Error bars are the standard errors. The main effect of behavioral state and the interaction effect were not significant for engagement. The main effect of physical load was not significant for distress. The main effects of physical load and behavioral state and the interaction effect were not significant for worry. The first hypothesis of an effect of physical load was partially supported by subjective distress and discomfort.
The physiological markers did not show significant increase in stress due to increased load. There was no change in peak cortisol levels due to load alone. The heavier physical load of the equipment increased psychological distress and marginally resulted in physical discomfort in the hips. The progressive increases in carried load can result in muscle discomfort and psychological distress Johnson et al.
The past research supports the current findings that physical load can contribute to distress and discomfort. Discomfort may also be attributed to the position of the duty belt and geometry of the worn equipment. Physical loading on concentrated regions can lead to discomfort through factors such as joint angle, tissue pressure, muscle contractions, blood pooling and circulation blockage Helander and Zhang, These discomforts can result in the perception of pain, tiredness, soreness, and numbness.
In the current study, some participants reported discomfort in their hips and that they were annoyed with the gear while sitting and getting out of the car. Other studies have reported similar associations between police belts and elevated discomfort in standard vehicle seats Czarnecki and Janowitz, ; Filtness et al. A study investigating discomfort from police duty and driver seats found increased discomfort for a full-duty belt configuration compared to a reduced duty belt configuration Holmes et al.
Together, this research supports the current experimental finding that there is a difference in discomfort and distress when comparing a full and reduced duty belt configuration.
The second hypothesis of an effect of civilian behavior was partially supported by increases in HRV, cortisol peak level reactivity, and SSSQ distress. Psychophysiological axes are interrelated and should show similar responses across dependent variables, even if statistical power and significance are achieved or not.
These effects are interpreted to be true positives because the results are consistent with psychological and physiological stress anatomical pathways and past experimental research. When assessing the autonomic activity through HRV in combination with EDA, results indicated parasympathetic modulation as the primary mediator for the stress response. The HF component of HRV reflects parasympathetic nervous system effects, whereas the LF component reflects both parasympathetic and sympathetic cardiac modulation.
When compared in unison, the aggressive behavior of the civilian was found to marginally increase the autonomic stress response as reflected by a trend in parasympathetic withdrawal. When assessing the endocrine stress response, higher reactivity during peak cortisol levels only partially supported the second hypothesis and was marginally associated with the behavior displayed by the civilian: higher cortisol levels resulted from aggressive behavior vs.
Psychologically, the aggressive behavior of the civilian led to an increase in distress levels of the participants. Uncontrollability can refer to delayed recovery when demand exceeds resources Koolhaas et al. The peripheral cortisol response occurred in tandem with autonomic stress response to suppress any distress and further enable the body to recover.
During these hostile interactions, HPA axis activation in the receiver causes enhanced aggressive behavior, which then, in turn, further activates the HPA axis Kruk et al. This negative interaction pattern was previously documented for law enforcement Kop and Euwema, The third hypothesis was partially supported by increases in HRV. Results indicate stress levels were less when wearing reduced equipment during the same aggressive encounter.
However, in a calm situation, differing equipment alone did not influence stress level. This suggests a relationship where increased physical load increases the stressfulness of aggressive behavior more than can be attributed to stress of the behavioral state of the civilian alone. When assessing the sympathetic activation by method of EDA, the absence of group difference in SCL and SCR vindicates sympathetic response and reaffirms the HRV stress response is primarily from parasympathetic withdrawal.
Parasympathetic function is critical to emotional regulation during face-to-face interactions, especially in situations of emotional dissonance and expressive suppression Butler et al.
Conducting a traffic stop on an aggressive civilian required the display of respectful demeanor, consequently eliciting a stress response from the management of negative emotions. However, individuals with reduced physical load during aggressive encounters displayed higher levels of parasympathetic modulation, associated with better control over negative emotion during ongoing stressful situations Thayer et al.
This suggests that higher physical loads may consume resources needed to regulate emotion. Reduction in carried loads may free up cognitive resources leading to better emotional control, more favorable interactions between enforcement officers and civilians, and lower the prevalence of emotional exhaustion among officers. Further, emotion regulation can consume cognitive resources needed for tasks Spangler et al.
Officers are expected to maintain a neutral demeanor and more effort is needed to regulate their dissonant feelings Huang and Dai, Therefore, higher load carriage could result in a diminished cognitive task performance. While the cortisol growth curve was not associated to the behavioral state and physical load, this is presumably because: a the second and third salivary samples were collected too early to measure cortisol onset and peak; or b the physical load was insufficient to warrant an HPA response.
The positive rate of change for the aggressive behavior condition suggests that the fourth cortisol sample taken 30 min after the end of the experiment scenario may have more accurately modeled the peak cortisol levels. However, even though the behavior groups showed a difference in parasympathetic activity and cortisol reactivity, another explanation is that the physical load might have been a minor stressor that failed to demonstrate an HPA axis response in the time of a single traffic stop.
When an external stressor is present, stress is regulated across multiple systems that are heavily influenced by length and severity of the stressor. In the short time, the individual may have been able to cope prior to initiating the cortisol stress response Shirtcliff et al.
Longer-term effects of physical carried load on officers conducting routine traffic stops may have different implications. There were several limitations to the study. As a preliminary study, we constrained the sample size and recruited individuals from the general population. Given the variance of police officer stress management programs and intrapersonal factors suggest that acute physiological changes may be generalizable between student and police samples. However, the results may be underpowered and should be interpreted with caution until an investigation can be conducted on a larger sample or a specific population, such as police officers.
The reduced belt had gear removed from the posterior region, unlike the full belt. It has been noted in previous studies, that when seated, the participants mentioned considerable discomfort due to the equipment pressing between the seat and their spine Holmes et al.
This protrusion could have induced stress for the full belt subjects that are unaccountable for the reduced belt subjects. While the physical load in this study was within carrying capacity Fergenbaum, , adults who are unhabituated with equipment may perceive feelings of discomfort and may respond differently based on physiological conditioning Roberts and Cole, Since discomfort is a multi-dimension concept, the metrics used in this study are unable to discern the influence of discomfort vs.
Therefore, any effect of the belt in the current study may not be attributed to weight alone. However, the experimental full-duty belt and body armor accurately represents law enforcement equipment, suggesting that more research is needed to ascertain whether reduced equipment load or redesigned equipment geometry can minimize the resultant stress response.
The purpose of this study was to investigate the physical and psychosocial stresses and their interaction effect on an individual. Physical load used in this experiment only contributed to autonomic stress when also subject to an aggressive social interaction, whereas, the aggressive behavior from another person was able to elicit discomfort, autonomic, hormonal, and psychological changes.
The simultaneous effects of increasing equipment load and hostile personal interactions consequentially increases stress in ways not attributable to the individual effects of the stressors alone.
These preliminary finding suggest that further research is needed into how acute stressors accumulate for professionals who have social interactions. Further, when multiple acute situations lead to chronic conditions, HPA dysfunction from prolonged allostatic load is a major contributor to depression, poorer decision making, and burnout McEwen, ; Bakker and Heuven, With the increasing amount and associated load of mandatory equipment for police officers, soldiers, and other law enforcement personnel, unaltered working conditions could increase prevalence of chronic pathological illness and higher rates of civilian—officer violence.
Therefore, how stressors accumulate and effect an individual warrants further study. The datasets generated for this study are available on request to the corresponding author. The studies involving human participants were reviewed and approved by Iowa State University Institutional Review Board.
All authors contributed to the conception and design of the study. MD and RS provided editorial oversight throughout both the writing and revision processes. All authors approved the submitted version. The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.
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These support groups would do well to interact with persons suffering from psychosocial issues and try to resolve the issues nicely. A proper awareness about the psychosocial issues is essential for the society to have.
These are the important differences between psychosocial and psychological conditions. Your email address will not be published. Professor in Social Science and a contributing writer for Difference Between. Amature vs. Lieing vs. Preferred vs. Omage vs. Finally vs. Attendance vs. Latest Comparisons Tubercule vs. Glyptal vs.
Faucet vs. Com vs. Destroyable vs. Aboriginal vs. Coelomate vs. Ocean vs. Judge vs. Flag vs. Forbear vs. Awesomely vs. Fat vs. Sonhood vs. Ricochet vs.
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