What does high stress police training teach recruits? An analysis of coping

The use of coping strategies was examined in 143 police recruits subjected to high stress training in a resident police academy. Measures of coping and personal distress were employed under conditions of ostensibly uniform stress conditions. Results indicated that recruits utilized a variety of coping strategies to deal with academy stress, including responses that have the potential to become either adaptive or maladaptive to occupational functioning. Recruits who obtained high scores for personal distress tended to utilize maladaptive styles of coping significantly more often than those who had lower distress scores. These findings suggest that the magnitude of personal distress may be an important factor in determining which array of coping techniques is used by an individual. Police facilities should consider testing alternative training methods to determine which are more effective in helping recruits to cope more efficiently with stress and function satisfactorily in training.