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social science subjects > sociology > crime and deviance > police stress
... > social science subjects > sociology > social problems > social problems encyc > crime and deviance > police stress
... > social science subjects > criminology and criminal justice > criminology > law and society > psychology and law > psychology of policing and investigations > police stress
... > social science subjects > politics and international relations > political science > law and courts > law and society > psychology and law > psychology of policing and investigations > police stress

Preferred term

police stress  

Definition

  • Continual exposure to sudden life-and-death experiences, human suffering, and the frustration of strictly codified responses to violence, injury, and insult creates a unique set of potentially debilitating psychological stimuli often referred to as “police stress.” During everyday activities, whether on duty or off, the police officer is exposed to a higher than average number of life-threatening activities that precipitate sudden activation of the fight-or-flight mechanism within the physiology of the human body. Unlike the average citizen, the police officer often does not have the option of flight, which normally provides both escape and relief from the stress of confrontation. [Source: Encyclopedia of Social Problems; Police Stress]

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https://concepts.sagepub.com/social-science/concept/police_stress

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