Purpose

To add to the existing body of knowledge on the relationship between stress and job performance in policing, we monitored police officers' physiology using Hexoskin shirts while they responded to simulated scenarios.

Design/methodology/approach

We employed mixed repeated measures (baseline, intervention, post-intervention), between groups (treatment vs control group) design. Using this approach, our aims were (1) to determine whether an individualized physiological stress profile—a combination of heart rate (HR), heart rate variability (HRV), sympathetic nervous system (SNS) index and parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) index—could be developed for each participant; (2) to investigate the association between physiological stress and scenario performance and (3) to pilot test an intervention for decreasing physiological stress in real time.

Findings

We found that it was possible to individualize physiological stress profiles for each participant that alerted us when the participant was becoming stressed. We also found that physiological stress was significantly and negatively/inversely associated with scenario performance. However, our intervention to try and decrease participants' stress in real time was not successful. Several key lessons can be taken from our attempt that could inform future efforts in this area.

Research limitations/implications

This was a small pilot study, precluding generalizability of results. Furthermore, our intervention was simplistic and potentially affected by an experimenter effect. Future research should explore better ways to intervene when officers are becoming physiologically stressed to help them overcome stress in real time and safeguard against the cumulative effects of stress on health and performance.

Originality/value

This research adds to the body of knowledge on physiological stress and job-task performance in police officers.

中文翻译：

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测试生理压力反应对关键工作任务中警察表现的影响

目的

为了增加关于警务压力与工作绩效之间关系的现有知识体系，我们使用 Hexoskin 衬衫监测警察在应对模拟场景时的生理机能。

设计/方法/方法

我们在各组（治疗组与对照组）之间设计了混合重复措施（基线，干预，干预后）。使用这种方法，我们的目标是 (1) 确定个性化的生理压力状况——心率 (HR)、心率变异性 (HRV)、交感神经系统 (SNS) 指数和副交感神经系统 (PNS) 指数的组合——可以为每个参与者开发；(2) 调查生理压力与情景表现之间的关联，以及 (3) 对实时减少生理压力的干预措施进行试点测试。

发现

我们发现可以为每个参与者个性化生理压力配置文件，当参与者变得有压力时提醒我们。我们还发现生理压力与情景表现显着负/负相关。但是，我们尝试实时降低参与者压力的干预措施并不成功。我们可以从我们的尝试中汲取一些关键经验教训，为该领域的未来努力提供参考。

研究限制/影响

这是一项小型试点研究，排除了结果的普遍性。此外，我们的干预很简单，可能会受到实验者效应的影响。未来的研究应该探索更好的干预方法，当警官出现生理压力时，帮助他们实时克服压力，防止压力对健康和表现的累积影响。

原创性/价值

这项研究增加了关于警察生理压力和工作任务表现的知识体系。