Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Date of Degree

6-2024

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Ph.D.

Program

Criminal Justice

Advisor

Gohar A. Petrossian

Committee Members

Brian Lawton

Hung-En Sung

Eric L. Piza

Subject Categories

Industrial and Organizational Psychology | Policy Design, Analysis, and Evaluation | Public Affairs, Public Policy and Public Administration | Social and Behavioral Sciences

Keywords

Police Officer Wellness, Police Officer Mental Health, Employee Assistance Programs, Human-Animal Interactions, Human-Animal Interventions, Perceived Organizational Support

Abstract

There is substantial evidence that demonstrates the negative impact of stress on police officer mental health is increasing due in large part to perceived societal shifts in support for the police and trends in criminal justice reform efforts. While employee assistance programs (EAP) are the dominant mechanism for police agencies to address officer mental health, officers are reluctant to use them due to a combination of mental health stigma and organizational distrust. This dissertation studied police officer perceptions of an employee assistance program (EAP) and the effect of exposure to professionally trained dogs during an outreach session on indicators of officer wellness. These indicators included officer perception of EAP supportiveness and trustworthiness, perceived organizational support (POS), willingness to use the EAP, willingness to recommend the EAP to fellow officers, and receptivity to the use of dogs to address officer wellness. This research project evaluated the effectiveness of the New York City Police Department (NYPD) Employee Assistance Unit’s (EAU) therapy dog program. Survey data was collected in three phases using samples drawn from active duty sworn members of the NYPD: a baseline measure administered via email prior to program implementation; a randomized controlled trial that collected data after outreach sessions conducted at precincts; and a quasi-experimental design that collected data after outreach sessions that were conducted at the NYPD firearms range during officer training. Exposure to the NYPD’s therapy dogs represented the treatment condition for the precinct and range phases. This dissertation employed a mixed-method design, using qualitative data to triangulate the findings from the quantitative analysis.

This dissertation found that officer POS and perception of EAP confidentiality, effectiveness, and support predict officer willingness to use and recommend the EAP to fellow officers. It also found evidence that officer POS mediates the relationship between the perception of EAP supportiveness and willingness to use the EAP, but it found no evidence that POS mediates the perception of EAP supportiveness’ ability to predict officer willingness to recommend the EAP to peers. These findings suggest that encouraging officers to recommend the EAP to fellow officers is a more reliable pathway to increasing officer use of EAPs than encouraging officers in distress to self-report.

This dissertation also found that exposure to professionally trained dogs predicts higher levels of officer POS, EAP support, and receptivity to the use of professionally trained dogs to address officer wellness. The findings suggest that dogs reduce tension and improve perception of organizational climate. Officers perceive dogs as an extension of “good will” from the organization. There was no empirical evidence to suggest that dogs increase officer perception of EAP trust, willingness to use the program, or willingness to recommend it to peers. While qualitative evidence suggests that the dogs provide a “social catalyst” effect that bridges the usual communication gap between officers and the EAP counselor, obstacles continue to persist, such as mental health stigma and underlying organization distrust, all of which may inhibit dogs’ effect on officer intention to use and recommend the EAP. Policy and theoretical implications are discussed, and recommendations are made for policy changes and future research.

Download

Share

COinS