Workplace bullying among police officers

Introduction
Workplace bullying prevails in many human-related occupations (nurses, social workers, psychologists, teachers, etc). Higher prevalence was found among prison employees. The objective of the study was to investigate the prevalence of workplace bullying and the associations with self-rated health among police officers in Kaunas, Lithuania.

Methods
A random sample of the police officers (N=447, response rate 65.6%) were interviewed anonymously according to the structured questionnaire (S Einarsen & H. Hoel). The questions on self-rated health were included. The associations between workplace bullying and self-rated health were investigated using the logistic regression analysis. Statistical software SPSS.14 for Windows was applied.

Results
High prevalence of workplace bullying among police officers was found. 76.3% experienced bullying from delinquents, 5.8% from colleagues and 7.6% from managers. Victimization frequencies were 15.0% for occasional bullying and 12.1% severe bullying. The Odds ratio of occasional bullying for self-rated health was 2.59; 95% CI 1.34-5.02, of severe bullying 4.68; 95% CI 2.31-5.02. After adjustment for age, sociodemographic, occupational, behavioural factors it remained statistically significant.

Discussion
Police officers are exposed to bullying behaviors mainly from delinquents, though colleagues and managers appear to be bullies as well. The associations of workplace bulling and self-rated health problems have been shown. Health prevention strategies should be applied in this demanding occupation and measures against bullying behaviors should be implemented.