BACKGROUND. Police officers are exposed daily to high levels of organizational and operational stressors that have a negative impact on health and well-being outcomes. This population has elevated rates of cardiovascular disease, sleep disorders, symptoms of depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and suicide. Although there are few empirically supported effective stress reduction interventions in police officers, recent evidence suggests that an 8-week training program in mindfulness meditation, specifically tailored for this group, has promise in reducing perceived stress and improving stress-related physical and mental health outcomes including sleep disturbances, anxiety, depression, and burnout. The primary aims of the current study were to 1) demonstrate the feasibility, acceptability, and adherence of a similar mindfulness training program in a new population of police officers; 2) replicate previously demonstrated improvements in perceived stress and stress-related health outcomes, and 3) provide novel evidence of hypothesized reductions in symptoms of PTSD.METHODS. We enrolled 30 sworn law enforcement personnel from a mid-sized, Midwestern U.S. police department in an 8-week, group-based mindfulness training program. We conducted in-person assessments immediately before and after the training program, consisting of self-report measures of perceived stress, sleep quality, physical and mental health symptoms, and burnout and the assessment of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) and other physical health measures. An abbreviated remote assessment at 5-month follow-up included self-report measures only.RESULTS. All 30 officers completed the 8-week program and both in-person assessments, with high rates of class attendance, substantial out-of-class practice time, and uniformly positive evaluations of the training program and instructors. Replicating previous studies, we identified post-training reductions in perceived organizational and operational stress, global sleep disturbances, anxiety, and burnout, with significant reductions in anxiety and perceived stress observed at 5-month follow-up. We also identified novel evidence for reduced PTSD hyperarousal symptoms that persisted at 5-month follow-up, and reduced re-experiencing PTSD symptoms at 5-month follow-up only. There was no evidence for changes in self-reported physical health symptoms or hs-CRP.CONCLUSIONS. Successful adaptation, delivery, and acceptance of this mindfulness-based intervention demonstrates the generalizability of mindfulness training across law enforcement populations. The replication of improved stress-related outcomes, and novel evidence for reduced PTSD symptoms, indicate important targets to be further investigated in larger, mechanistic, randomized controlled trials of mindfulness training in police officers.
Burnout and posttraumatic stress symptoms in police officers exposed to traumatic events: the mediating role of ruminations
