Strategies of Coping Behavior applied by Chief Police Officers in terms of Resources and Professional Requirements

Introduction. The purpose of the study is to examine the relationship between the requirements of professional activity, resources and coping strategies and the formation of stress phases of the chief police officers. Materials and Methods. Methods of analysis of scientific literature, mathematical statistics, as well as questioning and testing were used. The survey involved 34 chief police officers who are in the personnel reserve for promotion to a higher position in the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia with experience in law enforcement bodies from 2 to 29 years. Results and Discussion. The main declared motives of the interviewed chief police officers that determine the attractiveness of professional activity are altruistic (the ability to help people) and formal (salary, stability, work schedule, etc.). One or more formed phases of stress are diagnosed in 58.8% of the respondents. The leading stress factors in chief police officers’ activities involve excessive circulation of documents, performing a large amount of work under time pressure and emotional stress. The interrelationships of coping behavior strategies with the level of formation of various stress phases and personality resources actualized in a situation of professional stress have been established. Conclusions. The results obtained made it possible to concretize the peculiarities of the perception of the working environment and the reaction to it, which have a significant impact on the formation of stress phases and the choice of coping behavior made by chief police officers. In general, chief police officers do not fully cope with the stress factors of professional activity, they employ limited internal resources, using them mainly intuitively, not fully using the possibilities of proactive coping, which negatively affects their mental state.