Psychological preconditions for the implementation of the police officers` coping behavior in the context of adaptive perfectionism

Abstract

The results of the study of psychological preconditions for the implementation of the police officers` coping behavior in the context of an adaptive form of perfectionism are presented. Based on the theoretical analysis of scientific developments of domestic and foreign researchers, it is proved that the types of orientations in difficult situations and tendencies in decision-making are psychological prerequisites for coping behavior, the constructiveness of which determines professional efficiency and positive personalization of the police officers. It is stated that one of the personal factors of overcoming behavior in conditions of professional stress, characteristic for the activity of the police officers, is perfectionism, which, on the one hand, is an important condition for the perfect performance of police duties, but on the other hand, causes ambivalent psychological consequences in accordance with its adaptive or maladaptive form of expression. The purpose of the study was to highlight the features of the functioning of the psychological conditions for the implementation of coping behavior of the police officers in the context of adaptive perfectionism. Certain psychodiagnostic techniques were used: the “Revised Perfectionism Scale” questionnaire (Slaney et al., 2001), the “Types of Orientations in Difficult Situations” method (Bitutka, Korneev, 2020) and the “Trends in Decision Making” questionnaire (Misuraca et al., 2015). The study was conducted with the involvement of two groups of patrol police officers. The first group consisted of subjects with an adaptive form of perfectionism (63 people), the second - subjects with a maladaptive form of perfectionism (39 people). It has been empirically proven that in the study of the types of orientations in difficult situations on the scales "Orientation to labor intensity (diligence)" and "Orientation to opportunities" the first group shows probably higher indicators, while in the second group probably higher indicators are recorded on scales "Orientation to obstacles" and "Loss-oriented (avoidance of difficulties)". The study of the trend in decision-making revealed that on the scale "Maximization" the indicator established in the second group is probably higher than the indicator recorded on this scale in the first group. On the «Satisfaction scale», a significantly higher rate was found in the first group than in the second. The prospect of further research is outlined, which is to study the psychological preconditions for the implementation of coping behavior by police officers, taking into account the levels of expression of various forms of perfectionism and imbalance of its adaptive form on the example of specialists from different police departments.