Research involving Public Security Police (PSP) officers in Porto shows that the ability to regulate emotions protects professionals’ well-being far more than years of service or rank. More than one third of officers report high levels of stress, yet most do not seek support due to stigma.
How do PSP officers cope with the stress of a profession marked by constant exposure to risk and highly demanding situations? A study conducted at the Human Neurobehavioral Laboratory (HNL) of the Research Centre for Human Development (CEDH) at the Faculty of Education and Psychology of the Universidade Católica Portuguesa (FEP-UCP) helps to answer this question and provides new data on a reality that remains underexplored in Portugal.
The research, with Ana Moreno as the first author and recently published in the scientific journal “Policing: A Journal of Policy and Practice (Oxford University Press)”, concludes that emotional regulation processes play a more significant role in explaining stress levels than factors such as years of service, rank, or educational level.
The study was developed as part of the International PhD in Applied Psychology at the Faculty of Education and Psychology of the Universidade Católica Portuguesa (FEP-UCP), under the supervision of Patrícia Oliveira-Silva, lecturer at FEP-UCP, and co-supervision of Rowena Hill from Nottingham Trent University and Susanna Rubiol Vilalta from Universitat Ramon Llull. The research, entitled “Policing, stress and coping: a characterization study with Oporto Portuguese Security Police Officers”, also included the collaboration of Ted Scharf from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (USA).
“I have always been motivated to better understand the constraints and risks that security officers face in their daily work. I saw this project as an opportunity to study and promote the mental health of those who safeguard our security every day, especially considering the tensions that exist between society and police action,” explains Ana Moreno.
The importance of emotional management
Conducted with operational PSP officers from the Porto Metropolitan Area, the study revealed that 35.3% of participants reported high levels of perceived stress.
The results show that factors traditionally associated with occupational stress, such as length of service or rank, had limited impact in explaining stress levels. By contrast, processes related to emotional regulation proved far more significant.
In particular, the research examined emotional suppression: the tendency to contain or not express emotions. Although this strategy is essential during emergencies or situations of imminent danger, its prolonged use without subsequent emotional processing can contribute to stress accumulation and increase the risk of burnout, anxiety, and depression.
“Two officers with the same rank and the same number of years in service may face exactly the same risk situations in their work. However, the one who is able to identify and differentiate their emotions will potentially cope much better with the impact of routine than the one who handles these situations by repressing what they feel,” says Ana Moreno.
Conversely, the study shows that the ability to distinguish and understand different emotional states acts as an important protective factor, enabling officers to cope more adaptively with the demands of the profession.
Stigma continues to hinder help-seeking
The research also highlights a low uptake of psychological support. Although more than one third of participants reported high stress levels, among the officers whose stress levels exceeded the clinical threshold, only 16.7% sought specialised help.
According to Ana Moreno, these findings reflect the weight of the stigma still associated with mental health in security forces, where the image of the “unshakeable” officer continues to prevail, leading many professionals to perceive the expression of vulnerability as a sign of weakness.
“The organisation needs to start viewing mental health not as an individual problem, but as part of the institution’s own actions and strategy. The aim is to go beyond occasional training measures and the individual assignment of responsibility for mental health,” the researcher argues.
From research to intervention
The study is part of the Mental Health NeuroForce Project, developed at HNL/CEDH, which aims to apply the knowledge generated in the areas of cognitive psychology and mental health to high-demand professional contexts, contributing to the well-being of security professionals and the communities they serve.
The next steps include strengthening collaboration with the Mossos d’Esquadra in Catalonia and developing ongoing training programmes in emotional skills, using techniques such as mindfulness and biofeedback to help officers better manage emotions during crisis intervention situations.
In the long term, the team aims to ensure these practices become structurally integrated into both initial and ongoing training of security forces, promoting a more preventive approach to psychological health.
