THEORETICAL ANALYSIS OF PSYCHOLOGICAL PECULIARITIES OF PROFESSIONAL STRESS IN ACTIVITIES OF POLICE EMPLOYEES

Abstract

The article deals with theoretical analysis of a number of scientific sources devoted to the study of psychological peculiarities of professional stress in activities of police employees. Much attention is paid to the study of stress in domestic and foreign scientific literature. Researchers define stress as the body’s response to external environmental conditions that mobilizes defense forces to overcome or avoid threats. Studying the causes that contribute to the development of stress at the workplace is especially relevant today, because professional stress leads to the decrease of work capacity, productivity, quality of work and causes deterioration of the employee’s health state. Among professions, which are characterized by increased danger in terms of the risk of the professional stress development, is the profession of a policemen, since their activities, especially in contemporary conditions, is exposed to the negative effects of a number of unfavourable, threatening traumatic factors. Such effects are also often the cause of disruptions in professional activity, reduced work capacity, emergence of difficulties in interpersonal interaction, violations of discipline, alcohol abuse, suicidal intentions, and other negative phenomena. Scientists came to the conclusion that immediate causes of stress are the extreme content, working conditions and some individual (psychological, physiological, professional) peculiarities of personality of a policeman. In order to develop skills and abilities to resist stress, adapt, quickly recover from adversity, return to a positive emotional state, etc., it is necessary to pay attention to the development and use of effective coping strategies aimed at the formation of psychological stress resistance of police employees.