NCJ Number
106532
Journal
Police Chief, 54 Issue: 8 Dated: (August 1987) Pages: 57-59
Date Published
1987
Length
3 pages
Annotation
This article describes the operation and evaluation of a 1-week, 40-hour stress management program for 22 sargeants and corporals of a State highway patrol agency.
Abstract
The first day consisted of group-building exercises, exploration of participants' expectations and perceptions about stress management, and identification of job-related stressors. A stress management manual was distributed to the class. The second day involved lectures on a conceptual model of stress and its effects, the recognition of stress symptoms, mental health services, and other community services for dealing with stress. The third day focused on stress management skills, including situational analysis and communication skills. The fourth day involved the continued videotaping of a variety of situations devised by participants, including feedback to subordinates, listening to subordinates' complaints about working conditions, and relating to a subordinate experiencing personal problems. An overview of assertiveness, nonassertiveness, and aggression was provided along with audiotaped examples. Smoking, use of caffeine and alcohol, lack of exercise, and dietary habits were discussed. The final day summarized and reviewed the week's topics. The leaders and class developed a summary of guidelines for managing stress among themselves and their subordinates. An information questionnaire, the consumer satisfaction survey, and the leaders' subjective evaluation of the class indicated the curriculum was successful in teaching stress management skills and how to recognize and deal with subordinates' stress. 7 footnotes.