Resilience of Dutch probation officers: A critical need for a critical profession
Resilience of Dutch probation officers: A critical need for a critical profession

Summary/Abstract: This article presents the first research findings into the resilience of Dutch probation officers. The research has been a part of European-funded SPORE project, that aimed to identify approaches that appear to have a positive impact on probation officers’ resilience. The theoretical starting point for the research was the Stress Shield Model, developed and validated in research among police officers. This model views resilience as the capacity to cope with, adapt to, and develop from the demands, challenges and changes encountered as a result of working in a critical occupation. The model describes resilience as an outcome, resulting from the interaction between organizational, peer related, and individual factors. By means of five focus groups and an internet survey consisting of questionnaires measuring the model factors, the research aimed to identify how the factors in the model influence the resilience of Dutch probation officers (POs), what effective or promising practices exist in the Netherlands for the purpose of strengthening resilience of POs, what supporting activities can be carried out by the management, and finally what recommendations can be made for developments at a national and European level.

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