The objective of this study is to test the effects of police trauma resilience training on stress and performance during a
critical incident police work simulation. Rookie police officers (
N = 18) participated in a randomized trial of a 10-week imagery and skills training program versus training as usual. Twelve
months later, psychophysiological stress and police work performance were assessed during a live critical incident simulation.
Training resulted in significantly less negative mood, less heart rate reactivity, a larger increase in antithrombin, and
better police performance compared to controls. Trends for cortisol and self-reported stress also suggested benefits of training.
This novel training program is a promising paradigm for improving police well-being, stress resiliency, and optimizing job
performance.
Keywords Primary prevention - Preparatory training - High-stress performance - First responders - Occupational trauma exposure - Trauma resilience