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15 Police Stud.: Int'l Rev. Police Dev. 30 (1992)
Interspousal Aggression in Law Enforcement Families: A Preliminary Investigation

handle is hein.journals/polic15 and id is 40 raw text is: Interspousal Aggression in Law Enforcement Families: A Preliminary Investigation Peter H. Neidig, Behavioral Science Associates, Harold E. Russell and Albert F. Seng, Tucson Police Department, Arizona, U.S.A. Abstract Although there is growing interest in the im- pact of work-related stressors on law enforce- ment families, the absence of empirical data severely limits knowledge aobut the prevalence of specific problems and the ability to secure support for preventive programs. The current study represents a preliminary effort to in- vestigate the prevalence and correlates of spousal aggression in law enforcement families through the use of a self-report survey pro- cedure. Survey results revealed that approx- imately 40% of the participating officers reported marital conflicts involving physical aggression during the previous year. The fact that significantly higher rates of marital violence were found to be associated with several work-related factors, including the shift and number of hours worked per week, current assignment, and the amount of leave taken, suggests that: 1) it is possible to identify groups that are at relatively higher risk for marital aggression and 2) the risk may be con- sidered to be, in part, a function of working conditions. At the recent congressional hearing, On the Front Lines: Police Stress and Family Well- Being, Chairwoman Patricia Schroeder noted that the tendency for law enforcement officers to bring society's problems home to their own families may lead to a range of problems, in- cluding emotional numbness, communication breakdown, officer burnout, depression, suicide and marital problems that may in turn result in the police family becoming yet another victim (Schroeder, 1991). It was recommended that the well-being of officer and families should be a national priority wit. police departments providing education an, family support services as an integral compc nent of their operations. The family suppor and family advocacy services mandated by th Department of Defense for delivery at th military installation level through family sul port centers were identified as a model for th provision of such services to law enforcemen families. Testimony asserting the relationship b tween work stressors and the functioning c the family was presented by a number of ei perts. For example, a survey of Toronto law er forcement personnel cited that 63% wer divorced or separated, a rate almost doubl that of the larger population of Canadiam, Other studies indicated that law enforcemen has one of the highest divorce rates of any o cupation (Stratton, 1976, FBI Law Enforce ment Bulletin) with as many as 75% of polic marriages in large metropolitan areas endin in divorce (Came, et al., 1989). Although the relationship between polic stress and family functioning has been noted i numerous clinical observations, primarily b: police psychologists (Russell & Beigil, 199C Reese, 1986), there is little empirical dat available. As Ellen Scrivner testified (1991 the absence of comprehensive data on the ir cidence and prevalence of police family prol lems limits both the understanding of the ei tent of family problems and more importantl impedes the ability to secure support and t, implement effective intervention strategies. This is particularly true in the area c

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