Correlates of Alcohol Use by Police Personnel (From Psychological Services for Law Enforcement, P 489-495, 1986, James T Reese and Harvey A Goldstein, eds. -- See See NCJ-104098)

• NCJ Number: 104128
• Author(s): V E Pendergrass; N M Ostrove
• Date Published: 1986
• Length: 7 pages
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/; NCJRS Photocopy Services
• Publication Type: Survey
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: For microfiche, see NCJ-104098.

Annotation

A questionnaire was distributed to 724 sworn and 198 civilian employees of a major suburban police department to determine their alcoholic beverage consumption in comparison with the general population and identify the correlates of alcohol use among police personnel.

Abstract

The response rate of 49 percent produced a sample that resembled the employee distribution by age, sex, and rank. The questionnaire solicited information on demography, alcohol consumption, and exposure to selected stress events. The alcohol consumption of civilian employees was not significantly different from the alcohol consumption of the general population as measured by a 1979 national survey. Both male and female sworn officers, however, reported higher levels of alcohol consumption than the general population. Sworn males were heavier users of alcohol at all ages than males in the general population. Chi-square analysis showed no significant relationship between age group and alcohol consumption. Rank was not significantly related to alcohol consumption and neither were stressful events. Male police personnel were heavier drinkers than female employees, but sworn women approached the drinking patterns of sworn males. An untested explanation of the findings is that police social exchanges encourage alcohol use. Another untested explanation is that alcohol is used as a sedative to deal with the disruptive physical effects of rotating shifts. 6 data tables and 21 references.