- Title
- The relationship between exposure to traumatised complainants and secondary traumatic stress among police detective officers
- Creator
- Vilakazi, Julias Makhosonke
- Subject
- Police -- Job stress -- South africa
- Subject
- Traumatic shock -- Psychological aspects
- Date Issued
- 2019
- Date
- 2019
- Type
- Thesis
- Type
- Masters
- Type
- MA
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/10948/45668
- Identifier
- vital:38925
- Description
- South Africa is faced with high incidents of sexual violence and abuse, affecting a large part of the population either directly or indirectly.Previous studies have shown that a contact with victims of violent crime may cause psychological symptoms of Secondary traumatic Stress (STS) in police officers. Despite this knowledge, there appears to be a lack of studies that focus specifically on police detective officers (PDOs) in South Africa. Aim: This study aimed to investigate the relationship between exposure to traumatic complainants and STS among PDOs in the SAPS-FCS unit. Findings: The results have shown that most of the PDOs were exposed to traumatised complainants as they often conduct investigation, testify in court, escort complainants for biopsychosocial services and collect evidence from both complainants and perpetrators. The study further found that most PDOs were experiencing a degree of STS symptoms. Additionally, no significant statistical relationship was found between exposure to traumatised complainants and STS. Nonetheless, there is a statistically significant relationship between type of crimes and STS among PDOs in the SAPS-FCS unit. This study sheds light on how the PDOs are indirectly affected by the crimes experienced by complainants’, such as indecent assault and child molestation. This research can be used as a platform for the development of various interventions with police officials exposed to or affected by indirectly trauma. Future research should investigate other pivotal risks and protective factors such as environmental factors and personal factors that may have impacted on the development of STS in the PDOs.
- Format
- 142 leaves
- Format
- Publisher
- Nelson Mandela University
- Publisher
- Faculty of Health Sciences
- Language
- English
- Rights
- Nelson Mandela University
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NMMU School of Behavioural Sciences
| Thumbnail | File | Description | Size | Format | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| View Details Download | SOURCE1 | Makhosonke Julias Vilakazi.pdf | 2 MB | Adobe Acrobat PDF | View Details Download |