Psychological aspects of aggression among police personnel

Abstract

The article presents psychological aspects of aggression in the context of professional activity of police personnel. The nature and manifestations of aggression in the working environment of police officers are investigated, the factors that cause aggressive behaviour are considered, and its impact on the efficiency and safety of performance of official duties is analysed. The theoretical analysis has shown that everyday stress and dangerous situations in wartime create a favourable environment for the development of aggressive tendencies, which can negatively affect the quality of official duties performance. It has been found that aggression among police personnel can take various forms such as verbal conflict and physical force, which calls into question the credibility of law enforcement agencies and can have serious legal and ethical consequences. The purpose of the study is to examine and analyse various manifestations of aggression among police personnel in order to identify possible differences in their characteristics and ability to display such behaviour. The sample consisted of 200 police officers, divided into two groups by gender, 100 in each group. The first group was represented by men, the second by women. The study used the “Aggression Level Questionnaire” by A. Bass and A. Darky. Mathematical and statistical processing of the results was carried out using Student’s t-test for independent samples and Fisher's angular transformation criterion (φ). An empirical study of aggression among police officers of different gender groups has revealed significant differences in the manifestation of aggressive behaviour. Male police officers are more likely to use physical force and verbal aggression compared to female police officers. At the same time, both groups have a similar tendency to indirect aggression and negativism, which indicates a general tendency towards indirect forms of aggression and oppositional behaviour among police personnel. Female police officers show a higher level of irritability, suspicion and resentment, which may affect their interaction with others and their overall psychological state.

Keywords

• aggressiveness
• war
• gender
• women
• police personnel
• police officers
• psychological state
• professional activity
• stress
• male.