Police patrol officers’ resistance to stress in the conditions of professional activity

Introduction. Under the conditions of economic instability in society the impact of various stress factors in police patrol officers’ professional activity increases, which requires special consideration of the heads of the units and psychologists. The purpose is to analyze and specify the features of police patrol officers’ resistance to stress. Materials and Methods. The following methods are employed: J. Rotter method of "The level of subjective control (LSC)", Lemyre-Tessier-Fillion "Psychological Stress Scale (PSM-25)", Questionnaire for determining the professional stress of police officers. The data is interpreted using the methods of mathematical processing of the STATISTICA program. The sample consisted of 39 police patrol officers and 40 fifth-year students of the departmental university of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia. Results and Discussion. The patrol officers do not have a sufficient level of stress resistance. In comparison with the indicators and opinions of graduates of the departmental university of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia, the areas for increasing the officers’ resistance to stress were identified: expanding knowledge about stress, training in self-regulation and constructive behavior skills, developing individual resources, developing professionally significant qualities, maintaining physical and creative activity, forming conscious regulation of professional activity, etc. Conclusions. Increasing the level of stress resistance is possible due to the development of motives for achieving success in professional activities and compensating for natural failures; manifestation of interpersonal activity with the loved ones in the form of constructive contacts, spending free time together. Providing psychological support to officers it is advisable to take into consideration the specifics of professional activity related to patrol service, focus on training and improving self-regulation skills in difficult stressful situations.