# Work pressure, coping styles and occupational burnout among Chinese police officers: a meta-analytic review

## TL;DR

This study examines how work pressure and coping styles affect occupational burnout in Chinese police officers using a meta-analysis of 39 studies.

## Contribution

The novel aspect is the use of a meta-analytic structural equation model to explore coping styles as mediators of burnout in police officers.

## Key findings

- Work pressure is positively correlated with occupational burnout (r = 0.410).
- Negative coping styles mediate the relationship between work pressure and burnout.
- The findings are consistent across different work regions of police officers.

## Abstract

The present study conducted a comprehensive meta-analysis to systematically review the relationship between occupational burnout and work pressure among Chinese police officers. Additionally, the study explored the mediating role of coping styles using a meta-analytic structural equation model. The investigation involved a thorough search of CNKI, PubMed, PsychInfo, Web of Science, and Google Scholar databases, resulting in the identification of a total of 39 studies with 124 effect sizes and 14,089 police officers. The findings revealed a positive correlation between work pressure and occupational burnout among Chinese police officers (r = 0.410, 95% CI = [0.347, 0.469]). Furthermore, negative coping styles mediate the relationship between work pressure and occupational burnout. Importantly, these conclusions held true across various work regions for police officers. These results provide insights into the relationship magnitude between work pressure and occupational burnout in Chinese police work and shed light on the underlying mechanisms. Based on these findings, it is recommended that interventions focusing on reducing work pressure and fostering positive coping styles be implemented to mitigate occupational burnout among police officers.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s40359-024-01779-6.