First-line leadership, agency support, and maladaptive behaviors in Iowa law enforcement officers
Date
2023-05
Authors
Thomas, Barry M.
Major Professor
Advisor
DeLisi, Matthew
Bouffard, Jeffrey
Burgason, Kyle
Butler, Daniel
Keren, Nir
Committee Member
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Abstract
Law enforcement leadership matters – especially when it comes to establishing and maintaining a healthy workforce of sworn officers. This study, focusing exclusively on Iowa law enforcement agencies, examines various aspects of law enforcement leadership and provides insight on how leadership relates to sworn officers engaging in the maladaptive behaviors of alcohol misuse and substance abuse.
Gathering original data for this research, an anonymous fifty-question survey was made available to sworn officers across the state of Iowa. Measures for the study included the World Health Organization’s Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT), Cage Aid Questionnaire – assessment tool screening for alcohol or drug use, Schmidt’s Toxic Leadership Scale and LMX-7. Additionally, demographic questions were asked of officers including details about the agency they worked for, the wellness programs offered by their agency, and the respondent’s comfort with seeking help from their employer if they had struggles with alcohol or substance abuse.
This study focused on the maladaptive behaviors of officers in relationship to both first-line supervisor leadership traits and the support of leaders in law enforcement administration. The first-line leadership traits were assessed using Schmidt’s Toxic Leadership Scale and the LMX-7, while agency support was measured through the availability of wellness programming and the comfort of officers using them. The results, utilizing both binary logistic regression and negative binomial regression, revealed several significant relationships between leadership and maladaptive behaviors.
Some of the most notable results from this study reveal that 24.14% of Iowa law enforcement officers are engaging in behaviors resulting in alcohol or substance abuse problems – a troubling figure – and that toxic leadership traits in first-line supervisors increase the likelihood that law enforcement officers will struggle with alcohol or substance use issues. Of equal importance, the likelihood of officers struggling with alcohol or substance abuse issues are lowered at agencies where leaders offer certain wellness programming, especially chaplain programs, and have created a supportive environment where officers would feel comfortable asking for help with alcohol or drug issues.
Unearthing relationships between law enforcement leadership and sworn officers’ alcohol misuse and substance abuse, this study offers pivotal information to administrators, informing public policy in a way that should equate to a healthier law enforcement workforce.
Keywords: law enforcement; toxic leadership; alcohol use; substance abuse; leadership; wellness programming; maladaptive behaviors; chaplain program.
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Type
dissertation