Addressing the Maladaptive Coping and SAD (Stress, Anxiety, and Depression) States in Police Officers: Build Emotional Competence

Abstract

Mental health is just as essential as physical health for law enforcement officers to keep our country and communities safe. This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence and influence of SAD (stress, anxiety, and depression) state among police in Rajasthan and also enquired about the emotional competence and coping strategies used by police officers and their impact on psychosocial issues among police personnel. A total of 689 officers participated in the study. After cleaning the data, 681 responses were found complete and suitable for analysis.

The current study revealed that police officers face anxiety, depression, and stress, and they are using maladaptive coping mechanisms to fight against these situations and experiences. Emotional coping was found to be instrumental in reducing SAD state among police personnel. As a result, the necessity of the hour is to pay attention to the psychological well-being of police officers.  Reduction of feeling SAD and increasing use of healthy coping styles is supposed to be developed among these worthy personnel, and developing emotional competence may help to build that.