Effectiveness of multilateral training didactic method on physical and mental wellbeing in law enforcement

Abstract

Police work requires continuous professional and physical training to cope with high stress situations and meet occupational tasks needs. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of an 8-week multilateral training program on physical and mental wellbeing. 20 healthy male volunteer policemen (age 46.8 ± 3.9 years) were randomly assigned to experimental group (n=10) that performed a multilateral training program consisting of agility and resistance training, or control group (n=10). At baseline and after 8 weeks, the sources of stress and coping strategies, and the physical and mental state of health perceived were measured by the Occupational Stress Indicator and the Short Form-12, respectively. The comparison of the mean pre/post differences between the groups was assessed by a two-way repeated measures ANOVA (p<0.05). After multilateral intervention, experimental group perceived less stress, showed a more realistic attitude towards the various working situations and a greater perception of physical and mental wellbeing than control group (p<0.05). The findings suggest that a physical education program in the continuing education framework, through the didactic method of multilateral training, could prevent the occupational stress that causes harmful physical and emotional reactions and threatens the quality of life in police officers.