Operational Police Stress Questionnaire

Below is a list of items that describe different aspects of being a police officer. After each item, please
circle how much stress it has caused you over the past 6 months, using a 7-point scale (see below) that
ranges from “No Stress At All” to “A Lot Of Stress”:

No Stress At Moderate A Lot Of Stress

All Stress
1 2 3 4 5 6 7

1. Shift work 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
2. Working alone at night 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
3. Over-time demands 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
4. Risk of being injured on the job 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
5. Work related activities on days off (e.g. court, community events) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
6. Traumatic events (e.g. MVA, domestics, death, injury) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
7. Managing your social life outside of work 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
8. Not enough time available to spend with friends and family 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
9. Paperwork 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
10. Eating healthy at work 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
11. Finding time to stay in good physical condition 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
12. Fatigue (e.g. shift work, over-time) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
13. Occupation-related health issues (e.g. back pain) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
14. Lack of understanding from family and friends about your work 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
15. Making friends outside the job 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
16. Upholding a "higher image" in public 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
17. Negative comments from the public 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
18. Limitations to your social life (e.g. who your friends are, where you socialize) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
19. Feeling like you are always on the job 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
20. Friends / family feel the effects of the stigma associated with your job 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
 Organizational Police Stress Questionnaire

Below is a list of items that describe different aspects of being a police officer. After each item, please
circle how much stress it has caused you over the past 6 months, using a 7-point scale (see below) that
ranges from “No Stress At All” to “A Lot Of Stress”:

No Stress At Moderate A Lot Of Stress

All Stress
1 2 3 4 5 6 7

1. Dealing with co-workers 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
3. Feeling like you always have to prove yourself to the organization 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
5. Constant changes in policy / legislation 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
7. Bureaucratic red tape 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
1 2 3 4 5 6 7

8.
9. Lack of training on new equipment 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
11. Dealing with supervisors 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
12. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
13. Lack of resources 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
14. Unequal sharing of work responsibilities 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
15. If you are sick or injured your co-workers seem to look down on you 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
16. Leaders over-emphasise the negatives (e.g. supervisor evaluations, public complaints) 1 2 3 4 567

17. Internal investigations 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

18. Dealing the court system 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
19. The need to be accountable for doing your job 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
20. Inadequate equipment 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

© Donald R. McCreary and Megan M. Thompson, 2004. All rights reserved. The Organizational Police Stress Questionnaire is provided free for non-commercial, educational, and research purposes.