Testing a Resilience Training Program in Police Recruits: A Pilot Study.

BACKGROUND: Stress from multiple sources is inherent in law enforcement. However, it is possible to modify responses to stress with resilience training that includes teaching techniques to modify emotional and physical responses to stress, interface with mental health professionals, and practice sessions to improve self-regulation of responses to stress including coherence, a measure of heart rate variability. A gap exists in the research, however, regarding evaluation of the duration of effects after the initial resilience training. METHOD: Subjects included ( N = 34) recruits enrolled in summer 2015 at the Milwaukee Police Academy. An experimental design was used to compare recruits who received resilience training to recruits in the control group. RESULTS: No statistically significant differences between the groups were found for self-reported measures of stress and resilience. For the treatment group ( n = 17), change in coherence was significant ( p < .001) and improvement in the Personal Organizational Quality Assessment Emotional Buoyancy subscale correlated significantly with the number of practice sessions ( r = .63, p = .01) and marginally with change in coherence ( r = .47, p = .07). CONCLUSION: Results confirm several significant effects of resilience training with recruits.

Evaluation of Stress Experienced by Emergency Telecommunications Personnel Employed in a Large Metropolitan Police Department.

Emergency telecommunications personnel (ETCP) form the hub of police agencies and persistently deal with distressing situations on a daily basis, making them highly susceptible to psychological and physiological ailments. To date, few studies have examined the necessity or feasibility of implementing a resilience training intervention for ETCP. In this study, the authors assessed baseline psychological data from the ETCP of a large police department to determine the differences in baseline measures for ETCP and police officers. Participants included ETCP ages 29 to 64 years ( n = 19). Results showed that ETCP self-reported greater levels of psychological stress compared with police officers ( p < .05) for the majority of measures; ETCP experience excessive levels of stress and greater prevalence of chronic disease. Consideration should be given to piloting resilience interventions within this group to manage stress; improve health, performance, and decision making; and decrease the prevalence of chronic disease.

Building Resilience in an Urban Police Department.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to examine a resilience training intervention that impacts autonomic responses to stress and improves cardiovascular risk, psychological, and physiological outcomes in police. METHODS: Officers [(n = 38) 22 to 54 years] modified emotional and physical responses to stress using self-regulation. Measurements include psychological and physiological measures [eg, heart rate variability (HRV), blood pressure, C-reactive protein)] obtained at three time intervals. RESULTS: Age was significantly (P < 0.05) associated with changes on several measures of psychological stress (eg, critical incident stress, emotional vitality, and depression). Associations were found between coherence and improved HbA1c (r = -0.66, P < 0.001) and stress due to organizational pressures (r = -0.44, P = 0.03). Improvements in sympathetic and parasympathetic contributors of HRV were significant (P < 0.03). CONCLUSION: A stress-resilience intervention improves certain responses to job stress with greater benefits for younger participants.

Association of Sleep Quality With Cardiovascular Disease Risk and Mental Health in Law Enforcement Officers.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of the study was to determine whether sleep quality is associated with an increased risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD) or worsened mental health. METHODS: Self-reported sleep quality, 35 inflammatory factors, CVD risk factors, personal stress, police operational and organizational stress, social support, depressive symptoms, and health-related quality of life were compared among a cohort of officers. RESULTS: Of 379 officers, 39% and 27% had poor and borderline sleep quality. Sleep quality was not associated with either an altered inflammatory profile or worsened CVD risk factors. Compared with good sleepers, borderline and poor sleepers reported increased personal stress, police organizational and operational stress, and depressive symptoms, but decreased health-related quality of life. CONCLUSIONS: Poor sleep quality is prevalent in the law enforcement profession and is associated with worsened mental health but not with an increased risk for CVD.

Associations of Physical Activity and Obesity With the Risk of Developing the Metabolic Syndrome in Law Enforcement Officers.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to examine the associations of physical activity and body mass index (BMI) with the metabolic syndrome (MetS) in police officers. METHODS: Self-reported physical activity, MetS, and a modified MetS (MMetS, excluding obesity) were assessed in 448 officers. RESULTS: Of the officers, 27.5% had MetS, 48.7% were overweight, and 31.7% were obese. Being overweight and obese increased the MetS risk by 6.8- and 10.9-fold, respectively, independent of physical activity level. Moderate and low levels of physical activity were associated with a 1.9- and 2.5-fold increased risk for MetS, but not after adjusting for BMI. However, within BMI categories, the risk for MMetS was lower as physical activity increased. CONCLUSION: In police, a higher BMI is more critical than reduced physical activity for MetS risk; however, physical activity can attenuate some of the risk associated with a higher BMI.