Low subjective social status in the police is linked to health-relevant changes in diurnal salivary alpha-amylase activity in Swiss police officers

Abstract

The objective of this study was to assess basal autonomic nervous system (ANS) activity as a pathway linking subjective social status to health in a high-demand work environment. It was hypothesized that officers with a lower status experienced more chronic stress (higher basal ANS activity) and that chronic stress was related to more health problems. Fifty-six male and female Swiss police officers self-reported on subjective social status (country, community, friends, police) and their health (depression, post-traumatic stress, physical symptoms) and collected 12 saliva samples over two days for basal α-amylase activation (sAA) assessment. Multilevel regression analyses revealed that subjective social status in the police and physical symptoms explained a significant part of the variance in diurnal sAA activity patterns. The current findings support the idea that more narrowly defined subjective social status may be more closely linked to biological stress mechanisms. Additionally, sAA activity was specifically related to physical, but not mental health problems. These results suggest that subjective social status referencing one’s work environment may be a promising early indicator of health-relevant changes in stress-related physiological systems.

Keywords:

• Salivary alpha-amylase
• police
• subjective social status
• physical health
• mental health
• stress

Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank the representatives of the police unions, as well as the police management (psychological office, human resources and top management) who promoted and supported this study. We are grateful to all police officers who took the time to participate in the study and gave us this valuable information. The authors would also like to thank Professor Andre Kuhn at the Swiss-French Center for Research in Criminology, University of Neuchâtel, Switzerland, Professor Serge Guimond at the Laboratory for Social Psychology, University Blaise Pascal, France, as well as Professor Raymund Schwan at the University of Lorraine, France, for their valuable support during the course of this study. The study was approved by the Ethics Commission in the State of Vaud, Switzerland, and Brandeis University IRB.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This study has been funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation (FNS #P2LAP1_148426).