© Applied Psychology in Criminal Justice, 2009, 5(1) CONSIDERING THE EFFICACY OF STRESS MANAGEMENT EDUCATION ON SMALL-TOWN AND RURAL POLICE*

Previous studies on police stress have focused on both maladaptive and adaptive coping strategies and have consistently made the recommendation that agencies provide stress management programs for their offi cers. As research into the ef-fi cacy of these programs is lacking, this study attempted to address this gap in the literature by assessing the impact of stress management training on offi cers’ anxiety, self-reported levels of stress, and behaviors in a paired sample (pretest/ posttest) t-test. Findings suggested that these programs do have an impact on of-fi cer stress, but as the lag time increases, there is a diminished return of benefi t, supporting the need for continued education. Research in the area of police stress has produced quite an extensive body of literature over the past four decades. Some of this research has focused on police perception of stressors (Crank &amp