ArticlePDF Available

The Effectiveness of Mindfulness‑Based Interventions for Police Officers’ Stress Reduction: a Systematic Review

January 2023
Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology

January 2023

DOI:10.1007/s11896-022-09570-2

Authors:

Tadas Vadvilavičius

Vytautas Magnus University

Erika Gibė

Vytautas Magnus University

Gabija Jarašiūnaitė-Fedosejeva

Vytautas Magnus University

Loreta Gustainiene

Vytautas Magnus University

The profession of a police officer is associated with high levels of stress, which can have harmful consequences for officers' personal lives, the police organisation, and society. This systematic review aims to synthesise recent literature on the effectiveness of mindfulness-based intervention related to stress reduction (MBIs) in a sample of police officers. The search of relevant articles was applied in four databases (SpringerLink, Web of Science, Academic Search Ultimate (EBSCO), and PubMed), using the following inclusion criteria: (1) study involved police officers; (2) study used (quasi)experimental research design; (3) mindfulness-based stress reduction intervention was applied as the main intervention; and (4) study presented pre-and post-intervention measures and quantitative results of stress. The systematic review of eight articles included in the analysis revealed that MBIs were effective in reducing police officers' stress and other stress-related outcomes (sleep problems, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), negative affect, burnout).

PRISMA flow diagram

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Brief methodological characteristics of included studies

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Vol.:(0123456789)

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Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology

https://doi.org/10.1007/s11896-022-09570-2

The Effectiveness ofMindfulness‑Based Interventions forPolice

Officers’ Stress Reduction: aSystematic Review

TadasVadvilavičius1 · ErikaVarnagirytė1· GabijaJarašiūnaitė‑Fedosejeva1· LoretaGustainienė1

Accepted: 29 December 2022

Abstract

The profession of a police officer is associated with high levels of stress, which can have harmful consequences for offic-

ers’ personal lives, the police organisation, and society. This systematic review aims to synthesise recent literature on the

effectiveness of mindfulness-based intervention related to stress reduction (MBIs) in a sample of police officers. The search

of relevant articles was applied in four databases (SpringerLink, Web of Science, Academic Search Ultimate (EBSCO),

and PubMed), using the following inclusion criteria: (1) study involved police officers; (2) study used (quasi)experimental

research design; (3) mindfulness-based stress reduction intervention was applied as the main intervention; and (4) study pre-

sented pre- and post-intervention measures and quantitative results of stress. The systematic review of eight articles included

in the analysis revealed that MBIs were effective in reducing police officers’ stress and other stress-related outcomes (sleep

problems, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), negative affect, burnout).

Keywords Stress reduction· Mindfulness-based interventions· Police officers· Systematic review

Introduction

On a daily work basis, police officers face a variety of differ-

ent stressors, which generally fall into two categories: job-

related stressors (working in courts, facing traumatic events,

shift work, long working hours and working overtime) and

stressors related to the context of the work, also known as

organisational stressors, which are related to the character-

istics of the organisation (the behaviour of colleagues, work-

ing relationships, bureaucracy and inadequate facilities at

work) (Violanti etal. 2017). These stressors place a police

officer’s job at a higher risk of stress-related outcomes, e.g.

post-traumatic stress disorder (Patterson etal. 2014). Addi-

tionally, numerous studies have revealed that police offic-

ers face both physical and psychological health problems,

which may affect police officers’ work quality (e.g. decision-

making or the ability to react quickly to dangerous situa-

tions), personal relationships and quality of life (Acquadro

etal.2020; Demou etal. 2020; Violanti etal. 2017).

The first interventions for stress reduction among police

officers date back almost 40years; however, to this day, not

much is known about effective ways to help police officers deal

with stress at work. For example, a meta-analysis shows that

traditional stress reduction techniques (e.g. psychoeducation,

physical education, relaxation training, cognitive restructuring,

imaginary guidance, writing assignments, etc.) have a small

effect on police officers’ stress reduction (Patterson etal. 2014).

Clearly, finding other ways to reduce the stress experienced

by police officers effectively is becoming important. In the

last decade, mindfulness-based intervention related to stress

reduction (or mindfulness-based intervention or as MBIs in

future references) have become one of the most popular applied

methods that can help people to reduce stress. However, little

is known about the applicability of mindfulness practices to

police officers’ work. Therefore, this systematic review aims

to synthesise recent literature on the effectiveness of MBIs for

stress reduction in a sample of police officers.

Stress inPolice Officers

The profession of a police officer is inevitably linked to

stressors that affect the physical and mental health, and the

psychosocial well-being of officers. Police officers face

both chronic and acute stressors at work. The observation

* Tadas Vadvilavičius

tadas.vadvilavicius@vdu.lt

1 Department ofPsychology, Faculty ofSocial Sciences,

Vytautas Magnus University, Jonavos St. 66/328,

44191Kaunas, Lithuania

Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology

1 3

of traumatic events, human suffering and episodes of vio-

lence can lead to secondary traumatic stress (Acquadro

etal.2020). Depression, anxiety disorders, cardiovascular

disease at a younger age, alcoholism, occupational burnout,

post-traumatic stress disorder, or even the risk of suicide are

more common among police officers than other profession-

als (Queiros etal.2020; Acquadro etal.2020; Demou etal.

2020; Ivleva and Pajarskienė, 2019; Purba and Demou 2019;

Violanti etal. 2017; Wagner etal. 2020). Police officers who

experience traumatic stress or already have symptoms of

post-traumatic stress are more likely to experience chronic

fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, indigestion, autoimmune

disorders, chronic pain syndrome, complex psychological

difficulties, social phobias and are more prone to drug use

(McCainlies etal.2014). It is pointed out that about 30% of

police officers experience clinically significant symptoms

of post-traumatic stress disorder at any time in their lives

or fully meet all criteria for the diagnosis of post-traumatic

stress disorder (Miller 2015).

The consequences of stress affect not only police officers

and their families but also the organisation. These include

increased absenteeism, refusal to perform certain tasks,

decreased productivity, the slower work pace of police offic-

ers, poorer decision-making and increased complaints against

officials (Miller 2015). Over time, stress can also affect the

ability to protect communities, as well as increasing tensions

between officials and community members (Miller 2015),

and reduce public confidence in the work of police offic-

ers (Violanti etal. 2017). Research indicates that officers

experiencing sleep disorders may make more administrative

mistakes, fall asleep while driving or in meetings, violate

safety requirements due to fatigue and have more anger when

responding to offenders (Rajaratnam etal. 2011). Higher

police officer vulnerability to stress and a variety of adverse

above-mentioned stress-related outcomes require the search

for an effective intervention for stress reduction.

Mindfulness‑Based Intervention Related toStress

Reduction

An extensive discussion on how to define mindfulness has

reached the understanding that it is a process of “openly

attending, with awareness, to one’s experience in the present

moment” (Creswell 2017, p. 492). It is stated that people can

be mindful by noticing and accepting body sensations, emo-

tions, thoughts and perceptual experiences. It is argued that

a person who tends to perceive his inner experience in daily

life has an opportunity to make a small pause before taking

an action in the moment of a stress response. This action

reduces stress in the short term and contributes to a person’s

better psychological resilience in the long run (Alidina 2015).

There are two types of practices helping to do so—formal and

informal (Alidina 2015). Formal practices contain structured

exercises and often are done with a mindfulness trainer, while

informal practices are the ones without a particular struc-

ture or exercises and encourage mindfulness in everyday life

activities, for example, being mindful when eating or walking

(Didonna 2009).

It has been shown that mindfulness practices activate

neuronal networks in the somatosensory cortex, responsi-

ble for the processing of the environment senses, anterior

cingulate cortex (which connects the limbic system with the

brain cortex) and prefrontal cortex, which affects cognition,

movement and decision-making (Tomasino and Fabbro 2016;

Zeidan etal. 2015). Also, mindfulness practices reduce the

activity of the amygdala; in that case, activation of the fight

or flight response becomes less frequent (Taren etal. 2015).

While some researchers suggest that practising mindful-

ness can induce the grey matter changes in a brain (Tang

etal. 2020), a recently published study on two combined

randomised controlled trials revealed that an 8-week (2h a

week) Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction course did not

make any changes in the brain structure (Kral etal. 2022).

Over the last decade, MBIs have become one of the most

popular methods to help people reduce stress. Accord-

ing to the primary Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction

(MBSR) programme developed by Kabat-Zinn (1990), many

researchers use an 8-week (2h a week) mindfulness-based

intervention to reduce stress in various samples. During the

traditional eight weeks of MBI, individuals are trying differ-

ent mindfulness techniques. Most of them include breathing

exercises, body scan, mindful listening, sitting or moving

meditation, and visualisation exercises (Blanck etal. 2018;

Christopher etal. 2016; Krick and Felfe 2020; Trombka etal.

2018). Different MBIs could have various combinations of

these and other techniques; however, the main criterion for

selecting them for a particular intervention is the compliance

of the techniques with the basic concept of mindfulness: the

ability to notice what is currently happening to the person

and in the environment. In the scientific literature, we can

detect at least three MBIs that have been used for police

officers: Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR;

Kabat-Zinn 1990), Mindfulness-Based Resilience Training

(MBRT; Christopher etal. 2016) and Mindfulness-Based

Cognitive Therapy (MBCT; Segal etal. 2002).

MBSR is used for police officers’ stress management by

focusing on two main goals: stress reduction and mindful-

ness skills improvement (Baer 2003). The participants of

MBSR usually meet in a group for 2.5h once a week and

have a 1-day retreat (7-h mindfulness practice) between the

sixth and seventh week. In addition, participants are encour-

aged to complete formal and informal homework tasks that

are usually supported by audio recordings on all days except

Sundays, with a minimum of 45min per day (Kabat-Zinn

1990). In essence, the MBSR programme teaches people to

accept their inner experiences without trying to suppress

Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology

1 3

or avoid them (Martín-Asuero and García-Banda 2010).

Besides the already described MBSR programme, MBRT

intervention was specially adapted to increase police offic-

ers’ resilience and stress management to acute and chronic

stress at work. It is also 8weeks long, done in groups weekly

for 2h per session with an extended 6-h class in the sev-

enth week. The structure of the meetings and the exercises

used are similar to those in the MBSR programme; how-

ever, it focuses more on normalising the impact of stress

and trauma, teaching adaptive habit development towards a

reaction to stressors and encourages more group discussions

among the participants in the session. The centre of attention

of the exercises focuses specifically on work-related stress

(Christopher etal. 2016). It has a daily homework practice

of experiential mindfulness exercises related to the daily

acts of police officers supplemented with several readings

and journaling and an orientation session prior to 8-week

training which focuses on the explanation of the physiol-

ogy of stress response, the nature and mechanisms of mind-

ful practices and the relevance on mindfulness training on

lives of police officers (Christopher etal. 2016). Meanwhile,

MBCT is based on cognitive-behavioural theory for stress

management (Lao etal. 2016; Segal etal. 2002). This was

initially developed to treat depression and is often used when

working with mood disorders (Sipe and Eisendrath2012).

This programme consists of 8 group meetings of 2h, usually

once a week and includes both formal and informal mindful-

ness practices. The formal practices are like those used in

MBRT, such as sitting meditation, breath awareness exer-

cises and “body scan”. Individuals are also encouraged to

practise mindfulness activities for at least 45min per day,

often using guided meditation recordings. During MBCT,

individuals learn to recognise and accept negative thoughts

related to stressors, so instead of ruminating about the prob-

lem or situation, they perceive it as less threatening (Sipe

and Eisendrath2012). Compared with other programmes,

this gives more attention to educating police officers on their

stress mechanisms (Hoeve etal. 2021).

To date, there is ample evidence of the benefits of MBIs

for stress reduction. This type of stress reduction is effective

in different groups: medical students (Daya and Hearn 2018)

and employees (Burton etal. 2017; Melnyk etal. 2020),

working individuals (Slemp etal. 2019), parents raising chil-

dren with autism spectrum disorder (Cachia etal. 2016),

teachers (Klingbeil and Renshaw 2018; von der Embse etal.

2019), prisoners (Auty etal.2017) and other samples that

are likely to experience greater stress levels in daily life.

Studies have found that mindfulness-based interventions are

effective in a sample of police officers as well; however, the

evidence is scattered and needs synthesis. This systematic

literature review aims to gather and summarise how well

MBIs help police officers reduce stress.

Methods

Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and

Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines were used to process

a systematic review (Liberati etal. 2009). Four electronic

databases (SpringerLink, Web of Science, Academic Search

Ultimate (EBSCO) and PubMed) were searched from each

database’s point of inception until July 2022. The literature

search was conducted using a combination of the following

keywords: (mindfulness OR mindfulness-based OR mind-

fulness-based interventions OR mindfulness intervention

OR mindfulness-based stress reduction) AND (intervention

OR training OR program) AND (police OR police officers

OR law enforcement). Only articles in English published in

peer-reviewed journals were searched. The search procedure

was restricted by defining document type only as an article.

The search was not limited by the date of publication or the

region the research was conducted in.

Four inclusion criteria were as follows: (1) study involved

police officers; (2) study used (quasi)experimental research

design; (3) MBI was applied as the main intervention; (4)

study presented pre- and post-intervention measures and

quantitative results of stress. Exclusion criteria: (1) qualita-

tive study design or other article types, not presenting pri-

mary quantitative results (e.g. opinion papers, commentar-

ies); (2) stress change was not measured.

The names of the study authors, the country where research

was conducted, data related to participants (age and gender),

research design, study groups (number of participants), inter-

vention (length and type), stress measurements, results related

to stress, mindfulness and stress outcomes (sleep quality,

health changes, etc.) changes were extracted manually. After

extracting the necessary data and putting it into an online

document, the content was reviewed again by two research

authors to confirm/deny the relevance of the article.

Results

Selection ofStudies

The PRISMA flow diagram in Fig.1 refers to the process

of identifying the relevant studies. Further, 223 records

were identified from four databases: 86 from Springer-

Link, 48 from Web of Science, 28 from Academic Search

Complete (EBSCO) and 61 from PubMed. Although the

search type was specified as an article, the databases still

provided conference abstracts, seminars, or proceedings,

which were removed (n = 40). Additionally, 59 duplicates

were manually removed. At first, two authors of this review

independently screened the titles and abstracts of all studies

(n = 124). Any papers classified as irrelevant were removed

Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology

1 3

(n = 113). When the study was identified as potentially rel-

evant (n = 11), it was assessed for eligibility. Following this

process, the potentially eligible paper was read in full, and

then the decision on its suitability was made based on the

inclusion/exclusion criteria. After this procedure, 8 articles

were left as suitable for inclusion in the review. Two records

were excluded because stress change in the intervention was

not measured, and one included first-time responders where

police officers were only a part of a sample. Additionally,

the reference lists of all eight articles were screened, how-

ever more relevant articles were not found.

Characteristics ofStudies

A total of 700 police officers (468 males and 232 females)

constituted the initial sample, and 620 police officers’ data

were analysed across eight studies. The number of participants

in a study varied from 25 to 267. Half of the studies had both

an intervention and a control group, and another half had a

one-group experimental design (only an intervention group).

Of the two group experimental designs, three were randomised

control trials (Christopher etal. 2018; Grupe etal. 2021a, b;

Krick and Felfe 2020), and one had a quasi-experimental

8 studies included in review

Identification of studies via databases

Screening

124titles and abstractsscreened

113 studiesexcluded:

Irrelevant title or abstract (n =

94)

The studydid not involve police

officers (n = 2)

The studydid not use

(quasi)experimental research

design (n = 5)

MBI was not applied as the

main intervention (n = 4)

The study did notpresent

primary quantitative results(n =

11 full text studies assessed for

eligibility

3studiesexcluded:

Stress change was not measured

(n = 2)

Police officers were only a part

of a sample (n = 1)

IncludedIdentification

99 recordsremoved before

screening:

Conference abstracts, seminars,

or proceedings in SpringerLink

(n = 37), Academic Search

Ultimate (n = 1), and PubMed (n

= 2)

Duplicate records (n = 59)

223 recordsidentified from:

SpringerLink (n = 86)

Web of Science (n = 48)

Academic Search Ultimate

(EBSCO)(n = 28)

PubMed (n = 61)

Fig. 1 PRISMA ﬂow diagram

Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology

1 3

design (non-randomised control trial) (Navarrete etal. 2022).

It is also worth mentioning that three of the analysed stud-

ies specified their research as pilot studies (Christopher etal.

2016; Grupe etal.2021a; Navarette etal.2022).

All studies included both genders and were done in West-

ern countries. Three studies specified police officers working

positions in detail (Christopher etal. 2018; Grupe etal.2021a;

Hoeve etal. 2021), two more abstractedly (Grupe etal. 2021a,

b; Navarette etal.2022) and the other three just named the

sample police officers and mentioned if some officers of com-

mand positions were included or not. The described working

positions included patrol officers, detectives, criminalists,

SWAT riot officers, forensic researchers, alarm room opera-

tors, human resource officers, sergeants, etc.

In seven of eight studies, participation was voluntary, and

one study used a nonselective sample of police officers to avoid

self-selection bias (i.e. to avoid only interested, open-minded,

vulnerable individuals participating in a study) (Krick and Felfe

2020). Five studies mentioned participants’ inclusion and exclu-

sion criteria, and three did not have any or at least have not pro-

vided any information about it (Christopher etal. 2016, 2018;

Krick and Felfe 2020). The inclusion criteria in four of the stud-

ies were that those police officers were able regularly to attend

the class/mindfulness sessions (Grupe etal. 2021a; Hoeve etal.

2021; Marquez etal.2021; Navarette etal.2022), and in one

that participants are also willing to do homework assignments

(Marquez etal.2021). The exclusion criteria in two of the ana-

lysed studies were previous participation in MBSR or other

mindfulness interventions or significant previous meditation

experiences (Grupe etal. 2021a, b). This was not an exclu-

sion criterion in one study, but this variable was controlled

and included in the analysis (Navarette etal.2022). One study

excluded potential participants if they had acute psychosis, had

suicidal ideations, had current substance abuse problems or had

a borderline personality disorder (Hoeve etal. 2021). Moreover,

it is worth mentioning that one of the studies was implemented

during the COVID-19 pandemic when there were a lot of safety

measures in the workplace (Navarette etal. 2022). Hence, all

police officers wore masks during mindfulness practices.

All studies included self-reported stress measurements, and

four had physiological stress measures. From self-reported

measures, three measured subjectively perceived stress using

the Perceived Stress Scale by Cohen and Willamson (1988)

or Cohen etal. (1983). Five studies measured operational and

organisational stress using the Police Stress Questionnaire by

McCreary and Thompson (2006). Two studies measured per-

ceived stress using the Stress subscale from the Depression,

Anxiety and Stress Scale by Henry and Crawford (2005). One

study measured physical stress by stress-related symptoms

using the Somatisation subscale of the Four-Dimensional

Symptom Questionnaire by Terluin etal. (2006). One study

included the measurement of psychological strain using the

Irritation scale by Mohr etal. (2005). From physiological

stress measures, three studies had salivatory cortisol measures

(i.e. cortisol awakening response) (Christopher etal. 2016,

2018; Grupe etal. 2021a, b); one assessed hair cortisol con-

centration, diurnal cortisol slope and inflammatory markers

(Grupe etal. 2021a, b); and one study measured heart rate

(Krick and Felfe 2020)—a cardiovascular marker of the activ-

ity sympathetic nervous system.

Only four studies out of eight conducted a follow-up meas-

urement: 3months (n = 2), 5 months (n = 1) and 6–7weeks

(n = 1). One study had a mid-intervention (Christopher etal.

2016) evaluation, and one had two assessments before MBI

(baseline and pre-intervention) (Hoeve etal. 2021). Six out of

eight studies presented participants’ drop-out rates, which is

essential in understanding the research quality and procedures.

The drop-out rate ranged between 0 and 27.1% in the interven-

tion group and between 1.75 and 56.1% in the control group.

All the analysed studies reported effect sizes of the results.

Four of eight studies measured the acceptability of MBI

using either quantitative or qualitative measures (Christopher

etal. 2018; Grupe etal.2021a; Marquez etal.2021; Navarette

etal.2022). All the studies where acceptability was measured

stated that results showed high acceptance. The class attend-

ance rate was reported in six of eight studies, and in sum up,

overall attendance was around 80%. The length and frequency

of homework practice were measured and reported in five

studies out of seven, providing information about homework

assignments. The average time for formal and/or informal

practices outside the class was from 5.7 to 23min per day.

Only three studies reported information about the engagement

in formal and/or informal practices after the intervention at

follow-up (Christopher etal. 2018; Grupe etal. 2021a, b).

One study calculated “dose–response” effects related to for-

mal practices and their impact on stress and stress outcomes

(Grupe etal. 2021a, b) (see Table1 and Table2).

Mindfulness Intervention

The length of MBIs varied between 6 and 8weeks. All the

studies applied a 2-h long session every week and five had

an extended 4- or 6-h session during the 6th or 7th week.

Finally, the Mindfulness-Based Resilience Training (MBRT)

plan was used in two studies, while Mindfulness-Based Stress

Reduction (MBSR) was used in two. Mindfulness-Based

Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) was used in one study, two stud-

ies used mixed MBSR and MBRT intervention and one used

a new MBI called Mindfulness to Promote Police Well-being.

Stress Outcomes

Studies revealed that MBIs reduce police officers’ stress

immediately after the intervention and after followed-up

measurements. Results revealed that MBIs helped to reduce

Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology

1 3

Table 1 Summary of studies examining mindfulness-based stress interventions among police oﬃcers

Article authors Country Sample and design Intervention type and length The procedure (measurements, MBI

structure) Results: stress Results: other measures

Navarrete etal. (2022) Spain Quasi-experiment (non-

randomised controlled trial)

Intervention group–21

participants (8 female, mean

age–39 ± 6.23). 1 dropped

out

Control group–41 oﬃcers (7

female, mean age–

41.06 ± 6.6). 23 dropped out

Eight weeks (2-h sessions

per week). Mindfulness to

Promote Police Well-being

intervention was based on

the Hölzel etal. (2011)

model of mindfulness

mechanisms

Measurements: pre-intervention and post-

intervention assessments

Self-reported stress measures: Stress subscale

of the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress

Scale (Lovibond and Lovibond 1995)

The structure of the sessions was as follows:

(1) guided meditation; (2) an inquiry

process; (3) an analysis of the week’s

diﬃculties; (4) a brief theoretical explana-

tion; and (5) guided meditation of the next

daily homework meditation practice

Homework practice: 20min. formal medita-

tion + informal practice once per day

Decreased perceived stress

(F = 4.51***, η2 = 0.12) between

baseline and after the intervention

Increased mindfulness (t F = 5.90***, η2 = 0.15)

and its component observing (F = 8.57***,

η2 = 0.21). Also increased self-compassion

(F = 5.77***, η2 = 0.15), and sleep quality

(F = 6.99***, η2 = 0.18). However, four facets

of mindfulness did not change (nonreactivity,

observing, act-aware, and describing), as well

as suicidal ideation

Decreased depression (F = 9.70***, η2 = 0.23),

anxiety (F = 7.31***, η2 = 0.18), personal

burnout (F = 7.99***, η2 = 0.18), and work-

related burnout (F = 7.23***, η2 = 0.18).

However, client-related burnout diﬃculties in

emotion regulation did not change

Grupe etal. (2021a, b)USA Randomised control trial

Intervention group–57

participants (34 female, mean

age–40.2 ± 7.4). 3 dropped

out during intervention

Control group–57 oﬃc-

ers (24 female, mean

age–39.8 ± 9.3). 1 dropped

out during research

MBSR/MBRT. Eight weeks

(2-h sessions per week with

an extended 4-h session in

the seventh week)

Measurements: pre-intervention, post-

intervention and 3-month follow-up

assessments

Self-reported stress measures: the Police

Stress Questionnaire (McCreary and

Thompson 2006); Perceived Stress Scale

(Cohen and Willamson1988)

Physiological stress measures: salivary

cortisol, hair cortisol concentration,

inﬂammatory markers

Practices for the experimental group included:

body scan, walking meditations, mindful

movement (including adapted yoga or tai

chi), mindfulness of thoughts and emotions,

mindful speaking and listening, mindful

eating, and compassion practice; and

inquiry in dyads, triads, or the full group

about participants’ experiences in practice

Homework assignments from 9 to 20min

6day/week

After the intervention, perceived stress

did not change, but it decreased at

the 3-month follow-up (t = − 2.30**,

Cohen’s d = − 0.34)

Operational and organisational stress

did not change after the intervention

or at the 3-month follow-up

Lower cortisol awakening response

at 3months follow-up (t = − 2.31*,

d = − 0.33). No eﬀects on hair cortisol

concentration, diurnal cortisol slope,

or inﬂammatory markers

Improved mental health. Improved sleep quality

at 3-month follow-up (t = − 2.99*, Cohen’s

d = − .44)

After the intervention, decreased PTSD

symptoms (t = − 2.52**, Cohen’s d = − 0.40),

anxiety (t = − 2.27**, Cohen’s d = − 0.34).

Depression, fatigue, sleep quality, and pain

intensity did not change

At the 3-month follow-up, decreased PTSD

symptoms (t = − 1.44*, Cohen’s d = − 0.22),

anxiety (t = − 2.37**, Cohen’s d = − 0.35),

depression (t = − 2.34*, Cohen’s d = − 0.36),

fatigue (t = − 2.14*, Cohen’s d = − 0.31). Pain

intensity and sleep quality did not change

Hoeve etal. (2021) Netherlands One-group experiment design

Only the intervention group–82

participants (46 female,

mean age–49 ± 8.4). 19

participants dropped out

MBI developed by Williams

and Cullen (2013) based

on MBCT. Six weeks (2-h

sessions per week)

Measurements: baseline, pre-intervention,

post-intervention and 6-week follow-up

assessments

Self-reported stress measures: Stress subscale

of the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale

(Lovibond and Lovibond 1995); Somatization

subscale of the Four-Dimensional Symptom

Questionnaire (Terluin etal. 2006);

Operational stress subscale from the Police

Stress Questionnaire (McCreary and

Thompson 2006)

Practices included: body scan, sitting

meditation, object meditation, walking

meditation, seeing meditation, sounds and

thought meditation, befriending meditation,

3-min breathing space, and mindful yoga

The participants received the book, audio-

guided meditations, a workbook, and

homework of each session

Homework assignments 20min a day

At post-test, reduced perceived

(t = − 6.23***, Cohen’s d = -.64)

and physical stress (t = − 3.76***,

Cohen’s d = -.29). Operational stress

did not change

At follow-up (6 or 7weeks after the

training), signiﬁcant improvement

was found for perceived stress

(t = − 6.08***, Cohen’s d = − .73),

physical stress (t = -5.77***, Cohen’s

d = − .52), and operational stress

(t = − 2.27*, Cohen’s d = − .28)

After the intervention, reduced sleep diﬃculties

(t = − 4.85***, Cohen’s d = − .56). Increased

positive aﬀect (t = 4.40***, Cohen’s d = .47),

happiness (t = 4.48***, Cohen’s d = .34), self-

compassion (t = 5.40***, Cohen’s d = .47),

mindfulness (t = 4.61***, Cohen’s – = .38) and

all mindfulness components. PTSD symptoms

and resilience did not change

At follow-up (6 or 7weeks after the training),

reduced sleep diﬃculties (t = − 4.93***,

Cohen’s d = -.48), PTSD symptoms

(t = − 2.60*, Cohen’s d = − .38), Increased

positive aﬀect (t = 4.46***, Cohen’s d = .52),

happiness (t = 5.87***, Cohen’s d = .42), self-

compassion (t = 3.94***, Cohen’s d = .43), and

mindfulness (t = 4.33***, Cohen’s d = .44) and

all mindfulness components. Resilience did

not change

Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology

1 3

Table 1 (continued)

Article authors Country Sample and design Intervention type and length The procedure (measurements, MBI

structure) Results: stress Results: other measures

Krick and Felfe (2020) Germany 2 × 2 experimental mixed

design (randomised

assignment into groups)

267 police oﬃcers (57 female,

mean age–25.96 ± 5.57)

Intervention group–126 par-

ticipants, control group–141.

The information about

dropouts is not provided

Mindfulness and resource-

based worksite training

(Krick etal.2018). Based

on MBSR and other MBIs.

Six weeks (2h per session

per week)

Measurements: pre-intervention and post-

intervention assessments

Self-reported stress measures: the

psychological strain was measured by the

Irritation Scale (Mohr etal. 2005)

Physiological stress measures: heart rate

(HR)–a cardiovascular marker of the activ-

ity of the sympathetic nervous system

Practices included: mindfulness practices

(e.g. breathing exercise, body scan),

elements of mindful body movements

and stretching, and cognitive education

(i.e. knowledge of the stress process and

resources, challenges, and achievements of

mindfulness practices), while the control

group had regular education courses.

Control group received regular education

courses in academy of public services

Homework assignments: mandatory home-

work (did not control for participants’

practice time)

After the intervention, decreased

psychological strain (F = 18.42***,

η2 = .07)

HR: signiﬁcant positive short-term eﬀects

in intervention group within Session 6

and positive long- term eﬀects between

Session 1 preintervention and Session

6 postintervention

When compared to control group, only

short-term positive eﬀects in the

intervention group (within Session 1

and 6) were signiﬁcant

After the intervention, decreased negative aﬀect

(F = 24.41***, η2 = .08) and health complaints

(F = − 19.89***, η2 = 07). Increased

mindfulness (F = 101.21***, η2 = .28), its sub-

scales (act with awareness F = 27.79, η2 = .09;

non-judging F = 15.66, η2 = .06, nonreacting

F = 56.09, η2 = .17; observing F = 30.18,

η2 = .10) and self-care (F = 228.88***, η2 = .46)

Heart rate variability (HRV): signiﬁcant

positive short-term eﬀects within Session

1 (F = 13.96***, η2 = .08), within Session

6 (F = 95.78, η2 = .38); positive long-ter m

eﬀects: between Session 1 preintervention

and Session 6 postintervention (F = 181.67,

η2 = .55), between Session 1 preintervention

and Session 6 preintervention (F = 77.50,

η2 = .34); between Session 1 postintervention

and Session 6 postintervention (F = 103.39,

η2 = .41)

Signiﬁcant improvements in HRV for the

intervention group, whereas control group

showed a decrease in HRV within Session 6

(F = 18.87, η2 = .11)

Grupe etal. (2021a)USA One-group experiment design

Only intervention group–30

participants (16 female,

mean age–38.40 ± 7.7).

No dropouts (1 at 5-month

follow-up)

MBSR/MBRT. Eight weeks

(2-h sessions per week and

extended 4-h class in the

seventh week)

Measurements: pre-intervention, post-

intervention and 5-month follow-up

assessments

Self-reported stress measures: the Police

Stress Questionnaire (McCreary and

Thompson 2006)

Practices included: introduction to resilience

and mindfulness and practising (i.e., 9-min,

mindful movement/9-min body scan;

exploration of physical posture, introduc-

tion to breath awareness practice)

Homework assignments: 9–20min. 6days/

week

Organisational stress reduced more

for male vs. female oﬃcers after

the intervention (t = 2.59*, Cohen’s

d = -0.37) and at 5months follow-up

(t = 2.13*, Cohen’s d = -0.76)

Police oﬃcers with less police experi-

ence showed greater declines in

operational stress after intervention

(t = 2.01*, Cohen’s d = − 0.42) and

after 5months (t = 2.70*, Cohen’s

d = − 0.66)

Reduced burnout was observed for the Exhaus-

tion (after the intervention (t = − 3.20**,

Cohen’s d = − 0.59 and at 5months follow-up

t = − 2.21*, Cohen’s d = -0.36), but not for the

Disengagement subscale of the Oldenburg

Burnout Inventory. Reduced anxiety (after the

intervention t = − 4.56***, Cohen’s d = − 0.86

and at follow-up t = − 4.59***, Cohen’s

d = − 0.76), and negative aﬀect (after the inter-

vention t = − 2.92***, Cohen’s d = − 0.52).

Increased psychological well-being (after the

intervention t = − 2.19*, Cohen’s d = − 0.39).

There was no change in positive aﬀect and

depression

Márquez etal. (2021) Spain One-group experiment design

Only intervention group–25

participants (11 female,

mean age–45.63 ± 10.17). 5

participants dropped out

Based on MBSR. Seven

weeks (2-h sessions per

week, plus an additional 4-h

session on the sixth week)

Measurements: pre-intervention and post-

intervention assessments

Self-reported stress measures: the Perceived

Stress Scale (Cohen etal. 1983; Remor

2006)

Practices included: conscious movements,

breathing meditation, observation of bodily

sensations, emotions and thoughts, and

several group exercises

Information about homework was not

provided

After the intervention, reduced

perceived stress (t = 2.86**, Cohen’s

d = .61)

After the intervention, signiﬁcantly increased

mindfulness (F = 7. 44***, η2 = 0.73)

and its two components–observing and

non-reacting (accordingly: F = 44.9***,

η2 = .71; F = 28.65***, η2 = .49), compassion

satisfaction (F = 5.93, η2 = .24). Descr ibing,

acting with awareness, and not judging did

not change

Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology

1 3

Table 1 (continued)

Article authors Country Sample and design Intervention type and length The procedure (measurements, MBI

structure) Results: stress Results: other measures

Christopher etal. (2018)USA Randomised control trial

The intervention group–31

participants (3 female,

mean age–44.73 ± 6.63). 7

dropped out

Control group–30 oﬃcers (4

female, mean age–

43.22 ± 5.43). 5 participants

dropped out

MBRT. Eight weeks (2-h

sessions per week and

extended 6-h class in the

seventh week)

Measurements: pre-intervention, post-

intervention and 3-months follow-up

assessments

Self-reported stress measures: the Police

Stress Questionnaire (McCreary and

Thompson 2006)

Physiological stress measures: salivatory cortisol

Practices for the experimental group

included: body scan, sitting and walking

meditations, mindful movement, and group

discussion. Information about control

group activities is not presented

Homework assignments: no information

about recommended length of home

practises. However, the information that

participants listened to guided meditations

for an average of 10.62min a day out of

class is provided

Reduced organisational stress after the

intervention (F = -3.77*, Cohen’s

d = .52,), while operational stress did

not change

At a 3-month follow-up, there were no

changes in organisational or

operational stress

Reduced cortisol increases after

awakening, while at the same time

increased levels at awakening.

Reduced waking cortisol levels

increases post-training for male

participants, and on day three post-

training for both male and female

participants

After the intervention, signiﬁcant improvement

in burnout (F = 6.37**, Cohen’s d = .73), and

one mindfulness component–non-reactivity

(pre- post-test F = 4.22*, Cohen’s d = .60). At

a 3-month follow-up, there were no changes in

burnout and non-reactivity

After the intervention and at a 3-month follow-

up, there were no changes in anxiety,

depression, sleep diﬃculties, suicidal

ideation, anger, aggression, and two

mindfulness components (nonjudging, and

acting with awareness)

Christopher etal. (2016)USA One-group experiment design

Only the intervention group–59

participants (22 female,

mean age–43.76 ± 7.22). 16

participants dropped out

MBRT. Eight weeks (2-h

sessions per week with an

extended 6-h session in the

seventh week)

Measurements: pre-intervention, mid-

intervention, and post-intervention assessments

Self-reported stress measures: the Police

Stress Questionnaire (McCreary and

Thompson 2006); Perceived Stress Scale-4

(Cohen and Williamson 1988)

Physiological stress measures: salivatory

cortisol

Practices included: body scan, sitting

meditation, mindful movement, walking

meditation, eating meditation, mindful

martial arts exercises, and other elements

of MBSR

Homework assignments: daily homework

practice of the experiential mindfulness

exercises, supplemented with several read-

ings and journaling and recommendation to

include informal practices in their exercise

regimen. No information about the recom-

mended length of home practises

Decreased perceived (F = 13.73***,

ES**** = .75), organisational

(F = 9.86**, ES**** = .72) and

operational stress (F = 7.57**,

ES**** = .56)

No signiﬁcant changes in cortisol across

measurement periods (pre-and post-

MBRT), and times after waking (0,

30, 45min)

Decreased sleep disturbance (F = 10.50***,

ES**** = .74), anger (F = 18.28***,

ES**** = .63), fatigue (F = 12.89***,

ES**** = .59), burnout (F = 13.70***,

ES**** = .74), and diﬃculties with emotion

regulation (F = 6.60*, ES**** = .74)

Increased mindfulness (F = 24.66***,

ES**** = .70) and its three facets (acting

with awareness (F = 18.90***, ES**** = .87),

nonjudging of inner experience (F = 13.44***,

ES**** = .73), and nonreactivity to inner

experience (F = 25.74***, ES**** = 1.19);

resilience (F = 11.27***, ES**** = .70);

emotional intelligence (F = 6.90**,

ES**** = .74), mental health (F = 13.83***,

ES**** = .78), and physical health (F = 4.18*,

ES**** = .48)

MBCT mindfulness-based cognitive therapy, MBRT mindfulness-based resilience training, MBSR mindfulness-based stress reduction. *p < .05; **p ≤ .01; ***p ≤ .001; **** ES eﬀect size (CI of

diﬀerence score)

Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology

1 3

Table 2 Brief methodological characteristics of included studies

Article Both genders

participated Voluntary

participation Follow-up Information

on dropouts Control

group Class attendance information Home practices measurement

Navarrete etal. (2022)Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes

(86% attended at least 6/8 sessions)

Yes

(On average, 27/42days (SD = 10.88) with

an average of 23min (SD = 8.57) per day)

Grupe etal. (2021a, b)Yes Ye s Yes (after 3months) Yes Yes Yes

(Overall class attendance was 80.3%,

with 53/57 participants attending

more than 50% of the classes)

Yes

(A median of 42days of formal meditation

practice over the 8weeks (range = 0–55),

and a median of 130 weekly practice

minutes (8-week range = 0–2669).

43/54 participants assessed at follow-up

reported some amount of practice after

the class, with 41% reporting 2 or more

weekly days of practice)

Hoeve etal. (2021)Yes Yes Yes (after 6 or 7weeks) Yes No Yes

(88% attended 5 or 6/6 training

sessions)

Yes

(49% meditated at least ﬁve times a week

outside the training sessions)

Krick and Felfe (2020)Yes No No No Yes No No

Grupe etal. (2021a)Yes Ye s Yes (after 5months) No dropouts No Yes

(Overall class attendance was 85%,

with no oﬃcers missing more than

3/8 classes)

Yes

(Oﬃcers completed 91% of weekly practice

logs and engaged in formal practice

outside of class on average 43/56days

(SD = 9.3, range = 22–56), with an

average of 83.8 total practice sessions

(SD = 34.3, range = 32–170 occasions)

and 870 average minutes of formal

practice (SD = 417, range = 342–2140).

Participants reported engaging in informal

practices on average 43.2/56days

(SD = 12.6, range = 10–56), and over

8weeks estimated an average of 179

informal practice instances (SD = 107,

range = 31–497). At a 5-month follow

up 79% of participants reported contin-

ued formal practice on at least a weekly

basis, with an average of 1.8days/week

of practice. 96% of participants reported

engaging in informal practice or moments

of mindful awareness at least daily)

Márquez etal. (2021)Yes Yes No Yes No Ye s

(14/22 attended all the sessions; 4

missed only one session; 2–two

sessions)

No homework

Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology

1 3

operational stress after the intervention (Grupe etal.2021a,

Christopher etal. 2016), 30days after the intervention

(Grupe etal. 2021a, b), 6–7weeks after the intervention

(Hoeve etal. 2021) and 5months after the intervention,

Grupe etal.2021a). Organisational stress reduced after

the intervention (Christopher etal. 2016, 2018; Grupe

etal. 2021a), and 5months after the intervention (Grupe

etal.2021a). The level of perceived stress declined after

the intervention (Christopher etal. 2016; Hoeve etal. 2021;

Márquez etal.2021; Navarrete etal. 2022) and 6–7weeks

after the intervention (Hoeve etal. 2021). Physical stress

reduced after the intervention (Hoeve etal. 2021), and

6–7weeks after the intervention (Hoeve etal. 2021). Psy-

chological strain also declined after intervention (Krick and

Felfe 2020). Most of the studies reported medium-to-high

effect size (i.e. Cohen’s d from 0.41 to 0.73 and η2 from 0.07

to 0.51) (Watson 2021).

However, not all studies have revealed positive results for

MBIs. Grupe etal. (2021a, b) revealed that operational and

organisational stress did not change after the intervention,

and at a 3-months follow-up, Hoeve etal. (2021) revealed

that MBI intervention did not change operational stress, and

Christopher etal.’s (2018) study showed that MBRT was

ineffective in reducing operational stress.

Three studies also analysed objective (physiological)

stress indicators, like cortisol and heart rate change. Grupe

etal. (2021a, b) did not find significant results on hair cor-

tisol, diurnal cortisol change and inflammatory markers.

Meanwhile, Krick and Felfe (2020) found positive short-

term effect on heart rates changes in experimental group par-

ticipating in MBI. Finally, the results of salivatory cortisol

changes are mixed: Grupe etal. (2021a, b) revealed lower

cortisol awakening after 3months, Christopher etal. (2018)

revealed reduced cortisol increased after awakening, while

the Christopher etal. (2016) study revealed no changes.

Other Outcomes

MBIs were not only effective in reducing stress but also helped to

increase emotional intelligence (Canady etal. 2021; Christopher

etal. 2016), self-compassion (Hoeve etal. 2021; Navarrete etal.

2022), psychological well-being (Grupe etal.2021a), mindfulness

components (e.g. awareness, non-judging) and mindfulness pro-

cess (Canady etal. 2021; Christopher etal. 2016; Christopher etal.

2018; Hoeve etal. 2021; Krick and Felfe 2020; Márquez etal.2021;

Navarrete etal. 2022), happiness and positive affect (Hoeve etal.

2021). MBIs also helped to reduce sleep disturbance/increase sleep

quality (Christopher etal. 2016; Grupe etal. 2021a, b; Hoeve etal.

2021; Navarrete etal. 2022), negative affect (Grupe etal.2021a;

Krick and Felfe 2020), burnout (Christopher etal. 2016, 2018;

Navarrete etal. 2022) and exhaustion (Grupe etal.2021a), PTSD

symptoms (Grupe etal. 2021a, b; Hoeve etal. 2021), health com-

plaints (Krick and Felfe 2020), heart rate variability (Krick and Felfe

Table 2 (continued)

Article Both genders

participated Voluntary

participation Follow-up Information

on dropouts Control

group Class attendance information Home practices measurement

Christopher etal. (2018)Yes Yes Yes (after 3months) Yes Yes Yes

(Overall class attendance was ≥ 75%)

Yes

(Participants engaged in an average of

322.35min of out-of-class meditation

practice (SD = 357.49; range = 1–1340)

over the 8-week training, on an average

of 13.85 (SD = 12.63; range = 1–44) out

of a possible 56days, with an aver-

age of 10.62min per day (SD = 9.52;

range = 1–77). Only 2 out of 24 MBRT

participants endorsed any mindfulness

practice from post-training to 3-month

follow-up)

Christopher etal. (2016)Yes Yes No Yes No No No

Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology

1 3

2020), fatigue (Canady etal. 2021; Christopher etal. 2016; Grupe

etal. 2021a, b), difficulties with emotions regulation (Canady etal.

2021; Christopher etal. 2016), depression and anxiety (Grupe etal.

2021a, b; Navarrete etal. 2022).

Discussion

The aim of this systematic review was to synthesise recent

literature on the effectiveness of MBIs for stress reduction

in a sample of police officers. The search procedure on four

databases allowed us to identify eight relevant articles. This

review suggests that mindfulness-based interventions reduce

police officers’ organisational, operational, physical, per-

ceived stress and psychological strain, as well as increase

mindfulness, reduce sleep disturbance, negative affect,

PTSD symptoms, burnout and reduce other negative psy-

chological stress-related outcomes.

We found that MBIs used in the police officers’ sample

varied from 6 to 8weeks. As all the later developed MBIs

were based on the primary MBSR programme developed by

mindfulness pioneer Kabat-Zin, the length of interventions,

which is 8weeks long, has become traditional. However,

some of the analysed interventions were shortened for bet-

ter feasibility for police officers. Since police officers have

hectic work schedules, it becomes challenging to convince

command officers to allow the intervention to be carried

out during work time and for participants to participate in it

outside the working hours.

In addition to the traditional 8-week MBI, there are 1-day,

2-week or 4-week-long interventions that have been used

with other samples (Matvienko-Sikar etal. 2016; von der

Embse etal. 2019). Interventions usually consist of weekly

2-h sessions; however, the duration of one session can also

vary from one minute (Westenberg etal. 2018) to 30min

(Stefanaki etal. 2015) or even 8h (Ó Donnchadha2018).

As the researchers note, duration may also depend on the

needs and opportunities of the target group participating

in the intervention (Lunsky etal. 2017; Westenberg etal.

2018). Based on the results, we suggest that both, traditional

8-week long MBIs and shorter versions (6-week or 7-week)

MBIs, help reduce police officers’ stress.

A meta-analysis by Auty etal. (2017) revealed that longer-

term but less intensive interventions (e.g. 10-week, weekly

30-min sessions) have a more significant positive effect

than short and intense interventions (e.g. 3weeks, weekly

8-h sessions). In this case, it would be suitable to organise

and assess the effectiveness of less intense intervention (i.e.

15-min sessions per day) for police officers considering their

work characteristics, i.e. the need to be ready for the call-out

into service. Also, police officers might be less motivated to

participate in an intervention if it is organised after working

hours and not all police departments can organise a 2-h-long

intervention during working hours. However, studying the

duration peculiarities of MBIs, especially short ones, requires

more attention (Burton etal. 2017).

A quarter of the analysed studies used the MBRT plan,

another quarter used MBSR and another quarter used a com-

bination of MBSR and MBRT. MBSCT was used in one study,

and one also used a new MBI called Mindfulness to Promote

Police Well-being (Navarette etal.2022). Christopher etal.

(2016) created MBRT for police officers’ stress reduction and

made some modifications for it to be closer to the culture of

this profession. The authors indicated that for police officers, it

is challenging to develop interpersonal discussions about their

experiences when using classical MBSR (Christopher etal.

2018). This MBI focuses on explaining the physiology of stress

response and its change in the state of mindfulness. Physi-

ological stress-related information is usually more accepted

and trustworthy for the members of this masculine occupation

than psychology-related information. Meditation is also related

to the daily acts or stressors experienced by police officers,

and all exercises are adapted to the culture of police officers.

It is also worth mentioning that studies which used MBI plans

other than MBRT also stated that some adaptations were made

in MBIs content and language to be more in sync with police

officer culture. Still, to this day, it would be hard to say that one

programme is better than another. It is also justified by the fact

that all the reviewed interventions show good results in reduc-

ing stress and various stress-related consequences.

Even though all studies showed positive MBIs results on

stress and stress-related outcomes, we noted some meth-

odological differences that might be related to different

types of results bias. First, only three of the analysed stud-

ies were randomised control trials. Others used one group

experimental design, and one was a quasi-experiment when

allocation to groups was not based on randomisation. One

group experiments or non-randomised control trials are sub-

jected to numerous threats to internal validity. Even though

the authors believe that observed positive changes among

study participants occurred due to MBIs, several alternative

explanations for those changes might exist. Although it is

hard to compare the results of randomised control trials and

one group experimental design studies because of possible

existing biases, different stress measures and small number

of studies, the reported effect sizes of stress reduction in

both study designs varied from medium to large.

So, future studies should apply a two-group experimen-

tal design by adding a control group into the research plan.

Using only one experiment group, researcher(s) should

always consider that external or internal factors may affect

the intervention results, i.e. changed job characteristics, such

as work schedule, or changed organisational components, e.g.

a new leader could have decreased stress level in a workplace.

A two-group design would allow researchers to control these

changes in statistical analysis. We also noticed that not all

Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology

1 3

studies describe what has been done with the control group

during the research (i.e. if the control group got another kind

of intervention or experienced no intervention). Researchers

are encouraged to provide more information about the control

group and what researchers do with this group.

The number of participants in the analysed studies varied

from 25 to 267. Small sample sizes always limit the statisti-

cal power, so even if the study has significant pre-post differ-

ences in the data, the results should be interpreted with cau-

tion and cannot be generalised to a general population that

has been studied (Canady etal. 2021; Marquez etal.2021).

Also, only three of the analysed studies specified the work-

ing positions of police officers. It also challenges the gen-

eralisation of results because police officers working in dif-

ferent positions might face different stressors (for some, the

most significant stressor might be low salary or night shifts,

and for others–the frequent sight of violence). The samples

of analysed studies also consisted of police officers from

one or two departments. So, in future studies, bigger sam-

ples from multiple police departments and specified working

positions or even more homogenous police officer samples

in groups (i.e. only patrol officers or only criminalists) are

encouraged. It will help to understand if and how the vari-

ability of organisational structure and culture or different

working positions impacts the effectiveness of MBIs.

Most studies (seven out of eight) had convenience sam-

ples with voluntary participation. Although those samples

probably respond to the needs of police officers, those who

need help are getting it. However, we agree with Kirk and

Felfe (2020) that such samples might influence the results

and bias the reported effects while raising the question of

whether those results could be generalised to all police offic-

ers. Participants who voluntarily agree to participate in a

study probably are more motivated, have a positive attitude

towards suggested intervention and probably have the expec-

tation of improvement of their health. So, devoting their time

to attending classes, doing homework assignments and want-

ing a positive effect might influence their perception and, in

that way, the result of self-reported measures. Considering

generalisation, contrary to voluntary participation, police

officers are the ones that look at any psychological interven-

tion with caution and doubt (Sharp etal. 2015).

Also, only half of the studies included feasibility and

acceptance measures in their studies. It was reported that

acceptance was relatively high based on the ratings of the

statements about MBI’s value to participants’ life, the rec-

ommendation for others, continuity of mindfulness prac-

tices, etc., on a Likert scale. However, researchers assigned

the evaluation to high when the average answer was higher

than the mid-point of the scale (for example, the mean of

answers was 4 and over on a 7-point Likert scale). Some

authors also justified the feasibility by a high class attend-

ance (overall class attendance in all studies was about 80%)

or a regular engagement in homework assignments. How-

ever, it is difficult to expect other results when the sample is

voluntary, so participants are motivated.

MBSR and MBCT emphasise the importance of daily

practice as an integral part of the program (Parsons etal.

2017). It states that practitioners should provide participants

with homework, as it is believed to increase transferring of

new skills to daily life. The pioneer of MBIs, Kabat-Zinn

(1990), also notes that regular and sustained daily mindful-

ness practice is critical in maximising the therapeutic ben-

efits of MBIs. However, we noticed that only 5 of 8 studies

evaluated or tracked police officers’ engagement in mind-

fulness practises between sessions. Only 3 of 8 measured

the post-intervention engagement in practices at follow-up.

One study did not have homework or at least provided no

information about it (Marquez etal.2021). Besides, only

one study evaluated the effect of engagement in practice on

stress and stress-related outcomes.

Based on the reports about the average engagement in

homework practices (around 20min per day), we can con-

clude that it is smaller than the standard requirement for

MSBR/MBCT (45min) (Parsons etal. 2017). As we can

see from the data in Table1, some researchers initially low-

ered the recommended time for home practice. It might be

done because of mixed findings in the literature on asso-

ciations between mindfulness practice on stress and clini-

cal outcomes (Vettese etal. 2009; Parsons etal. 2017) and

police officers’ attitudes towards psychological interventions

(Sharp etal. 2015). In future studies, it would be beneficial

to identify the barriers specific to police officers related to

MBI class attendance and homework practices and address

them during training sessions.

Besides, homework monitoring that has been reported also

has some limitations. None of the studies measured the qual-

ity of home practices; they just tracked frequency and length

of it (in some cases, it was not tracked but self-reported).

Also, no study reported the psychometric properties of mon-

itoring methods. So, further research would benefit from

developing valid and reliable methods for evaluating home-

work reporting and compliance with homework assignments.

When implementing MBIs, it is important to consider

factors of organisational culture related to the perception

of the police officer’s profession, which promotes stoicism

and emotional control (Grupe etal.2021a). The police may

be considered a masculine workplace, and police depart-

ments often have a specific organisational culture–police

officers hardly accept psychological help, and perceive

themselves as unbreakable, strong and able to cope with

all problems. As Sharp etal. (2015) point out, about 60%

of officers with mental health difficulties do not seek help.

The most often cited reason is the stigma of turning to

specialists (Hansson and Markstrom2014). According

to Argustaitė-Zailskienė and Žemaitienė (2016), police

Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology

1 3

officers report feeling uncomfortable if their co-workers

find out they need psychological help, are more likely to

think they may lose their job if their employer finds out

they need psychological help and prefer to consult a psy-

chologist outside the workplace. Moreover, while some

police officers begin their careers in excellent physical

health, some retire early or even die from work-related

stress disorders (Waters and Ussery 2007). For practition-

ers, it is important to try changing police officers’ attitudes

towards mental health and cultural values that police offic-

ers must deal with their problems alone. Stigmatisation

creates an atmosphere for mental health problems, like

burnout, to occur more often in police officers’ sample.

Researchers are encouraged to measure police officers’

attitudes towards interventions like mindfulness-based

stress reduction to assess the impact of attitudes on the

effectiveness.

It is also worth discussing the importance of setting and

reporting a study’s inclusion and exclusion criteria. The

results showed that only five of eight studies clearly defined

their inclusion and exclusion criteria. This information is

important for better interpretation of study results and com-

parison of results because it gives information about the

homogeneity or heterogeneity of analysed groups. One of

the inclusion criteria in half of the studies was the ability to

regularly attend classes. As discussed above, the inclusion

of police officers who self-select to participate in a study

is related to the doubts about the generalisability of study

results. Moreover, only one study excluded participants with

existing mental conditions. So, it might be that some indi-

viduals’ response to the MBI was affected by their mental

state. However, the results of all analysed studies were gen-

erally positive, and MBIs are widely supported for the treat-

ment of a variety of mental health diagnoses, so it is unlikely

that participants’ mental conditions had a substantial impact

on the results (Canady etal. 2021).

The present literature review revealed that MBIs also

increased participants’ mindfulness and some or all its

components. These results, in general, confirm the internal

validity of intervention because it helps to improve mind-

fulness per se. Suppose mindfulness intervention would not

positively affect participants’ mindfulness level. In that case,

we could state that the intervention has flaws, a mindful-

ness training programme does not work and stress scores

have dropped or remained high because of other factors, e.g.

management changes. Considering these findings, research-

ers worldwide could use these results as proof that 6-, 7- and

8-week-long MBIs effectively increase mindfulness levels

in police officers. However, as discussed earlier, a shorter

and less intensive intervention plan should be tested because

Canady etal. (2021) showed a positive effect of MBI of

only 2.5days duration, in a sample of first responders where

police officers constituted part of the sample.

The results showed that only half of the studies followed

up on MBI impact on stress and stress-related outcomes.

Von Almen etal. (2015) state that follow-up measures

determine the validity of study findings. MBIs are created

to teach a person a skill that they could apply to daily life.

As with all health-related interventions, the expectation is

always a long-term, not a short-term outcome. By follow-up,

researchers can assess an intervention’s relative benefits and

costs and examine programme effects across multiple later

life outcomes (Hill etal. 2016). Also, concerning MBIs,

some authors find positive outcomes or greater effects only

at a follow-up. (e.g. Grupe etal.2021a). So, without assess-

ing follow-up, researchers might miss some critical results.

We found that different measures of stress were used

across the studies. All the studies included self-reported

stress measures, and half also had some physiological stress

markers. In experimental psychology, the physiological

measures are always encouraged near self-reported ones

because it brings more objectivity to results. Between physi-

ological stress, the cortisol awakening response was used

most often, and between self-reported measures, operational

and occupational stress was assessed most often (in 5 out of

8 studies) using the Police Stress Questionnaire (McCreary

and Thompson 2006). Using the same measures is always

helpful when comparing the study results.

It is also believed that national culture affects many life

aspects and researchers suggest there are at least a few cul-

tural differences. Studies selected for this systematic review

were all conducted in Western countries; therefore, interven-

tion effectiveness in diverse cultural settings may be different.

For example, in more masculine cultures male officers would

be more likely to drop out of the mindfulness intervention or

be involved less because it is believed that men do not need

help dealing with stress. So, more studies in other regions,

i.e. Asia, and Africa, are required to better understand how

mindfulness-based stress reduction intervention works. Addi-

tionally, reviewed studies suffer from the lack of the male/

female ratio. Although it is known that more males work in the

police, reviewed studies still lack comparison between genders.

Finally, not all studies revealed participants’ dropout and

attendance rates making it difficult to understand what part

of the data was lost during the research and how attend-

ance affected results. Not all studies providing dropout rates

stated the reasons for it. Knowing the causes of dropping

out would be helpful for other researchers to avoid that.

Additionally, methods to reduce dropouts if they were used

should be presented, and analysed.

From the analysis of drop-outs in studies that reported

it, we could see that the more significant number of drop-

outs was in the control group, usually set as a waiting list

group (from 1.75 to 56.1) compared with an intervention

group (from 0 to 27). Higher drop-out rates threaten the

validity of study results (Bell etal. 2013). So, researchers

Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology

1 3

should explore the drop-out reasons, consider benefits for

control group members and limit participants’ burden and

inconvenience when collecting data. It is always challeng-

ing to balance the competing goals of collecting sufficient

data to support the research goals fully and not overloading

participants with too long and detailed questionnaires. So,

researchers should make the research plan feasible for the

study population and create a drop-out management plan.

Sometimes, drop-out appears for reasons that researchers

could not control. It is rare in intervention studies, especially

those requiring enough time and frequent visits, not to have

drop-outs. So, researchers also should make a careful exami-

nation of the drop-outs and missing data (missing at random

or not) and try to minimise bias by choosing appropriate

analysis (Bell etal. 2013).

In our review, we also had one study where MBI was

implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic and complied

with all security requirements, i.e. temperature checks before

entering the class, doing meditations with face masks, etc.

Even though the authors give all the information related

to the procedure, since experts say that we will live with

COVID-19 for a while, it would be valuable to evaluate

MBIs’ impact not only on the change of perceived, occu-

pational or operational stress but also to COVID-19 related

stress. Also, it would be valuable to explore how COVID-

19-related stress, for example, the fear of getting the disease,

affects engagement in MBI classes and practices.

As with every systemic review, this one has limitations.

The analysed research was conducted only in Western coun-

tries. Also, only English articles were searched and included

in the literature review. Different kinds of MBIs and stress

measures were used in the studies. However, we tried to

take this into account when presenting the results. Finally,

the samples of police officers might differ between the stud-

ies. There are different law enforcement systems worldwide,

where police officers have different functions and responsi-

bilities. For instance, in the UK, there are different kinds of

warranted police officers (with powers of arrest) and police

community support officers. However, it could be noted that

authors rarely describe the work positions of participants.

We also noticed that some studies presented not all data

and results. The authors mentioned that they collected some

more data and described what kind. They also stated that

those results would not be presented in the same publica-

tion but have been collected for a more extensive study or

that data analysis of some particular aspects is ongoing. In

that case, we lacked a broader picture related to the lack of

results that have not been presented yet. This issue might be

related to the limits of the number of characters allowed in a

publication in a particular journal or the need for researchers

to prepare publications to keep their ongoing research posi-

tion, academic degree or pedagogical academic title. How-

ever, this systematic review assessed the MBIs’ efficacy for

police officers’ stress reduction and gave an insight into the

methodological quality of the interventions and studies of

their effectiveness that have been implemented already.

Conclusions

This systematic literature review aimed at synthesising

recent literature on the effectiveness of MBIs for stress

reduction in a sample of police officers. The review reveals

that MBIs are effective in helping police officers to reduce

organisational, operational, subjectively perceived, physical

stress, and psychological strain and improve some biological

stress markers. Additionally, it helps decrease psychological

stress-related symptoms, i.e., PTSD, improves sleep quality,

etc. The analysis revealed some limitations and methodo-

logical issues of implemented studies and made some sug-

gestions for future research.

Funding No funding was received.

Declarations

Ethics Approval This article does not contain any studies with human

participants or animals performed by any of the authors.

Conflict of Interest The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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Stress, sleep, and cardiovascular risk in police officers: A scoping review

Article

Full-text available

Mar 2024

Introduction: Law enforcement workers are generally considered to be at an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. This review aimed to evaluate the cardiovascular risk and metabolic syndrome (MetS) in police officers, focusing on issues related to stress and sleep. Methods: A literature review was conducted using PubMed, Medline and Scopus databases and following the guidelines for scoping literature reviews. Eight studies were included, seven with a cross-sectional design and one longitudinal study, which revealed an association between occupational stress, sleep disturbances, metabolic factors, and cardiovascular risk. Results: Specifically, sleep duration and quality were associated with metabolic syndrome. Occupational stress factors, such as psychosocial burden and required effort, were predictive of metabolic syndrome. Discussion: A strategy for managing cardiovascular risk in law enforcement workers was proposed, including health promotion activities within ongoing occupational health surveillance programs to prevent work-related risks.

Effectiveness of psychological skills training for police personnel: a meta-analysis

Article

Full-text available

Sep 2023

There has been an increasing interest in primary prevention programmes developed to improve police officers’ mental health. This meta-analysis synthesised the existing findings on psychological skills training for police personnel including resilience training and mindfulness-based training. Particularly, this study systematically assessed the effectiveness of training programmes on mental health outcomes including resilience, depression, anxiety and perceived stress. A comprehensive search of EBSCO, ProQuest and Web of Science was conducted for studies written in English from 1999 to 2022. Two independent researchers screened 5604 studies. Eligible studies are intervention studies with controlled trials that involved training programmes to improve participants’ mental health and reported at least one of the following outcomes: resilience, depression, anxiety and perceived stress. The meta-analysis estimated standardised mean differences (SMDs) for each of the four outcomes. A total of 12 studies, involving 2298 police personnel from 8 countries, met the criteria for inclusion and quality assessment. The training programmes of the eligible studies varied in training approaches, duration, total sessions and follow-up periods. The results suggest that training programmes have a statistically significant moderate effect on depression (SMD=−0.47, 95% CI=−0.73 to −0.22) and anxiety (SMD=−0.40, 95% CI=−0.73 to −0.06), while the effects on resilience (SMD=1.03, 95% CI=−0.36 to 2.41) and perceived stress (SMD=−1.03, 95% CI=−2.15 to 0.08) are not statistically significant. This study highlights the role of primary prevention approaches in supporting officers’ mental health by showing that training programmes are effective in mitigating the risk of depression and anxiety.

A pilot study on the efficacy of an online mindfulness intervention for Canadian police officers

Article

Full-text available

Jun 2024

Police officers experience higher levels of mental illness compared to the general population. These traumas are known as operational stress injuries and are the result of operational and organizational stressors. These stressors often result in elevated levels of stress, anxiety, and depression. Mindfulness is widely becoming a mainstream method to help individuals cope with these disorders; however, while rapidly growing, the literature on the efficacy of mindfulness programs for police officers is in its infancy. Given the atypical work schedules officers keep, and the COVID-driven demand for remote service delivery, this pilot study examined the efficacy of a modified version of the online mindfulness program called MindFit Cop. Officers in our study completed a series of surveys before and after the 9-week intervention. We found significant results across timepoints for total mindfulness and self-compassion scores, and a significant interaction for time × group for non-reactivity. No significant results were found for group. This pilot study lends further support for the benefits of mindfulness for police officers in improving overall mindfulness and self-compassion.

RELATO DE EXPERIÊNCIA SOBRE AS CONDIÇÕES DE SAÚDE MENTAL E PERCEPÇÃO DO CONTEXTO DE TRABALHO NA POLÍCIA RODOVIÁRIA FEDERAL NO ESTADO DO ESPÍRITO SANTO

Article

Full-text available

Nov 2023

Os policiais, assim como outros operadores da segurança pública, vivenciam problemas de saúde mental tais como transtornos de estresse pós-traumático e depressão, frequentemente associados a fatores ocupacionais e organizacionais. Estes transtornos apresentam-se como aspectos centrais para incapacidade, momentânea ou definitiva, ao exercício da atividade. Nesse contexto, o objetivo deste relato é descrever as atividades desenvolvidas entre 2021 e 2022, no escopo de um programa de estágio de estudantes de graduação em Psicologia da Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo - UFES, em convênio com a Polícia Rodoviária Federal no Espírito Santo - PRF-ES. O programa propõe articular intervenções de prevenção, promoção e recuperação de saúde mental na instituição policial. Aplicaram-se dois instrumentos para rastreio das condições de saúde mental dos trabalhadores e de fatores associados: Escala de Depressão, Ansiedade e Estresse (DASS-21) e Questionário Psicossocial de Copenhagen (COPSOQ-II). Foram identificados indícios de adoecimento moderado a extremamente grave entre 40,2% dos policiais. Dos resultados, foi elaborado relatório diagnóstico institucional que embasou o delineamento de outras intervenções. A experiência do convênio entre o Departamento de Psicologia da UFES e a PRF-ES demonstra que é possível adotar práticas mais efetivas de promoção de saúde mental unindo estratégias de alcance individual e coletivo.

Impacto das práticas de mindfulness no sono: uma revisão narrativa

Article

Full-text available

Oct 2023

Vários protocolos de mindfulness, incluindo meditação-mindfulness, yoga e tai-chichuan, vêm demonstrando benefícios para melhorar o sono, além da qualidade de vida, e reduzir o estresse. Nesse sentido, o presente trabalho visou ao levantamento das principais meta-análises e revisões sistemáticas de 2021 a 2023, para avaliar se há um consenso acerca do benefício comprovado dessas práticas. Os artigos dessa revisão foram selecionados na base de dados Pubmed, pelas palavras-chave “mindfulness AND sleep”. E após serem filtrados pelo tipo de estudo e disponibilidade gratuita, culminaram em 26. Destes, foram removidas duplicatas e incongruências temáticas, finalizando em 20 artigos. A melhora subjetiva do sono em relação ao uso do mindfulness é evidenciada pelo Índice de Qualidade do Sono de Pittisburg (PSQI), aplicado em aproximadamente 75% dos artigos. Porém alguns resultados são controversos, principalmente, pela falta de marcadores fisiológicos objetivos do sono, como a polissonografia, que aumentaria o nível de evidencia desses achados. Tanto pelo alto risco de viés metodológico, no tocante da subjetividade inerente ao questionário utilizado na grande maioria dos estudos, quanto pela pequena representatividade das amostras, a confiabilidade dos resultados fica comprometida. Além disso, muitas variantes não foram contempladas, como diferenças demográficas, de gênero, etárias, controle de qualidade da prática (apesar de muitos estudos trazerem dados de tempo e frequência da prática), intervenções heterogêneas (meditação, movimentos conscientes, via presencial, por aplicativos ou realidade virtual) e aspectos ambientais que interferiram no resultado final avaliado. Vários estudiosos apontam também para a necessidade de, futuramente, explorar a combinação de métodos com protocolos definidos e padronizados, para que possamos utilizá-los para comparar populações diferentes. A avaliação objetiva dessas técnicas diante das abordagens convencionais podem fortalecer a hipótese de que a resposta à intervenção baseada em mindfulness se difere dependendo do nível salutogênico da população estudada. Portanto, recomenda-se também desenhar métodos que possam avaliar a responsividade à intervenção de cada grupo de indivíduos tanto saudáveis sob ponto de vista clínico e do perfil do estilo de vida, quanto das diferentes patologias.

Professional stress of police officers: an associative experiment

Article

Apr 2023

Zoya Vladimirovna Yakimova

The object of the study is professional stress in the activities of Russian police officers. The subject of the study is the clarification of the concept of "professional stress" in the minds of police officers through an associative experiment. The purpose of the study: a comparative analysis of the severity of the categories of analysis of the concept of "professional stress" of Russian police officers of different generations. Research methods and empirical sampling - an expert method; an associative experiment conducted on a sample of 140 Russian police officers (70 people are 3-4-year cadets and 5th-year students of an educational organization of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia and 70 people are active police officers with more than 5 years of experience in the internal affairs bodies). Main conclusions: As a result of a free associative experiment on the phrase-stimulus "Professional stress", 541 associations were obtained. As a result of the expert method (expert design), 7 categories of analysis were identified that form the structure of the semantic field of the concept under study. The students revealed the predominance of the cognitive aspect (identification of the causes and consequences of occupational stress), and the older police officers revealed a focus mainly on the psychophysiological aspect (states and experiences) of occupational stress. At the same time, the older generation, unlike the youth, has a wider range of ways to manage professional stress and shows the existential aspect of professional stress (loss of meaning, awareness of the impossibility of change and unrealization). In the semantic field of the concept of "professional stress", non-organizational aspects have been identified that are not directly related to work, but affect the increase in professional stress and reduce labor efficiency.

Scalable, Technology-enabled Mindfulness, Safety, and Health Promotion Program for Corrections Professionals: An Innovative Protocol

Article

Full-text available

Jan 2023

Background: Correction professionals are a highly-stressed workforce with heightened risks for depression, suicide, obesity, cardiovascular disease and injury. These professionals, largely hidden from view, have received little study concerning means to improve their safety, health and well-being. In other settings mindfulness has resulted in lowered stress, along with other benefits. We hypothesized that a feasible, scalable program that promoted mindfulness along with more typical health and safety components, could uniquely benefit corrections professionals. Objective: This project will assess a novel program to enhance the mindfulness, safety and health of a vulnerable worker group. Methods: In partnership with the Oregon Department of Corrections (DOC), we are conducting a prospective quasi-experimental trial of a safety, health, and mindfulness program among 100 corrections professions from three institutions. Survey and physiologic data will be collected at enrollment, upon weekly program completion (3-months) and at 9-months after enrollment. Primary outcomes are behaviors promoted by the program: being mindful; healthier eating; more physical activity; and greater restorative sleep. Secondary downstream benefits are anticipated in stress level, mood, life satisfaction, positive feelings about the organization, vascular health, and cellular aging, along with job performance, injuries and economic costs. Participants will meet in person as three to five member co-worker groups during their usual work hours for 30-minute sessions once a week for 12-weeks. The program uses self-guided interactive online learning modules that include brief mindfulness practice. Daily mindfulness practice are encouraged between sessions and facilitated by the study website. The module format emphasizes prerequisite knowledge, peer support, skill practice, and enhancing self-efficacy for change. The program continues through self-directed use of the Headspace® application following the 12 weekly sessions. Results: Participants are being enrolled and intervention is ready to launch. Conclusions: Although mindfulness training has gained traction for worker well-being, the need for a skilled trainer and long duration weekly meetings can limit its feasibility. The planned program is an innovative combination of technology, a group format, and a scalable design to add mindfulness to a safety and health curriculum. Clinicaltrial: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT05608889, Registered November 7, 2022.

Absence of structural brain changes from mindfulness-based stress reduction: Two combined randomized controlled trials

Article

Full-text available

May 2022

Studies purporting to show changes in brain structure following the popular, 8-week mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) course are widely referenced despite major methodological limitations. Here, we present findings from a large, combined dataset of two, three-arm randomized controlled trials with active and waitlist (WL) control groups. Meditation-naïve participants (n = 218) completed structural magnetic resonance imaging scans during two visits: baseline and postintervention period. After baseline, participants were randomly assigned to WL (n = 70), an 8-week MBSR program (n = 75), or a validated, matched active control (n = 73). We assessed changes in gray matter volume, gray matter density, and cortical thickness. In the largest and most rigorously controlled study to date, we failed to replicate prior findings and found no evidence that MBSR produced neuroplastic changes compared to either control group, either at the whole-brain level or in regions of interest drawn from prior MBSR studies.

Impact of Mindfulness Training on Spanish Police Officers' Mental and Emotional Health: a Non-Randomized Pilot Study

Article

Full-text available

Mar 2022
Mindfulness

Objectives The purpose of this exploratory non-randomized controlled study was to determine the acceptance and effectiveness of an 8-week mindfulness-based intervention (MBI) co-designed by a police officer. Methods A pretest-posttest control group design was followed. Participants (MBI group = 20; control group = 18) answered baseline and post-training self-reported measures. In addition, the weekly emotional state of the MBI group was collected. Paired-samples t-test and analysis of covariance were performed for pre-post within-group and between-group differences, respectively, as well as linear mixed effects analysis of repeated measures for week-by-week data. Results High acceptance and attendance rates, as well as significant pre-post within-group differences in the MBI group in mindfulness (η² = 0.43), self-compassion (η² = 0.43), depression (η² = 0.54), anxiety (η² = 0.46), stress (η² = 0.51), difficulties in emotion regulation, sleep quality (η² = 0.57), and burnout (η² = 0.31–0.47), were identified. Moreover, police officers who underwent the MBI experienced a week by week decrease of anger, disgust, anxiety, sadness, and desire. Finally, after adjusting for pre-test scores, significant between-group differences were found in the way of attending to internal and external experiences (observing mindfulness facet; ηp² = 0.21), depression symptoms (ηp² = 0.23), general distress (ηp² = 0.24), and the degree of physical and psychological exhaustion (personal burnout; ηp² = 0.20). Conclusions The preliminary effectiveness of this MBI on psychopathology and quality of life outcomes in Spanish police officers was discussed. Previous evidence regarding the promising use of MBIs in this population was supported.

The Impact of Mindfulness Training on Police Officer Stress, Mental Health, and Salivary Cortisol Levels

Article

Full-text available

Sep 2021

Unaddressed occupational stress and trauma contribute to elevated rates of mental illness and suicide in policing, and to violent and aggressive behavior that disproportionately impacts communities of color. Emerging evidence suggests mindfulness training with police may reduce stress and aggression and improve mental health, but there is limited evidence for changes in biological outcomes or the lasting benefits of mindfulness training. We conducted a randomized controlled trial (RCT) of 114 police officers from three Midwestern U.S. law enforcement agencies. We assessed stress-related physical and mental health symptoms, blood-based inflammatory markers, and hair and salivary cortisol. Participants were then randomized to an 8-week mindfulness intervention or waitlist control (WLC), and the same assessments were repeated post-intervention and at 3-month follow-up. Relative to waitlist control, the mindfulness group had greater improvements in psychological distress, mental health symptoms, and sleep quality post-training, gains that were maintained at 3-month follow-up. Intervention participants also had a significantly lower cortisol awakening response (CAR) at 3-month follow-up relative to waitlist control. Contrary to hypotheses, there were no intervention effects on hair cortisol, diurnal cortisol slope, or inflammatory markers. In summary, an 8-week mindfulness intervention for police officers led to self-reported improvements in distress, mental health, and sleep, and a lower CAR. These benefits persisted (or emerged) at 3-month follow-up, suggesting that this training may buffer against the long-term consequences of chronic stress. Future research should assess the persistence of these benefits over a longer period while expanding the scope of outcomes to consider the broader community of mindfulness training for police. Clinical Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov#NCT03488875.

Effects of a Mindfulness-Based Intervention for Police Officers

Article

Full-text available

Jul 2021
Mindfulness

Objectives Although the effectiveness of mindfulness-based intervention for various populations is well-documented, research examining these effects for police officers is limited. This study aimed to increase knowledge on (1) the effects of a mindfulness-based intervention in police officers and (2) potential mechanisms of change by relating changes in facets of mindful awareness to changes in stress. Methods In the present study, we investigated the effects of a 6-session group-based mindfulness-based intervention in police officers ( n = 82) on self-report measures, using a quasi-experimental design consisting of a within-group 6-week baseline period; pre-test, 6-week intervention; and post-test, 6-week follow-up. Multilevel analyses were used to test intervention effects. Using structural equation modeling, we analyzed whether changes in facets of mindfulness were associated with changes in various types of stress. Results After the intervention, police officers significantly and substantially improved on stress (primary outcome), facets of mindful awareness (explanatory variables), and related secondary outcomes including somatic complaints, sleep disturbances, positive affect, happiness, and work ability, while in baseline period, outcome measures did not change. Effects remained significant or improved further during the follow-up period. Further, we found that increases in particularly the facets of mindful awareness of acting with awareness and non-judging were associated with reductions in stress. Conclusions Mindfulness-based intervention appears beneficial for police officers. Further, increases in both attention and acceptance skills such as acting with awareness and non-judging seem to be most important in explaining reductions of stress in police officers.

Brief Mindfulness Meditation Induces Gray Matter Changes in a Brain Hub

Article

Full-text available

Nov 2020
Neural Plast

Previous studies suggest that the practice of long-term (months to years) mindfulness meditation induces structural plasticity in gray matter. However, it remains unknown whether short-term (<30 days) mindfulness meditation in novices could induce similar structural changes. Our previous randomized controlled trials (RCTs) identified white matter changes surrounding the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and the posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) within 2 to 4 weeks, following 5-10 h of mindfulness training. Furthermore, these changes were correlated with emotional states in healthy adults. The PCC is a key hub in the functional anatomy implicated in meditation and other perspectival processes. In this longitudinal study using a randomized design, we therefore examined the effect of a 10 h of mindfulness training, the Integrative Body-Mind Training (IBMT) on gray matter volume of the PCC compared to an active control-relaxation training (RT). We found that brief IBMT increased ventral PCC volume and that baseline temperamental trait-an index of individual differences was associated with a reduction in training-induced gray matter increases. Our findings indicate that brief mindfulness meditation induces gray matter plasticity, suggesting that structural changes in ventral PCC-a key hub associated with self-awareness, emotion, cognition, and aging-may have important implications for protecting against mood-related disorders and aging-related cognitive declines.

Job Stress, Burnout and Coping in Police Officers: Relationships and Psychometric Properties of the Organizational Police Stress Questionnaire

Article

Full-text available

Sep 2020
Int J Environ Res Publ Health

Policing is a stressful occupation, which impairs police officers' physical/mental health and elicits burnout, aggressive behaviors and suicide. Resilience and coping facilitate the management of job stress policing, which can be operational or organizational. All these constructs are associated, and they must be assessed by instruments sensitive to policing idiosyncrasies. This study aims to identify operational and organizational stress, burnout, resilient coping and coping strategies among police officers, as well to analyze the psychometric properties of a Portuguese version of the Organizational Police Stress Questionnaire. A cross-sectional study, with online questionnaires, collected data of 1131 police officers. With principal components and confirmatory factor analysis, PSQ-org revealed adequate psychometric properties, despite the exclusion of four items, and revealed a structure with two factors (poor management and lack of resources, and responsibilities and burden). Considering cut-off points, 88.4% police officers presented high operational stress, 87.2% high organizational stress, 10.9% critical values for burnout and 53.8% low resilient coping, preferring task-orientated than emotion and avoidance coping. Some differences were found according to gender, age and job experience. Job stress and burnout correlated negatively with resilient coping, enthusiasm towards job and task-orientated coping. Results reinforce the importance to invest on police officers' occupational health.

Secondary Traumatic Stress in Italian Police Officers: The Role of Job Demands and Job Resources

Article

Full-text available

Jun 2020

Police officers are among the workers most exposed to acute or chronic stressful events, which compromises their psychosocial well-being and physical health. Exposure to traumatic events, human suffering, problematic situations and episodes of violence can cause psychological damage and lead to the development of secondary traumatic stress. The aim of this research is to explore the effect of job demands and job resources on secondary traumatic stress in police officers. To better understand this phenomenon and its consequences in this population, police officers were compared with health care professionals working as first responders. An ad hoc questionnaire was administered to 112 and 286 health care professionals. The findings showed that compared with health care workers, police officers suffer from secondary traumatic stress to a greater extent. Moreover, the results showed that some police officers suffered more than health care professionals regarding certain consequences of secondary traumatic stress, such as negative emotions and burnout. This study suggests implications and offers insights for both police officers and the organizations in which they work: police officer organizations should contribute to preventing the phenomenon of secondary traumatic stress by proposing programs that implement resilience training and adaptive coping strategies.

Understanding the mental health and wellbeing needs of police officers and staff in Scotland

Article

Full-text available

Jun 2020

Police work can be stressful and demanding and can impact on employee wellbeing. This study aimed to understand mental health (MH) issues and risk factors for poor MH in officers and staff of the Police Service of Scotland (PSoS); and gather their ideas of workplace wellbeing interventions that are suitable for this workforce. Face-to-face/telephone interviews were conducted with 30 Superintendents and eight stakeholders, recruited throughout PSoS. Interview topics included: MH issues; health/health behaviours; employment; and potentially beneficial workplace interventions. A thematic analysis approach was adopted. High levels of occupational stress and anxiety, currently or in the past, were reported, as were experiences of PTSD, anxiety and depression. The main stressors reported were working hours, workload, culture, leadership and organisational change. Officers and staff recognised progress towards promoting and managing MH in the service but identified interventions, including training, counselling, and environmental workplace changes as needed to address mental health issues within police cultures.

Intensive Mindfulness-based Resilience Training in First Responders: A Pilot Study

Article

Jan 2021

first responders offered in a compressed, residential immersion format (MBRT-I). Methods: Participants (N = 31) attended a 2.5-day immersion training to receive training in MBRT-I, with a booster session 30 days later. Self-report data measuring aspects of stress and health were collected at baseline, immediately following MBRT-I training, 30 days after MBRT-I training, and 90 days after MBRT-I training. Results: Participants reported significant improvements in emotional intelligence, emotional regulation, occupational stress, and fatigue (p < .05), with further trends approaching statistical significance regarding perceived stress, anger, and mindfulness. Conclusions: Whereas larger studies with longer follow-up are needed to establish the efficacy of this intervention, preliminary results suggest a compressed-format version of MBRT is (1) feasible, and (2) may be beneficial in reducing stress, anger, and fatigue, and improving likely mediators of positive health outcomes, such as emotional regulation and mindfulness among a broad range of first responders.

The impact of a mindfulness-based intervention on the quality of life of Spanish national police officers

Article

Nov 2020
HEALTH SOC CARE COMM

Noemí Sansó

Purpose: Police officers belong to a profession with a high risk of stress, burnout and compassion fatigue. Incorporating mindfulness practices into the health and occupational- risk prevention programs run by the national police forces in Spain could provide a new approach to reducing stress and enhancing the psychological and emotional balance of these officers. Methods: A 7-week mindfulness-based intervention (MBI) was conducted in a group of 20 national police officers in Mallorca (Spain). Mindfulness, self-compassion, burnout, compassion fatigue, compassion satisfaction and perceived stress were measured and compared before and after the intervention. Results: We identified significant differences in mindfulness (F(5, 14) = 7.441, p = 0.001, η2 = 0.727), compassion satisfaction (F(1, 19) = 5.929, p = 0.025, η2 = 0.238) and perceived stress levels (t(18) = 2.863, p = 0.010, d = 0.611) after the intervention; non-significant improvements were observed for the remaining variables assessed. Conclusions: MBIs could be an effective way of reducing stress levels among police officers in Spain.

The Effectiveness of Mindfulness‑Based Interventions for Police Officers’ Stress Reduction: a Systematic Review

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