STRESS RESPONSE AND PERFORMANCE CHANGES OF LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS’ MARKSMANSHIP UNDER VARIED PHYSIOLOGY STRESS LEVELS
Brandan MALE, Peter J. CHOMENTOWSKI III, Judith M. LIKASZUK, David A. WALKER
Abstract
Aim: This study aimed to investigate changes in the stress response and shooting performance of law enforcement officers under varying levels of stress via simulated life-threatening situations. Methods: Thirteen experienced law enforcement officers completed three handgun-shooting trials. Trials included a modified course adopted from the Illinois State Firearms Qualification and two simulated conflicts using a TI Simulator (TI Training, Golden, Colorado). Heart rate, blood pressure, alpha-amylase, cortisol, and shooting performance data were collected around each trial. Results: Compared with the qualification course, the results showed a significant reduction in the percentage of shots hit during the simulated conflicts. No correlation was found between physiological variables measured in this study and marksmanship performance. Conclusions: Simulated encounters can be used to expose law enforcement officers to stressful situations where marksmanship skills can be trained and evaluated. While no physiological variables changed between simulation scenarios, the shots that hit the targets was significantly lower for the T1 simulator compared to a modified course adopted from the Illinois State Firearms Qualification. Further research is necessary to determine whether such training can create enough stress response to cause adaptation for training effect.
Pages: 31 - 39