Stress, Physical Activity and Performance in Policing

Hanson, Justin M. (2004) Stress, Physical Activity and Performance in Policing . Master's Thesis, Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice, Central Connecticut State University.

Abstract

This research study surveyed officers from a local Connecticut police department, determining their exercise routines and job related stress. The study information was gathered from a sample of 49 officers who completed the survey questions representing their on-the-job stress, cardiovascular exercise routines, weight training exercise routines, and demographic information. The purpose of this study was to determine if increased stress increases the amount of excessive verbal and/or physical force citizen complaints, departmental disciplinary action, and if physical exercise decreases the amount of stress. Although data collected from this study did not fully support the hypothesis, there were several interesting significant findings brought forward. The most significant result was that divorced officers reported an average higher amount of stress and an average higher amount of citizen complaints and departmental disciplinary action than single or married officers. This finding indirectly supported the hypothesis that officers who have higher amounts of stress have more citizen complaints and departmental disciplinary action. An additional finding was that officers who reported higher levels of weight training also reported higher levels of stress. This study further examined a variety of demographic variables that may have played a significant role in determining relationships among exercise and stress. One significant finding was the relationship between stress and gender, which revealed that female officers reported having higher amounts of stress than their male coworkers. The study further illustrates that law enforcement stress related to exercise requires greater attention, for the health of police officers and the safety of citizens.