Heather McGale

Abstract

Operational police work is stressful and can cause acute stress reactions that negatively impact performance. These issues are often examined in research by exposing officers to scenarios assumed to be stressful, while assessing psychological and/or physiological stress. Little research has ever examined the validity of measurement scales used in such studies. Thus, this study assessed the construct validity of multiple stress, cognitive appraisal, and task-load measures, and their relationship to physiological stress and cognitive distortions within a policing context. The study involved 123 officers who participated in a simulated use-of-force scenario while equipped with a heart rate monitor, and completed various questionnaires pre- and post-scenario. Results indicated that the measures of state/perceived anxiety, stress overload, and task-load possessed good levels of construct validity.. Further it was determined that the concepts of perceived anxiety, state anxiety, and cognitive appraisals of threat were common factors affecting officer stress levels during use-of-force scenarios.