Behind blue doors: cisgender female police officers' experiences of psychological stress and mental health

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dc.contributor.authorBourassa Rabichuk, Susan
dc.contributor.examiningcommitteeKnaak, Stephanie (Social Work)en_US
dc.contributor.examiningcommitteeGuard, Julie (History, Labour Studies)en_US
dc.contributor.supervisorFrankel, Sid (Social Work)en_US
dc.date.accessioned2021-08-18T17:18:54Z
dc.date.available2021-08-18T17:18:54Z
dc.date.copyright2021-08-18
dc.date.issued2021-08-09en_US
dc.date.submitted2021-08-18T13:56:10Zen_US
dc.degree.disciplineSocial Worken_US
dc.degree.levelMaster of Social Work (M.S.W.)en_US
dc.description.abstractThe purpose of this study was to identify and describe how female police officers experience psychological stress, what elements or factors impacted their experiences of psychological stress, and why psychological stress was experienced within their employment as officers. It explored the impacts of psychological stress on overall mental health. Critical realist theory informed the multiple case study design that revealed generative mechanisms capable of producing the participants’ lived experiences. The data were collected from semi-structured interviews with 14 cis-gender female police officers employed within 10 Canadian policing organizations across 11 diverse geographical locations. Additional data sources (grey literature, newspaper articles, a documentary) were analyzed as well. Thematic analysis was completed through which five themes were revealed: moral toll, procedural injustice, mental health impacts, mental health support/promotion, and mentorship, interpersonal relationships, and shared experience. A critical realist framework highlighting anti-oppressive and feminist concepts was used to analyze the data related to the identified themes. The results suggested that cis-gendered female police officers’ psychological stress experiences occurred due to complex and compounding interactions between various system levels (macro, meso, and micro), each containing intricate entities of its own. Patriarchal ideology and continued measures intended to preserve male domination over females were the mechanisms that generated much of the women’s stress and mental health problems. Theoretical contributions include the application and elaboration of anti-oppressive concepts to a new setting, a police context. This inclusion helps provide a solid rationale for integrating both anti-oppressive and gendered lenses when designing, implementing, and evaluating policies and programming to ensure that the needs of policewomen are accurately represented and included. Such inclusion may help mitigate oppressive aspects and practices and prevent harm from occurring where possible. The findings also suggest the need for policing organizations to assess and interview potential therapist candidates to ensure they possess such knowledge and provide members with a list of suitable options. Future studies could include a more racially and sexually diverse group of participants, both on active duty and retired, to explore their experiences of psychological stress and mental health impacts.en_US
dc.description.noteOctober 2021en_US
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/1993/35811
dc.language.isoengen_US
dc.rightsopen accessen_US
dc.subjectPoliceen_US
dc.subjectPolicewomenen_US
dc.subjectFemale police officersen_US
dc.subjectLaw enforcementen_US
dc.subjectMental healthen_US
dc.subjectPsychological stressen_US
dc.subjectPsychological stress responsesen_US
dc.subjectStressen_US
dc.subjectStress symptomsen_US
dc.subjectCritical realismen_US
dc.subjectMultiple case studyen_US
dc.subjectOccupational healthen_US
dc.subjectPsychological safetyen_US
dc.subjectOrganizational stressen_US
dc.subjectHarassmenten_US
dc.subjectPolice cultureen_US
dc.subjectMasculine police cultureen_US
dc.titleBehind blue doors: cisgender female police officers' experiences of psychological stress and mental healthen_US
dc.typemaster thesisen_US
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