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Cited by 234Heart Rate Variability and Autonomic ControlStress and Burnout ResearchResilience and Mental Health

Resilience Training Program Reduces Physiological and Psychological Stress in Police Officers

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Mccraty, Rollin, Atkinson, Mike·2012·Global Advances in Health and Medicine
DOI 10.7453/gahmj.2012.1.5.013PMC PMC4890098
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Abstract

Research suggests that police work is among the most stressful occupations in the world and officers typically suffer a variety of physiological, psychological, and behavioral effects and symptoms. Officers operating under severe or chronic stress are likely to be at greater risk of error, accidents, and overreactions that can compromise their performance, jeopardize public safety, and pose significant liability costs to the organization. Therefore, this study explored the nature and degree of physiological activation typically experienced of officers on the job and the impact of the Coherence Advantage resilience and performance enhancement training on a group of police officers from Santa Clara County, California. Areas assessed included vitality, emotional well-being, stress coping and interpersonal skills, work performance, workplace effectiveness and climate, family relationships, and physiological recalibration following acute stressors. Physiological measurements were obtained to determine the real-time cardiovascular impact of acutely stressful situations encountered in highly realistic simulated police calls used in police training and to identify officers at increased risk of future health challenges. The resilience-building training improved officers’ capacity to recognize and self-regulate their responses to stressors in both work and personal contexts. Officers experienced reductions in stress, negative emotions, depression, and increased peacefulness and vitality as compared to a control group. Improvements in family relationships, more effective communication and cooperation within work teams, and enhanced work performance also were noted. Heart rate and blood pressure measurements taken during simulated police call scenarios showed that acutely stressful circumstances typically encountered on the job result in a tremendous degree of physiological activation, from which it takes a considerable amount of time to recover. Autonomic nervous system assessment based on heart rate variability (HRV) analysis of 24-hour electrocardiogram (ECG) recordings revealed that 11% of the officers were at higher risk for sudden cardiac death and other serious health challenges. This is more than twice the percentage typically found in the general population and is consistent with epidemiological data indicating that police officers have more than twice the average incidence of cardiovascular-related disease. The data suggest that training in resilience building and self-regulation skills could significantly benefit police organizations by improving judgment and decision making and decreasing the frequency of on-the-job driving accidents and the use of excessive force in high-stress situations. Potential outcomes include fewer citizens’ complaints, fewer lawsuits, decreased organizational liabilities, and increased community safety. Finally, this study highlights the value of 24-hour HRV analysis as a useful screening tool to identify officers who are at increased risk, so that efforts can be made to reverse or prevent the onset of disease in these individuals.

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  • Providing emotional self-regulation skills combined with heart rhythm coherence training results in significant improvements in communication, employee satisfaction, productivity, problem solving, reduced turnover, and a significant return on investment, both financially and socially.

    “It has been shown that providing emotional self-regulation skills combined with heart rhythm coherence training results in significant improvements in communication, employee satisfaction, productivity, problem solving, reduced turnover, and a significant return on investment, both financially and socially (15, 67, 73, 86, 90–92).”

    From New Frontiers in Heart Rate Variability and Social Coherence Research: Techniques, Technologies, and Implications for Improving Group Dynamics and Outcomes (2017) · cites this paper as [73]

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  • Police officers have an increased risk of sudden cardiac death, diabetes, obesity and metabolic syndrome.

    “In addition to higher rates of mental health concerns, police officers have an increased risk of sudden cardiac death, diabetes, obesity and metabolic syndrome [9, 10].”

    From Study protocol of a multicenter randomized controlled trial of mindfulness training to reduce burnout and promote quality of life in police officers: The POLICE study (2018) · cites this paper as [10]

    The Results (Physiological Results; page not provided) report that 11% of the officers tested had low heart-rate variability associated with increased risk of sudden death, more than twice the proportion expected in the general population. The paper also reports elevated cardiovascular disease incidence among police, but the passages do not say that officers have increased risks of diabetes, obesity, or metabolic syndrome. (LLM, conf=0.88)

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Research works printed but not linked: 12

  1. [8]Ganster DC Pagon M Duffy M Milan Pagon, ed. Organizational and interpersonal sources of stress in the Slovenian police force. In: policing in central and Eastern Europe: comparing firsthand knowledge with experience from the West. Ljubljana, Slovenia: College of Police and Security Studies; 1996: 425– 33.
  2. [9]Sewell JD The development of a critical life events scale for law enforcement. J Police Sci Admin. 1983; 11(1): 109– 16.
  3. [28]Territo L Vetter H Stress and police personnel. J Police Sci Admin. 1981; 9: 195– 208.
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  6. [36]Coman G Evans B Stressors facing Australian police in the 1990s. Police Studies. 1991; 14(4): 153– 165.
  7. [48]Ginsberg JP Berry ME Powell DA Cardiac coherence and PTSD in combat veterans. Altern Ther Health Med. 2010; 16(4): 52– 60. 20653296
  8. [62]Foreman R Organization of visceral input. In: Anesthesia: biologic foundations. Philadelphia: Lippincott-Raven Publishers; 1997: 663– 83.
  9. [66]Rein G Atkinson M McCraty R The physiological and psychological effects of compassion and anger. J Adv Med. 1995; 8(2): 87– 105.
  10. [67]McCraty R Atkinson M Rein G Watkins AD Music enhances the effect of positive emotional states on salivary IgA. Stress Med. 1996; 12(3): 167– 75.
  11. [68]McCraty R Atkinson M Tomasino D Tiller W The electricity of touch: detection and measurement of cardiac energy exchange between people. In: Pribram KH, ed. Brain and values: is a biological science of values possible? Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Publishers; 1998: 359– 379.
  12. [102]Laraway CL McCraty R A new perspective on self-regulation and resilience: lessons learned from detainee operations sailors. Naval Center for Combat and Operational Stress Control Conference 2011. San Diego; 4 26-28, 2011.

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Authors
Mccraty, R., & Atkinson, M.
Affiliations
HeartMath Institute (US)
Corresponding author
Mccraty, Rollin
Venue
Global Advances in Health and Medicine
Publisher
SAGE Publications
Published
2012-11
Volume
1
Issue
5
Pages
44-66
ISSN
  • 2164-9561 (ISSN-L)
  • 2164-957X
DOI
10.7453/gahmj.2012.1.5.013
PMC
PMC4890098
OpenAlex
W2068814109
Cited by
234
References
94
Citations by year
2026: 17 · 2025: 12 · 2024: 21 · 2023: 26 · 2022: 32 · 2021: 32 · 2020: 28 · 2019: 23 · 2018: 12 · 2017: 9 · 2016: 8 · 2015: 10 · 2014: 4
FWCI
2.88
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
journals.sagepub.com/page/policies/text-and-data-mining-license (tdm)
Locations
  • Global Advances in Health and Medicine (publishedVersion)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine › Heart Rate Variability and Autonomic Control
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Stress and Burnout Research
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Resilience and Mental Health
Keywords
resilience training, police officers, occupational stress, physiological stress, heart rate variability, cardiovascular risk, self-regulation, stress coping, autonomic nervous system, sudden cardiac death risk, employee performance, family relationships, organizational climate, excessive force, cardiovascular disease

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