Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Date of Degree

9-2019

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Ph.D.

Program

Psychology

Advisor

Michele Galietta

Committee Members

Peggilee Wupperman

Elizabeth Jeglic

Lisa Butts

Jamie Brower

Subject Categories

Clinical Psychology

Keywords

police, law enforcement, mindfulness, resilience, mobile app, mental health training

Abstract

Policing is thought to be one of the most stressful occupations. Without effective strategies to cope with chronic work-related stress, police are vulnerable to developing mental and physical health problems. The police literature and research highlights the need for proactive, evidence-based interventions to help police maintain their resilience throughout their careers. The current study sought to bridge a gap between police literature, research and practice by developing and testing the feasibility of using the Advanced Law Enforcement Resilience Training (A.L.E.R.T.) mobile app to help police learn and practice mindfulness skills after engaging in a brief in-person training. Using a pre-test, post-test design, police stress, resilience, mindfulness, burnout, and difficulties with emotion regulation were assessed. The results suggest that using the current methodology it is not feasible to get police to engage with a mobile app after training. Nonetheless, exploratory analyses revealed that compared to participants who never engaged with the app, participants who were curious about the app reported significantly more organizational stress, emotional awareness, difficulty accepting negative emotional experiences, and were less mindful. Overall, the current study has important implications for future research and practice.

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