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

Abstract

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.