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Testing the impact of physiological stress response on police performance during critical job tasks

Testing the impact of physiological stress response on police performance during critical job tasks To add to the existing body of knowledge on the relationship between stress and job performance in policing, we monitored police officers' physiology using Hexoskin shirts while they responded to simulated scenarios.Design/methodology/approachWe employed mixed repeated measures (baseline, intervention, post-intervention), between groups (treatment vs control group) design. Using this approach, our aims were (1) to determine whether an individualized physiological stress profile—a combination of heart rate (HR), heart rate variability (HRV), sympathetic nervous system (SNS) index and parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) index—could be developed for each participant; (2) to investigate the association between physiological stress and scenario performance and (3) to pilot test an intervention for decreasing physiological stress in real time.FindingsWe found that it was possible to individualize physiological stress profiles for each participant that alerted us when the participant was becoming stressed. We also found that physiological stress was significantly and negatively/inversely associated with scenario performance. However, our intervention to try and decrease participants' stress in real time was not successful. Several key lessons can be taken from our attempt that could inform future efforts in this area.Research limitations/implicationsThis was a small pilot study, precluding generalizability of results. Furthermore, our intervention was simplistic and potentially affected by an experimenter effect. Future research should explore better ways to intervene when officers are becoming physiologically stressed to help them overcome stress in real time and safeguard against the cumulative effects of stress on health and performance.Originality/valueThis research adds to the body of knowledge on physiological stress and job-task performance in police officers. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies & Management Emerald Publishing

Testing the impact of physiological stress response on police performance during critical job tasks

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Publisher
Emerald Publishing
Copyright
© Emerald Publishing Limited
ISSN
1363-951X
DOI
10.1108/pijpsm-04-2020-0060
Publisher site
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Abstract

To add to the existing body of knowledge on the relationship between stress and job performance in policing, we monitored police officers' physiology using Hexoskin shirts while they responded to simulated scenarios.Design/methodology/approachWe employed mixed repeated measures (baseline, intervention, post-intervention), between groups (treatment vs control group) design. Using this approach, our aims were (1) to determine whether an individualized physiological stress profile—a combination of heart rate (HR), heart rate variability (HRV), sympathetic nervous system (SNS) index and parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) index—could be developed for each participant; (2) to investigate the association between physiological stress and scenario performance and (3) to pilot test an intervention for decreasing physiological stress in real time.FindingsWe found that it was possible to individualize physiological stress profiles for each participant that alerted us when the participant was becoming stressed. We also found that physiological stress was significantly and negatively/inversely associated with scenario performance. However, our intervention to try and decrease participants' stress in real time was not successful. Several key lessons can be taken from our attempt that could inform future efforts in this area.Research limitations/implicationsThis was a small pilot study, precluding generalizability of results. Furthermore, our intervention was simplistic and potentially affected by an experimenter effect. Future research should explore better ways to intervene when officers are becoming physiologically stressed to help them overcome stress in real time and safeguard against the cumulative effects of stress on health and performance.Originality/valueThis research adds to the body of knowledge on physiological stress and job-task performance in police officers.

Journal

Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies & Management – Emerald Publishing

Published: May 27, 2021

Keywords: Stress; PTSD risk; Vigilance; Performance; Police decision-making

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