UNDERSTANDING STRESS IN FEMALE AND MALE LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS

Gender issues in the male-dominated profession of law enforcement have not been closely examined. In the current study, 52 female officers of a state highway patrol agency were matched with 52 male officers. Participants completed a confidential assessment packet to examine their satisfaction with work, perceived stress, physical symptoms, daily hassles, and aspects of burnout. Results suggest that male officers experience a greater degree of perceived stress and emotional exhaustion and greater dissatisfaction with their work than do women. In female officers, perceived stress was related to physical symptoms, dissatisfaction with the nature of the work, dissatisfaction with co-workers, and feelings of emotional exhaustion. In male officers, perceived stress was related to physical symptoms, dissatisfaction with co-workers, dissatisfaction with work, and emotional exhaustion. Gender differences in terms of officers'expectations and beliefs about the profession as well as the possible differential effects of marital status on occupational stress are discussed.     

Social Integration and Suicide‐Related Ideation from a Social Network Perspective: A Longitudinal Study among Inner‐City African Americans

Social network density, as measured by the extent to which network members know each other, was examined to determine whether it is associated with suicide‐related ideation and plan approximately 3 years later. Eight hundred and nineteen African Americans were interviewed at Wave 1 (1997–1999) and Wave 4 (2001–2003) of the Self‐Help In Eliminating Life‐Threatening Diseases (SHIELD) study, a HIV preventive intervention study in Baltimore, MD. Multinomial logistic regression models were used to compare risks of suicide‐related ideation and plan at Wave 4 by Wave 1 density. Even after adjusting for baseline sociodemographic characteristics and depressive symptoms, individuals with a lower level of density were three times more likely to report suicide‐related ideation and plan in the past year at Wave 4. The findings reinforce the importance of social integration among inner‐city African Americans from a social network perspective. Future research should examine the mechanisms associated with this relationship and other social network constructs.