Abstract
Occupational stress represents a serious threat to police officers’ wellness and safety. Based on responses to open-ended questions in a survey of police officers of a U.S. state police agency, this study analyzes and synthesizes the impact of work-family conflict on occupational stress described by both female and male state troopers. Four major themes emerged from data analysis, including organizational challenges, the emotional impacts of being a Trooper, the effects of stress on officers’ support network, and gender differences or similarities. The chapter begins with a brief introduction, followed by discussing the relevant literature on police stress and work-family conflict. It then describes data source and collection and presents major themes that arose from the analysis of respondents’ qualitative comments. This chapter concludes with policies and programs designed to assist officers and their families in mitigating stress and work-family conflict.
