Emotional self-control, coping with stress and psycho-physical well-being of prison officers

摘要

Background: Mental and physical health status is closely associated with the specific character of work in the structures of theuniformed services. The aim of the study was to examine how self-control, revealed strategies of coping with stress, sociodemographicfactors differentiate the level of psychological and physical well-being of prison officers, and what is the predictor ofpsychological and physical well-being in this occupational group. Material and Methods: A questionnaire survey was conductedin a group of 75 prison officers working in the Prison Potulice Security Department. In the study the following tools were used:the questionnaire on “Psychosocial working conditions”, popular questionnaire on emotional intelligence (Popularny KwestionariuszInteligencji Emocjonalnej – PKIE), Measure Coping Strategies with Stress (Mini-COPE) and the questionnaire on sociodemographicvariables. Results: A higher level of mental and physical well-being of the subjects was accompanied by a higher levelof declared active coping and a lower level in the range of helplessness, avoidance, turn to religion and sense of humor. Regressionanalysis showed that the levels of emotional control, helplessness strategy and support seeking strategies are important predictorsof physical well-being of the dependent variable. As regards the psychological well-being, significant predictors are: the levels of emocjoemotionalcontrol, sense of humor and support seeking. The value of the results is limited due to the methodology used to collectquestionnaires. In our study a random trial was not used as the questionnaires were completed only by individuals interestedin the subject under study. Conclusions: Knowledge about the specificity of the psychophysical characteristics of prison officersshould be taken into account when designing the tools of occupational health promotion. Studies show an average low level ofperceived well-being with a high level of self-control. Med Pr 2015;66(3):373–382