The impact of resilience and job satisfaction on the negative effects of secondary trauma exposure among Polish police officers.

Abstract

Purpose: The objective of the study was to examine the relationships between psychological resilience, job satisfaction and secondary traumatic stress among police officers, in order to identify the factors influencing the occurrence of negative consequences of indirect trauma exposure.

Methods: The study included 237 Polish police officers from the prevention and criminal divisions. The analysis was conducted on the results of a survey obtained from 220 respondents who had contact with traumatized clients as part of their work. Their age ranged from 22 to 59 (M = 39.08; SD = 7.00). The majority of the respondents were men (83.2%). A survey and three questionnaires were used in the study, i.e., The Secondary Traumatic Stress Inventory, the Resilience Measurement Scale, and the Job Satisfaction Scale.

Results: The results of the survey indicate that police officers exhibited relatively low levels of secondary traumatic stress symptoms. The study found a negative correlation between psychological resilience, job satisfaction and secondary traumatic stress. Job satisfaction was found to mediate the relationship between resilience and secondary traumatic stress.

Conclusions: Psychological resilience and job satisfaction may serve as protective factors against the development of negative consequences resulting from indirect trauma exposure. The study indicates that job satisfaction may play a slightly more significant role in this regard. Increasing resilience and job satisfaction may alleviate STS symptoms and consequently contribute to increased work efficiency.