Influence of occupational stress, personality and job demands on the mental health of police officers in Ibadan, Nigeria

Abstract

Background: Globally, law enforcement officers have tedious tasks of maintaining law and order, as well as protection of lives and properties. However, research output about the burden of mental health deficit and its associated predictors among police officers, especially in developing countries is scanty. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the influence of occupational stress, personality, and job demand on the mental health of police officers in Ibadan, Nigeria. Hence, this study aimed to find out whether these variables independently and\or jointly influence the mental health of police officers in Ibadan. Method: The study participants were 328 police officers from six Local Government Areas in Ibadan. A cross-sectional research design was adopted for this study, and a 75-item self-report questionnaire designed to assess socio-demographic variables and psychological factors was administered to the participants. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the socio-demographic variables, while Pearson product-moment correlation and multiple regression were used to test the two hypotheses. Statistical significance was set at p