Psychosocial Factors Associated with Occupational Stress among Peruvian Police Officers: A Cross-Sectional Occupational Health Study

Abstract

Objective: To determine the association between psychosocial factors and occupational stress among Peruvian police officers, as well as to assess their overall explanatory capacity.

Methods: A quantitative, observational, non-experimental, cross-sectional, correlational-explanatory study was conducted. A total of 110 Peruvian police officers participated and were selected through non-probabilistic convenience sampling. The ILO-WHO Occupational Stress Questionnaire and the SUSESO/ISTAS21 Questionnaire were administered. The analysis included Spearman’s correlation, the Mann-Whitney U test, and structural regression using the ULS estimator.

Results: The global model showed adequate fit indices: CFI = 0.997, TLI = 0.997, SRMR = 0.034, RMSEA = 0.007, and PNFI = 0.801. However, the psychosocial factors analyzed individually did not reach statistical significance as independent predictors. Direct, moderate, and significant correlations were found between occupational stress and compensation (rs = .674; r² = .454), double presence (rs = .662; r² = .438), active work and skills development (rs = .657; r² = .432), social support and leadership (rs = .655; r² = .429), and psychosocial demands (rs = .531; r² = .282). In addition, 79.1% of participants reported high levels of stress.

Conclusions: Police occupational stress represented a critical occupational health warning sign associated with psychosocial working conditions. Its magnitude called for systematic psychosocial surveillance, stronger leadership, a review of compensation mechanisms, and preventive actions aimed at reducing occupational strain.