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Gender Variations of Physiological and Psychological Strain Amongst Police Officers

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Abstract

This paper analyses the gender effect on reported—perceived levels of stress through examination of physical and psychological indicators. It is interesting to work with police data due to high stress levels and the male dominated work environment. This paper explores both gender differences in (perceived) stress levels as well as the underlying gender-specific sensitivity to environmental factors, such as unit cooperation, trust in the work partner, higher levels of work-life-balance and home stability, and interactional fairness. Using multivariate regression analysis we find that female officers are significantly more likely to report physical strains than males, while no gender differences are observable in regards to psychological strains. Moreover, higher levels of trust and interactional fairness at work are not able to absorb physical strain among females, but have a strong impact on males. Alternatively for both female and male officers, work-life balance and stability at home appear to reduce physical strain.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria

    Martin Gächter

  2. School of Economics and Finance, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD, Australia

    David A. Savage

  3. Department of Economics, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD, Australia

    Benno Torgler

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  1. Martin Gächter
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  2. David A. Savage
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Correspondence to David A. Savage.

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Gächter, M., Savage, D.A. & Torgler, B. Gender Variations of Physiological and Psychological Strain Amongst Police Officers. Gend. Issues 28, 66–93 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12147-011-9100-9

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