Date of Conferral

5-7-2024

Date of Award

May 2024

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Psychology

Advisor

Leslie Barnes-Young

Abstract

Police work, a high stress occupation with increased risks and adverse events, often leads to strain between work and family. Work-family conflict (WFC) has been shown to mediate coping with stress. In addition, offspring of law enforcement officers (LEOs) may learn self-regulation by observing parental stress coping and attempting to alleviate stress for their parent. Three theoretical frameworks were used in this study: WFC, spill-over cross-over model, and family systems theory. Using a quantitative design, surveys were completed by 35 parent-adult offspring pairs, with more LEO parent respondents (N = 71) than adult offspring respondents (N = 43). Linear regression analyses, PROCESS macro, and dependent t test were used to address the five research questions to best examine the sample collected. The findings revealed that police officer stress and coping styles significantly impacted adult offspring self-regulation. While LEO parent WFC was not found to influence the relationship between police occupational stress, coping styles, and adult offspring self-regulation, the perspective of adult offspring on their parent’s WFC served as a mediator in this relationship. Police officer occupational stress and coping styles impacted LEO parent WFC. No significant differences were found between the perspectives of LEO WFC by the LEO parent and adult-offspring. Lastly, police officers’ occupational stress and coping styles significantly impacted the perspectives of their adult offspring regarding their parent’s WFC. Implementing positive social change based on the findings of this study, the law enforcement community may benefit from stress-reduction education, resilience-building programs, and supportive networks.

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