The relationship between psychological wellbeing, social support, and personality in an English police force
| Published date | 01 June 2020 |
| Author | Georgia Clay,Patricia C Jackman,Adam H Coussens,Hannah Henderson |
| DOI | 10.1177/1461355720907620 |
| Date | 01 June 2020 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
Article
The relationship between psychological
wellbeing, social support, and personality
in an English police force
Patricia C Jackman
School of Sport and Exercise Science, University of Lincoln, UK
Hannah Henderson
School of Sport and Exercise Science, University of Lincoln, UK
Georgia Clay
School of Sport and Exercise Science, University of Lincoln, UK
Adam H Coussens
School of Biomedical, Nutritional, and Sport Sciences, Newcastle University, UK
Abstract
Police employees are exposed to a variety of co mplex, work-related stressors and are suscep tible to experiencing
reduced psychological wellbeing. To advance understanding of the personal and social factors underpinning
psychological wellbeing in this population, the purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between
psychological wellbeing, perceived support from colleagues, received support from colleagues and personality factors
in police employees. A sample of 381 police employees from a county police force in England completed an online
questionnaire assessing: psychological wellbeing; perceived support; received support; and personality factors.
Psychological wellbeing was signif icantly and positively associated with perceived support from colleagues, re ceived
support from colleagues, extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, emotional stability, and openness to
experience. Further investigation of these relationships using multiple logistic regression analysis found that perceived
support from colleagues, received support from colleagues, extraversion, and emotional stability significantly predicted
psychological wellbeing. Given growing concerns about psychological wellbeing in police forces, the findings could help to
inform the promotion of psychological wellbeing across operational and non-operational police employees. The results
suggest that increasing both perceptions of available support and the amount of support received among employees in
police forces is important for enhancing psychological wellbeing in this population. Furthermore, police employees with
lower levels of extraversion and emotional stability should also be considered for additional support to promote
psychological wellbeing.
Keywords
Perceived support, received support, emergency services, stress, mental health, police staff, police officer
Submitted 14 Jun 2019, Revise received 19 Dec 2019, accepted 30 Jan 2020
Psychological wellbeing is a broad construct that
encompasses the presence of positive markers of psycholo-
gical adjustment, such as high self-esteem, positive affect,
and life satisfaction, as well as signs of psychological
Corresponding author:
Patricia C Jackman, School of Sport and Exercise Sciences, University of
Lincoln, Lincoln, LN6 7TS, UK.
Email: pjackman@lincoln.ac.uk
International Journalof
Police Science & Management
2020, Vol. 22(2) 183–193
ªThe Author(s) 2020
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DOI: 10.1177/1461355720907620
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