Date
5-23-2025
Department
School of Behavioral Sciences
Degree
Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology (PhD)
Chair
Brittany Littrell
Keywords
law enforcement, workplace stress, secondary traumatic stress, toxic leadership, religious coping, coping strategies, well-being
Disciplines
Psychology
Recommended Citation
Stapleton, Karen F., "Breaking Point: Examining Secondary Traumatic Stress, Toxic Leadership, Coping Mechanisms, and Well-Being in Non-Uniformed Federal Law Enforcement Personnel" (2025). Doctoral Dissertations and Projects. 7080.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/7080
Abstract
This quantitative correlational study examined the extent to which secondary traumatic stress and toxic leadership were experienced and these variables’ relationships with well-being among non-uniformed federal employees in law enforcement organizations. The research aimed to identify coping strategies beneficial to employee well-being. A sample of 73 federal employees from a U.S. government law enforcement organization was recruited using purposive sampling, excluding uniformed personnel. Measurement instruments included the Secondary Traumatic Stress Scale, Toxic Leadership Scale, Brief COPE, and World Health Organization 5-Item Well-being Index. Statistical analyses using SPSS version 29 revealed a significant, moderate negative correlation between secondary traumatic stress and well-being (r = -.677, p < .001), accounting for 45.8% of the variance. The mean secondary traumatic stress score of 36.86 (SD = 12.70) was not significantly different from the clinical cutoff score of 38. Toxic Leadership demonstrated a weak negative correlation with well-being (r = -.494, p < .001), explaining 24.4% of the variance. The mean toxic leadership score of 2.36 (SD = 1.27) was significantly lower than the known test value of 4, indicating that twenty-five percent of the sample had experienced exposure to toxic leadership in their workplaces. Coping strategy analysis identified significant negative correlations between maladaptive emotion-focused coping and well-being r(72) = -.434, p < .001, and avoidant coping and well-being r(72) = -.465, p < .001; and non-significant correlations between problem-focused coping and well-being rs(72) = .082, p = .245, and adaptive emotion-focused coping and well-being rs(72) = .118, p = .161. Religious coping showed a non-significant positive trend toward well-being. The findings highlighted complex adaptation in high-stress law enforcement environments, emphasizing the need for targeted organizational interventions and support systems. This study contributed new knowledge to understanding workplace stress, coping strategies, and well-being among federal employees in federal law enforcement organizations.
