Assessment of subjective stress in the Municipal Force of the City of Rome.

The aim of the study was to perform a dimensional assessment of subjective stress in the MunicipalPolice of the City of Rome. We assessed two random samples of 590 traffic police and 590 clericalpolice officers of both sexes for subjective stress through the administration of the ‘Rapid Stress-Assessment Scale’ (RSA), a self-rated tool; subjects completed the questionnaire during a non-workingday. Subsequently, from each sample we randomly included two subsamples of 115 subjects each, towhom we administered the RSA at the beginning and at the end of their shift. Significant differencesbetween traffic and clerical police officers were found in the RSA total score, which was higher amongtraffic agents. Traffic police officers were found significantly more often in the ‘high stress class’.Gender differences analysis showed higher scores among women. The analysis of the subsample of230 persons showed a significantly greater degree of the RSA ‘depression’ cluster at the end of theshift only in traffic police officers. The assessment of over-the-counter drug use (NSAID, analgesics,etc.) showed that, among police officers habitually using such drugs, only the traffic police subgroupscored higher on the RSA. Our results could be taken to mean that the stress response of MunicipalPolice officers who work outdoors is more maladaptive than that of officers working in the office; thiscould be compatible with the existence of different occupational stressors between the two groups.