Examination of the Subjective Well-Being of Australian Internet Child Exploitation Investigators

Abstract

Objective Internet child exploitation investigation is an area of policing associated with high levels of work stress, potentially contributing to the development of mental and other health‐related problems. This study extends prior research suggesting that child abuse investigation officers have normal levels of life satisfaction using a well‐validated and more robust measure of subjective well‐being.

Method The Personal Wellbeing Index (PWI) was self‐completed by a representative sub‐sample of Australian police officers (N = 139) who work in a confronting and challenging area of child abuse investigation (Internet child exploitation). Their data were compared to a comparative sample of 102 non‐Internet child exploitation police officers and participants of the first 28 surveys of the Australian Unity Wellbeing Index (N = 55,697).

Results Consistent with previous research, mean subjective well‐being for Internet child exploitation officers was above the Australian adult normative range and comparable to the control group of non‐child abuse police investigators. Analysis of domain‐based satisfaction judgments comprising the PWI revealed that satisfaction with “Relationships” and “Achieving in Life” contributed more variance to the prediction of life satisfaction than in the comparative mainstream Australian sample.

Conclusion Australian police officers who work in Internet child exploitation investigation have a higher‐than‐normal level of subjective well‐being. These results attest to the resilience of these investigators in their ability to withstand the confronting nature of their work and handling potentially significant sources of negative workplace stress. The results also highlight the importance role that organisational and informal social support plays in facilitating this resilience.