Prevalence and risk factors of burnout syndrome among Spanish police officers

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Police work is currently one of the most stressful occupations. High levels of stress can culminate in suffering the burnout syndrome. This syndrome is characterised by emotional exhaustion, depersonalisation and low personal accomplishment. Police officers, despite being a risk group, have been investigated less than other professional groups. The objectives of the current work are to estimate the prevalence of burnout syndrome in police officers, to present a classification of the syndrome and to identify some risk factors (socio-demographic, personality, and work-related). METHOD: A cross-sectional study was carried out with 747 national police officers from Andalucía (Spain). RESULTS: The prevalence of burnout is high. Furthermore, individual differences, and in particular, personality factors, are important to explain the development of burnout. CONCLUSIONS: Police officers are a risk group and, therefore, actions aimed at reducing the levels of burnout among these professionals should be developed.

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