Occupational Stress and Alcohol Use: A Study of Two Nationwide Samples of Operational Police and Ambulance Personnel in Norway * (Report‪)‬

POLICE AND AMBULANCE PERSONNEL are widely believed to have a high prevalence of excessive alcohol consumption. However, the empirical basis for this assumption is scant or nonexistent (Davey et al., 2000b; Richmond et al., 1998; Sterud et al., 2006). One perspective for this notion attributes higher-than-normal employee alcohol use partly to the work environment (Frone, 1999). The work environments of police and ambulance personnel share some important common characteristics, such as male dominance and shift work, that may affect the level of alcohol consumption (Richmond et al., 1998). Furthermore, police and ambulance personnel are exposed to dangerous situations and emotionally challenging relationships when dealing with clients, their relatives, and bystanders that might put them at risk of high levels of stress and burnout (Cydulka et al., 1997; Toch, 2002; van der Ploeg and Kleber, 2003; Violanti and Paton, 1999). However, although both occupations provide important social services, police personnel also take on the role as an "enemy" vis-a-vis some clients, which may put police personnel at a higher risk of threats and danger.