Minnesota

GRADUATE SCHOOL RESEARCH STUDY:

A 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 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 ddutton319@charter.net. Sincerely, Lt. J. Danny Dutton, (Ret.)

Stress, Burnout, and Substance Abuse in Police MS,MA,LPC,NCC,CCJAS The following letter of introduction and request for permission to survey officers from eight mid-sized Alabama Law Enforcement agencies was mailed to the police chiefs listed below on January 12, 2005. **Ken Swindle Chief of Police Tuscaloosa Police Department P.O. Box 2089 Tuscaloosa, AL 35403-2089 (205) 349-2121 *Nick Monday Chief of Police Dothan Police Department 210 N. Saint Andrews St. Dothan, AL 36303 (334) 615-3000 *Joel T. Gilliam Chief of Police Decatur Police Department P.O. Box 488/402 NE Lee St. Decatur, Al 35602 (256) 341-4660 *Nick Derzis Chief of Police Hoover Police Department 100 Municipal Drive Hoover, AL 35216 (205) 444-7700 **Frank DeGraffenried Chief of Police Auburn Police Department 141 North Ross St. Auburn, AL 36830 (334) 887-4907 *Rick Singleton Chief of Police Florence Police Department 702 S. Seminary St. Florence, AL 35630 (256) 768-2737 *David Buskin Chief of Police Madison Police Department Municipal Complex 100 Hughes Road Madison, AL 35758 (256) 772-5689 *Richard Crouch Chief of Police Gadsden Police Department P.O. Box 267 / 90 Broad St. Gadsden, AL 35902 (256) 549-4582

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* = Approved Participation ** = Participation Declined

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12 JANUARY 2005 CEO's Name Chief of Police Alabama Police Department P.O. Box 0000 Any town, AL 00000-9999 Lt. Danny Dutton (Ret.) 319 Robinson St. SW Decatur, Al 35601 ddutton319@charter.net (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 emailed at joannaoestmann@stimanatee.net 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

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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 approval has been documented and I have completed Institutional

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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,CCJAS Decatur, Alabama

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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. 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.

Stress, Burnout, and Substance Abuse in Police PERCEIVED STRESS SCALE Date ___________

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No. _____/_____

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 1. In the last month, how often have you been upset because of something that happened unexpectedly?...............................0 4=Very Often

2. In the last month, how often have you felt you were unable to control the important things In your life?...............................0 1 3. In the last month, how often have you felt nervous and "stressed"?.....................0 4. In the last month, how often have you felt confident about your ability to handle your personal problems?..........................0 5. In the last month, how often have you felt that things were going your way?............0 1

2 2

3 3

4 4

1 1

2 2

3 3

4 4

6. In the last month, how often have you found that you could not cope with all the things that you had to do?..............................0 1 7. In the last month, how often have you been able to control irritations in your life?...0 8. In the last month, how often have you felt that you were on top of things?.............0 9. In the last month, how often have you been angered because of things that were outside of your control?...............................0 10.In the last month, how often have you felt 1 1

2 2 2

3 3 3

4 4 4

Stress, Burnout, and Substance Abuse in Police Difficulties were piling up so high that you Could not overcome them?...................0 1 2 Mind Garden, Inc. 1690 Woodside Road, Suite #202 Redwood City, CA 94061 USA Phone (650) 261-3500 FAX (650) 261-3505 E-mail: minddarden@msn.com www.mindgarden.com References

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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, 386396. 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

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Christina Maslach Susan E. Jackson

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 OFTEN
0.6 _______ 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 times month times a times day a year or month week a or less less week HOW OFTEN 0.6 1. ____ 2. ____ 3. ____ 4.____ 5.____ 6.____ 7.____ 8.____ 9.____ 10.____ Statements: I feel emotionally drained from my work. I feel used up at the end of my workday. I feel fatigued when I get up in the morning and have to face another day on the job. I can easily understand how my recipients feel about things. I feel I treat some recipients as if they were impersonal objects. Working with people all day is really a strain for me. I deal very effectively with the problems of my recipients. I feel burned out from my work. I feel I'm positively influencing other people's lives through my work. I've become more callous toward people since I took this job.

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11.____ 12.____ 13.____ 14.____ 15.____ 16.____ 17.____ 18.____ 19.____ 20.____ 21.____ 22.____

I worry that that this job is hardening me emotionally. I feel very energetic. I feel frustrated by my job. I feel I'm working too hard on my job. I don't really care what happens to some recipients. Working with people directly puts too much stress on me. I can easily create a relaxed atmosphere with my recipients. I feel exhilarated after working closely with my recipients. I have accomplished many worthwhile things in this job. I feel like I'm at the end of my rope. In my work, I deal with emotional problems very calmly. I feel recipients blame me for some of their problems. cat. cat. cat.

(Administrative use only)

EE:____ ____ DR: ____ ____ PA: ____ ___

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Revised 8-25-80

Melvin L. Selzer, M.D., F.A.C.P. 6967 Paseo Laredo La Jolla, CA 92037 (619) 459-1035

(THIS ASSESSMENT IS LICENSED FOR USE AND REPRODUCTION IN THIS RESEARCH STUDY) MICHIGAN ALCOHOLISM SCREENING TEST (MAST) Points 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. Have you ever awakened the morning after some drinking the night before and found that you could not remember a part of the evening? YES ___ NO ___

___

___

(2)

___

___

(1)

3. Does your wife, husband, a parent, or other near relative ever worry or complain about your drinking? ___ *4. Can you stop drinking without a struggle after one or two drinks? 5. Do you ever feel guilty about your drinking? *6. Do friends or relatives think you are a normal drinker? *7. Are you able to stop drinking when you want to? 8. Have you ever attended a meeting of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA)? 9. Have you gotten into physical fights when ___ ___ ___ ___ ___

___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___

(2) (1) (2) (2) (5) (1)

Stress, Burnout, and Substance Abuse in Police drinking? (2) ___

178 ___ NO ___

YES 10. Has your drinking ever created problems between you and your wife, husband, a parent, or other relative? ___ 11. Has your wife, husband, (or other family member) ever gone to anyone for help about your drinking? 12. Have you ever lost friends because of your drinking? 13. Have you ever gotten into trouble at work or school because of drinking? 14. Have you ever lost a job because of drinking?

(2)

___ ___ ___ ___

___ ___ ___ ___

(2) (2) (2) (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? ___ 16. Do you drink before noon fairly often? 17. Have you ever been told you have liver trouble? Cirrhosis? ___ ___

___ ___ ___

(1) (2)

(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) (5) (2) 19. Have you ever gone to anyone for help about your drinking? ___

___ ___ ___

20. Have you ever been in a hospital because of drinking? ___ 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 (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?

NO

___

___

(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 SelfAdministered Short Version of the Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test (SMAST). Journal of Studies On Alcohol, 36:

Stress, Burnout, and Substance Abuse in Police 117-126, 1975.

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APPENDIX B

Normative Data for Maslach Burnout InventoryHuman 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 Other EE DP PA <16 <5 > 40 AVERAGE 17-27 6-10 39-34 HIGH >28 >11 <33

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APPENDIX C Data Coding Key Sheet Demographics Survey Survey Number Column 1 1. Gender 2. Race 3. Age 4. Marital Status 5. Tenure Gender Race 1 Male 2 - Female 1 2 3 4 African American White-American Hispanic Other Agency Code Column 2 Col. 4 Col. 5 Col. 6 Col. 7 Col. 8

Age Marital Status

Reported in Years 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 Single Married Divorced Divorced, Remarried widowed 1 5 years 6 10 years 11 15 years 16 20 years More than 20 years 2000 Census data rounded up to the nearest thousand

Tenure

City Size/Population

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Data Coding Key Sheet Perceived Stress Scale Items 1 10 0 1 2 3 4 *Item Item Item Item Item Item Item Item Item Item 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Never Almost Never Sometimes Fairly Often Very Often 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

Column Column Column Column Column Column Column Column Column Column

Column 22 Total Score Items 4, 5, 7, & 8 are recoded with numbers being reversed.

Stress, Burnout, and Substance Abuse in Police *Items 4, 5, 7, & 8 positively stated, responses are reversed

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Data Coding Key Sheet Maslach Burnout Inventory-Human Services Survey

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22

Column Column Column Column Column Column Column Column Column Column Column Column Column Column Column Column Column Column Column Column Column Column

24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45

0 1 2 3 4 5 6

Never A few times a month Once a month A few times a month Once a week A few times a week Everyday

Column 47 Emotional Exhaustion Column 48 - Depersonalization Column 49 - Personal Accomplishment

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Data Coding Key Sheet Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 Follow-up DUI 24 Follow-up PI

Column 52 Column 53 Column 54 Column 55 Column 56 Column 57 Column 58 Column 59 Column 60 Column 61 Column 62 Column 63 Column 64 Column 65 Column 66 Column 67 Column 68 Column 69 Column 70 Column 71 Column 72 Column 73 Column 74 Column 75 Column 76 Column 77

1 Yes 2 No

Actual Number Actual Number

APPENDIX D

CAPELLA UNIVERSITY
Institutional Review Board 225 South 6th Street, 9th Floor Minneapolis, 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. Dutton Date March 19, 2005 Address 319 Robinson St. SW Decatur, Alabama 35601 ________________________________________________________________ Phone (Work) (256) 306-4111 (Home) (256) 353-7542 Email Address(es) ddutton319@charter.net ________________________________________________________________ Field of Study Health and Human Services, Professional Counseling Degree Program Ph.D. Supervisor Name Dr. Joanna Oestmann Supervisor 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 34212 Phone (Work) (941) 746-5913 (Home) (941) 224-1559 - Cell Email Address(es) No. 1: joanna.oestmann@capella.edu No. 2: joanna.oestmann@stimanatee.net 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

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2. Inclusive dates of project: March 19, 2005 through July 31, 2005

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3. Abstract Describe 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 areaspecific 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 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; 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.

Stress, Burnout, and Substance Abuse in Police 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 its correlation with substance abuse in the selected population. 6. To determine a global measure of burnout and its correlation with substance abuse in the selected population. 7. To determine if there is a stronger or weaker relationship between stress and substance abuse or burnout and substance abuse in the selected population. 8. To determine if the gender of officers creates any significant 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 is

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substance abuse with alcohol, drugs, or other behaviors that 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 selfadministered questionnaire and currently published, selfadministered 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

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randomly selected and recruited to participate in the study. This letter of introduction will be sent to all participating agencies in 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

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participants the opportunity to participate in person. In these potential cases the remaining survey packages will be 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. 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 selfadministered. 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 exist

Stress, Burnout, and Substance Abuse in Police between 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 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?

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6. 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 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

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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 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 in this 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

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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). 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 InventoryHuman 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

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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 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)

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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) ____ business ____elementary / secondary school ____outpatient ____hospital / clinic ____university / college __X__ other special institution / agency: Mid-sized Alabama Law Enforcement Agencies, (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/Subjects

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Describe 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 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 Records If 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) midsized 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.

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g. Initial Contact with Participants/Subjects Who will make the initial contact with participants/subjects? Describe how contact will be made. Attach description.

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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 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/Subjects Will 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 Group If 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

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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 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 must be taken into consideration and necessary allowances made. Participants will be asked to anonymously but candidly report

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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 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 schools designated IRB reviewer.

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Signature of Researcher

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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. 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

----------------------------------------------------------

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Signature of Supervisor

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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. 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 Designee As 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 Psychology School of Business School of Education School of Human Services School 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 approval date of action March 15, 2005

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Checklist: Abstract
Use this form to verify that item #3 has been completed on the Institutional Review Board (IRB) Application 1. The application is for a. 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 application c. 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),

Stress, Burnout, and Substance Abuse in Police (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).

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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 reviewers 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 reviewers 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: ddutton319@charter.net Office Phone: 256-306-4111 Home Phone: 256-353-7542 The Required Modules for Group 5. are: Introduction History and Ethical Principles - SBR Defining Research with Human Subjects - SBR The Regulations and The Social and Behavioral Sciences - SBR Assessing Risk in Social and Behavioral Sciences - SBR Informed Consent - SBR Privacy and Confidentiality - SBR Date completed 11/11/04 11/11/04 11/11/04 11/12/04 11/12/04 11/13/04 11/13/04

Stress, Burnout, and Substance Abuse in Police CAPELLA UNIVERSITY Additional optional modules completed: 11/13/04 Date completed

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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 Miami Director Office of Research Education CITI 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 ones 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 Scale

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. 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 2

1. In the last month, how often have you been upset because of something that happened unexpectedly?.............................. 0 .................................................................................................................3 4 2. In the last month, how often have you felt that you were unable to control the important things in your life?............................................... 0 .................................................................................................................3 4 3. In the last month, how often have you felt nervous and stressed?......... 0 .................................................................................................................3 4 4. In the last month, how often have you felt confident about your ability to handle your personal problems?.......................................................... 0 .................................................................................................................3 4 5. In the last month, how often have you felt that things were going your way?.............................................................................. 0 .................................................................................................................3 4 6. In the last month, how often have you found that you could not cope with all the things that you had to do?...................................................... 0 .................................................................................................................3 4 7. In the last month, how often have you been able to control irritations in your life?............................................................... 0 .................................................................................................................3 4

1 1

2 2

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8. In the last month, how often have you felt that you were on top of things? .................................................................................................................2 3 9. In the last month, how often have you been angered because of things that were outside of your control?............................... 0 .................................................................................................................3 4 10. In the last month, how often have you felt difficulties were piling up so high that you could not overcome them?.......................... 0 .....................................................................................................................3 4 0 4 1

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1

Please feel free to use the Perceived Stress Scale for your research.

Mind Garden, Inc.

1690 Woodside Road, Suite #202 Redwood City, CA 94061 USA Phone: (650) 261-3500 Fax: (650) 261-3505 e-mail: mindgarden@msn.com 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. Spacapan, S. and Oskamp, S. (Eds.) The Social Psychology of Health. Newbury Park, CA: Sage, 1988.

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Christina Maslach Susan E. Jackson 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 OFTEN
0.7 _______ 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

Stress, Burnout, and Substance Abuse in Police 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)

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MBI Human Services Survey

___________________________________________________________ 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 OFTEN 0.7 1. ____ 2. ____ 3. ____ 4.____ 5.____ 6.____ 7.____ 8.____ Statements: I feel emotionally drained from my work. I feel used up at the end of my workday. I feel fatigued when I get up in the morning and have to face another day on the job. I can easily understand how my recipients feel about things. I feel I treat some recipients as if they were impersonal objects. Working with people all day is really a strain for me. I deal very effectively with the problems of my recipients. 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.____ 11.____ 12.____ 13.____ 14.____ 15.____ 16.____ 17.____ 18.____ 19.____ 20.____ 21.____ 22.____

I've become more callous toward people since I took this job. I worry that that this job is hardening me emotionally. I feel very energetic. I feel frustrated by my job. I feel I'm working too hard on my job. I don't really care what happens to some recipients. Working with people directly puts too much stress on me. I can easily create a relaxed atmosphere with my recipients. I feel exhilarated after working closely with my recipients. I have accomplished many worthwhile things in this job. I feel like I'm at the end of my rope. In my work, I deal with emotional problems very calmly. I feel recipients blame me for some of their problems. cat. cat. cat.

(Administrative use only)

EE:____ ____ DR: ____ ____ PA: ____ ___

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Revised 8-25-80 No. _____/_____

Melvin L. Selzer, M.D., F.A.C.P. 6967 Paseo Laredo La Jolla, CA 92037 (619) 459-1035

(THIS ASSESSMENT IS LICENSED FOR USE AND REPRODUCTION IN THIS RESEARCH STUDY) MICHIGAN ALCOHOLISM SCREENING TEST (MAST) Points 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). YES ___ NO ___

___

___

(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)?

Stress, Burnout, and Substance Abuse in Police (1) 9. Have you gotten into physical fights when drinking? ___ YES (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?

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___ NO ___

___ ___ ___ ___

___ ___ ___ ___

(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

Stress, Burnout, and Substance Abuse in Police that resulted in hospitalization? YES (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 drunken behavior? ___ (IF YES, How many times?____) * Alcoholic Response is Negative ** 5 points for Delirium Tremens ***2 points for each arrest ___ ___ NO

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___

___

___

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

Stress, Burnout, and Substance Abuse in Police 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 Eligible 319 Robinson St. SW Decatur, AL 35601 (256) 353-7542 (256) 306-1131 - cell (256) 341-1541 - pager ddutton319@charter.net ----- Original Message ----From: JMSLZR@aol.com To: ddutton319@charter.net Sent: Friday, August 06, 2004 4:51 PM Subject: Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test

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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. 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.

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12 JANUARY 2005 CEO's Name Chief of Police Alabama Police Department P.O. Box 0000 Any town, AL 00000-9999 Lt. Danny Dutton (Ret.) 319 Robinson St. SW Decatur, Al 35601 ddutton319@charter.net (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 joannaoestmann@stimanatee.net 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

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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. 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

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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 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, CCJAS Decatur, 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 Chief of Police Tuscaloosa Police Department P.O. Box 2089 Tuscaloosa, AL 35403-2089 (205) 349-2121 *Nick Monday Chief of Police Dothan Police Department 210 N. Saint Andrews St. Dothan, AL 36303 (334) 615-3000 *Joel T. Gilliam Chief of Police Decatur Police Department P.O. Box 488/402 NE Lee St. Decatur, AL 35602 (256) 341-4660 *Nick Derzis Chief of Police Hoover Police Department 100 Municipal Drive Hoover, AL 35216 (205) 444-7700 **Frank DeGraffenried Chief of Police Auburn Police Department 141 North Ross St. Auburn, AL 36830 (334) 887-4907 *Rick Singleton Chief of Police Florence Police Depart. 702 S. Seminary St. Florence, AL 35630 (256) 768-2737 *David Buskin Chief of Police Madison Police Department Municipal Complex 100 Hughes Road Madison, AL 35758 (256) 772-5689

*= Participation Approved ** = Declined Participation

*Richard Crouch Chief of Police Gadsden Police Department P.O. Box 267 / 90 Broad St. Gadsden, AL 35902 (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:ddutton319@charter.net] Sent: Tuesday, February 08, 2005 11:21 AM To: Kaye Pierson Subject: 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, CCJAS 319 Robinson St. SW Decatur, Al 35601 cell: (256) 306-1131 work: (256) 306-4111 home: (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, CCJAS 319 Robinson St. SW Decatur, Al 35601 cell: (256) 306-1131 work: (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 thigdon@gadsdenpd.org. 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)6153690 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 Benton Special Operations Division Dothan Police Department gjbenton@dothan.org 334-615-3690

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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:ddutton319@charter.net] Sent: Wednesday, February 16, 2005 6:57 PM To: Madden, Ellen Subject: 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, CCJAS 319 Robinson St. SW Decatur, Al 35601 cell: (256) 306-1131 work: (256) 306-4111

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225 South 6th. St., 9th. Floor Minneapolis, Minnesota 55402

CAPELLA UNIVERSITY

CAPELLA UNIVERSITY

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GRADUATE SCHOOL RESEARCH STUDY

A Doctoral Dissertation On:

225 South 6th. St. 9th. Floor Minneapolis, Minnesota, 55402 1-888-CAPELLA Ext. 5377 GRADUATE SCHOOL RESEARCH STUDY A 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 ddutton319@charter.net.

CAPELLA UNIVERSITY

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Sincerely, Lt. Danny Dutton (Ret.)

CAPELLA UNIVERSITY

225 South 6th. St. 9th. Floor Minneapolis, Minnesota, 55402 1-888-CAPELLA Ext. 5377 GRADUATE SCHOOL RESEARCH STUDY A 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 joannaoestmann@stimanatee.net. 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.

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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 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 ddutton319@charter.net 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,

Stress, Burnout, and Substance Abuse in Police Lt. J. Danny Dutton, (Ret.) MS,MA,LPC,NCC,CCJAS No. ______ / ______

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CAPELLA UNIVERSITY
225 South 6th. St., 9th. Floor Minneapolis, Minnesota 55402 1-888-CAPELLA Ext. 5377

GRADUATE SCHOOL RESEARCH STUDY:

A Doctoral Dissertation On: Police Officer Stress, Burnout, And Substance Abuse: A Crossectional View of Officers in midsized 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 midsized 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

Stress, Burnout, and Substance Abuse in 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 study without any

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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 ddutton319@charter.net. You may also contact Danny Dutton's academic supervisor connected to this study, Dr. Joanna Oestmann, by telephoning the Capella University telephone number

Stress, Burnout, and Substance Abuse in Police provided or e-mailing her at joanna.oestmann@capella.edu. You

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may also contact Capella University by writing or telephoning at the address or telephone number provided. At the completion of this 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 Employee Number Participant Declines to Participate _______________ Date

_______________________ Badge or Employee Number

_______________ Date

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Data Coding Key Sheet Demographics Survey Survey Number Column 1 1. Gender 2. Race 3. Age 4. Marital Status 5. Tenure Gender Race 1 Male 2 - Female 1 2 3 4 African American White-American Hispanic Other Agency Code Column 2 Col. 4 Col. 5 Col. 6 Col. 7 Col. 8

Age Marital Status

Reported in Years 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 Single Married Divorced Divorced, Remarried widowed 1 5 years 6 10 years 11 15 years 16 20 years More than 20 years 2000 Census data rounded up to the nearest thousand

Tenure

City Size/Population

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Data Coding Key Sheet Perceived Stress Scale Items 1 10 0 1 2 3 4 *Item Item Item Item Item Item Item Item Item Item 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Never Almost Never Sometimes Fairly Often Very Often 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

Column Column Column Column Column Column Column Column Column Column

Column 22 Total Score Items 4, 5, 7, & 8 are recoded with numbers being reversed.

Stress, Burnout, and Substance Abuse in Police *Items 4, 5, 7, & 8 positively stated, responses are reversed

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Data Coding Key Sheet Maslach Burnout Inventory-Human Services Survey

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22

Column Column Column Column Column Column Column Column Column Column Column Column Column Column Column Column Column Column Column Column Column Column

24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45

0 1 2 3 4 5 6

Never A few times a month Once a month A few times a month Once a week A few times a week Everyday

Column 47 Emotional Exhaustion Column 48 - Depersonalization Column 49 - Personal Accomplishment

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Data Coding Key Sheet Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 Follow-up DUI 24 Follow-up PI

Column 52 Column 53 Column 54 Column 55 Column 56 Column 57 Column 58 Column 59 Column 60 Column 61 Column 62 Column 63 Column 64 Column 65 Column 66 Column 67 Column 68 Column 69 Column 70 Column 71 Column 72 Column 73 Column 74 Column 75 Column 76 Column 77

1 Yes 2 No

Actual Number Actual Number