Abstract
The purpose of this exploratory study was to examine the effects of an approach-avoidance coping skills program on changes in perceived stress and physical energy among police officers. Participants included 11 police officers in a medium-sized US city who volunteered to engage in a coping skills program due to experiencing excessive job-related stress. The officers completed an initial 2-hour seminar on approach-avoidance coping skills and met privately with a stress management coach. Analyses indicated reduced use of approach coping strategies that approached significance. Participants reported significantly higher levels of physical energy at posttest compared to pretest. Higher levels of physical energy were also associated with greater use of avoidance coping at posttest. Personal narratives by selected officers indicated a particularly stressful work environment, and that the officers adopted many of the approach and avoidance coping skills in reducing job-related stressors. The results suggest that the approach-avoidance coping framework may be an effective means for managing acute police stress.
Highlights
We examine whether perceived police stress can be reduced through the use of effective coping strategies
Participants showed a tendency to report fewer approach coping strategies from pre(M = 27.91, SD = 5.34) to post-intervention (M = 24.00, SD = 6.69), approaching but not quite reaching statistical significance using an alpha of p < .05, t (10) = 2.05, p =
The data indicated that perceived stress scores decreased from pretest (M = 13.27, SD = 4.20) to posttest (M = 10.55, SD = 4.52)
Summary
The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of a coping skills program on reducing perceived stress and improving physical energy among male and female police officers
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