Explaining Stress during the COVID-19 Pandemic among Chinese Police Officers

Wu, Yuning; Sun, Ivan Y; Ivkovich, Sanja Kutnjak; Maskaly, Jon; Shen, Shan; Neyroud, Peter

Policing can be stressful, especially during public crises such as the coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19) pandemic. Using survey data from 600 police officers in a large city in West China, this study examines the prevalence of police stress increase during the pandemic’s peak month, compared pre-pandemic, and assesses a range of personal and work-related risk and protective factors of police stress. We found that Chinese officers suffered widespread, increased levels of stress during the peak pandemic month. Sources of police stress primarily came from changes in workloads and fear of contracting COVID-19. Perceived effectiveness of agency protection of officers against the COVID-19 risk, sufficient amount of sleep, and increased family time significantly reduced stress. These results bear important research and policy implications.