Explore the vast range of titles available.

There is extensive literature on front-line officers and investigators exposure to trauma and its negative impact on them. However, there are analytical practitioners in law enforcement who indirectly work with the traumatic experiences of other people daily, but are seldom the focus of academic research. Our goal was to conduct the first international study with these practitioners to identify the risk of depression symptoms and establish whether potentially modifiable risk factors (belief in a just world, mental imagery and thought suppression) and work-related characteristics (medium of exposure) are associated with depression. 99 analysts and secondary investigators employed in police and law enforcement organizations from the UK, Europe and Canada participated in the study. The online survey was advertised to employees via their employers but hosted without employer access. Multiple regression was used to analyze the data. After controlling for age, gender, ethnicity, previous exposure to trauma, and marital status, four potential risk factors were identified. Analytical practitioners with vivid mental imagery, those exposed to crime material via auditory visual means, those who suppressed intrusive thoughts, and those who believed in a just world reported more depressive symptoms. The majority of our sample reported clinical levels of depressive symptoms. Four potential risk factors accounted for just under half of the variance in depression scores. We consider strategies that can be used to mitigate the potential negative influence of these factors and suggest that these are established as risk factors for depression symptoms via future longitudinal research.

Professionals in analytical and secondary investigative roles are exposed to violent material on a daily basis with full immersion in the details of serious offenses. However, there is limited evidence of the impact of this on their mental health. Therefore, this research aims to explore the impact of traumatic material on the mental health of these professionals in police and law enforcement and the strategies they employ to cope with the nature of their work. Forty semi-structured interviews were conducted with these professionals from UK, Canada, and Europe. Five key themes were identified: “Analyzing material,” “ Negative Influences ,” “ Coping Strategies ,” “ Additional Risk Factors ,” and “ Protective Factors .” From the findings, it is evident that these professionals are at significant risk of developing secondary traumatic stress, burnout, and sleep problems. The constant exposure to this material negatively influenced their feelings about their home and social lives. The implications of these findings and avenues for providing a supportive working environment are discussed.

Analytical professionals working in criminal justice and in social media companies are exposed to aversive details of traumatic events. Albeit indirect, exposure in these roles is repeated and can be extreme, including exposure to material containing lethal violence, sexual assault, and serious self-harm, leading to post-traumatic stress disorder and Secondary Traumatic Stress reactions. Incorporating relevant empirical research, this article considers the mechanisms that may contribute to post-exposure post-traumatic stress disorder and Secondary Traumatic Stress reactions in these roles. Building on the Ehlers and Clark model, subsequent extensions, and the authors’ experience of working as, and conducting research with, law enforcement professionals, a new model is proposed to explain post-exposure post-traumatic stress disorder/Secondary Traumatic Stress reactions.

In this paper, it is argued that the psychological contract (PC) could provide rich insights into the understanding of employee and employer relations within the police and the stress and wellbeing of officers. Eighteen semi-structured interviews were conducted with active, full-time police officers and these were analysed using framework analysis. More than 100 base-units of meaning were identified which were categorised into six main themes namely ‘Motivation’, ‘Mutual obligations’, ‘Stressors’, ‘Negative consequences’, ‘Mediators’ and ‘Positive impact of the job’. From the interviews, it was apparent that some officers are experiencing PC breach and that this was having a negative impact on their wellbeing. These findings are considered and avenues for improving the situation are discussed.

As the first qualitative study of its kind, this study explored firefighters’ beliefs and experiences about the psychological contract between themselves as employees and their employer, workplace stress, stress-management strategies, and their wellbeing. Eleven interviews were conducted with active firefighters from multiple fire stations in the UK. The interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim. The transcripts were analysed using framework analysis. Five superordinate themes were identified and labelled as ‘Motives’, ‘Mutual obligations’, ‘Stressors and their effects’, ‘Moderators’, and ‘Retention factors’, each of which contained lower level sub-themes. Psychological contract (PC) is a useful construct to measure firefighters’ perceived obligations as their responses reflected multiple facets of PC theory. The current climate of austerity measures appears to be negatively impacting on firefighters in terms of reducing numbers and placing higher task demands on those remaining. Thus, making it very difficult for the UK Fire and Rescue Service (UKFRS) to meet the perceived obligations of their employees. The findings have implications for human resource departments within UKFRS trying to manage the impact of funding cuts and they highlight the potential value of the PC as a construct around which such issues can be explored.

Purpose Negative emotions resulting from the broken promises by the organisation or employers, as perceived by an employee are called psychological contract (PC) violation. The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationships between perceived feelings of violation, work-related stress, anxiety and depression. Fairness and self-efficacy are used as mediators to understand the underlying mechanism of associations. Design/methodology/approach In total, 97 firefighters completed an online-survey and structural equation modelling was used to examine the multiple mediation models. Findings PC violation was positively associated with occupational stress and job-related well-being. Together, fairness and self-efficacy mediated the relationship between feelings of violation and job-related depression. Therefore, the results partially supported the hypotheses. Originality/value As the first quantitative study of its kind, this study makes an important contribution to the firefighters literature by investigating the potential influence of PC violation on their work-related stress and well-being. Also, previous studies have failed to identify fairness and self-efficacy as potential mediators of the PC violation.

This thesis investigates the application of psychological contract theory to police officers and firefighters. Chapter 1 systematically searches the published psychological contract measures to evaluate how this concept is operationalised within many tools. Chapter 2 critically reviews the PSYCONES measure of psychometric properties and identifies it as a valid and reliable tool, although some of the concepts are not necessarily psychometric. Chapter 3 investigates the experiences of police officers in relation to psychological contract, occupational stressors and well-being. Work–life balance is identified as an important factor affecting the well-being of employees. Chapter 4 examines the role of psychological contract and its effect on the well-being of police officers through an online survey. Significant results are identified. Chapter 5 explores the experiences of firefighters in regard to psychological contract, occupational stressors, coping strategies and well-being. Chapter 6 investigates the importance of psychological contract and its effect on the well-being of firefighters through an online survey. A few significant relationships are identified. In Chapter 7, the thesis is concluded, the findings for both samples are summarised, and the limitations, future research and implications are discussed.