Applying Differential Coercion and Social Support Theory to Police Officers’ Misconduct

ABSTRACT

The goal of this study is to test differential coercion and social support theory on police officers’ misconduct. Data from the Police Stress and Domestic Violence in Police Families in Baltimore, Maryland, 1997–1999 are analyzed to test the propositions of the theory. Specifically, we test whether this theory can explain intimate partner violence (IPV) and problematic drinking perpetrated by police officers. Results indicated that two types of coercion (out of five) were significant in predicting IPV perpetration, while two alternate forms of coercion were significant in predicting problematic alcohol consumption. Anger was the only significant social–psychological deficit in predicting both dependent variables. Social support, mainly from family/friends and the department, only decreased the odds of problematic alcohol consumption. The current study provides further evidence that victimization continues to be one of the most consistent forms of coercion most likely to lead to criminal behavior.

Acknowledgments

This paper was presented at the 2015 annual meeting of the American Society of Criminology in Washington, D.C.

Notes

¹ Information about how the study’s aims were explained to respondents, who would have access to their surveys, and how their participation would be kept confidential are explained fully in Gershon (1999).

² There are several limitations when using cross-sectional data, such as not directly testing the causal effect between the different types of coercive forces and intimate partner violence/problematic alcohol consumption. This limitation is discussed further in the discussion section of the article.

³ The survey also asked respondents if they have ever perpetrated violence toward their children and other police officers. The decision to only look at IPV perpetration and problematic alcohol consumption was based on the fact that, as demonstrated by the literature review, studies have shown that these two behaviors are frequently committed by police officers and, therefore, deserve further empirical examination.

⁴ The survey originally asked about nine potential critical incidents that police officers may encounter while on duty. Five of these events (i.e., shooting someone, being subject to an internal affairs investigation, responding to a call related to a chemical spill, being involved in a hostage situation, and experiencing a needle stick injury) were excluded from the index because these events were less frequent or even not experienced at all by the majority of officers.

⁵ We also calculated mean-scales of all indexes by summing all responses and dividing it by the number of items. An exploratory analysis showed that the results were not substantially different from the original findings. For this reason, models using summed scales are reported.

⁶ Criminologists and other social scientists have long practiced the tradition of “racial lumping,” or creating racial variables in which white respondents are compared with all other races/ethnicities at once. When such events occur, it is unknown whether Blacks, Hispanics, Asians, or other ethnicities are better or worse compared to each other. Given the low variation of Hispanic and “other,” the decision was made to create the current variable as presented. Only 12 respondents indicated they were Hispanic and 23 indicated “other.” In addition, this coding is in concert with other studies that have utilized the current data (see Anderson and Lo 2011; Swatt et al. 2007; Gibson et al. 2001).

⁷ In accordance with the procedure outlined by Jaccard, Turrisis, and Wan (1990), we created a product term interaction variables between anger and child maltreatment, testing whether officers who reported child maltreatment held greater levels of anger that could have influenced the perpetration of IPV and more likely to abuse alcohol. These interactions were not found to be significant. In addition, we tested mean differences on anger and coercion ideation by spouse abuse and child maltreatment. There were only minor differences between these groups, indicating that the variable interaction is not a presenting problem in the models.

⁸ In an exploratory analysis (not shown) we included problematic alcohol consumption in the statistical model predicting IPV perpetration given that a number of studies have shown a relationship between the two. Results indicated a non-significant relationship in these data. Results are not shown or discussed in order to preserve space.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Egbert Zavala

EGBERT ZAVALA is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Criminal Justice at The University of Texas at El Paso, where he has been since receiving his Ph.D. in sociology from Kansas State University. His area of research includes intimate partner violence, testing criminological theories, homicide, deviance, and criminal behavior by police officers. His publications appear in Crime & Delinquency, American Journal of Criminal Justice, Criminal Justice Review, and others.

Don L. Kurtz

DON L. KURTZ is an Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology, Anthropology and Social Work at Kansas State University. His research interests include police stress, youth violence, police storytelling, and narrative development. He is published in Feminist Criminology, Criminal Justice Review, Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, Critical Criminology, Victims and Offender, and Women and Criminal Justice among others. Prior to pursuing an academic career, Dr. Kurtz was employed as a social worker in the juvenile justice system.