DOI: 10.3886/icpsr38293.v1
title: The Impact of Mindfulness-Based Resilience Training on Stress-Related Biological, Behavioral, and Health-Related Outcomes in Law Enforcement Officers, Wisconsin, 2018-2019
title: Version 1

description: This mixed-methods randomized controlled trial study, conducted in collaboration with three Dane County (Wisconsin) law enforcement agencies, compared the effects of an 8-week mindfulness training (MT) program relative to a waitlist control (WLC) group on biological, behavioral, and self-report measures of stress and stress-related health outcomes. Across a two-year data collection period, the research team randomly assigned 114 sworn law enforcement officers to MT or WLC groups. Across three timepoints (baseline, post-program, and 3-month follow-up), researchers assessed the impact of MT on perceived stress (Aim 1), physical and mental health outcomes including behaviorally assessed and self-reported sleep quality, cardiovascular risk factors, and symptoms of PTSD, anxiety, and depression (Aim 2), and stress-related biological and behavioral markers (Aim 3), including cortisol output and a behavioral assay of hippocampus function. Data collected as part of this study include quantitative measures obtained during laboratory visits and a week of field data collection, as well as optional semi-structured qualitative interview data.
This collection currently contains the following file types available in zipped package format. Excluding changes made for confidentiality purposes, files have been released as they were received by ICPSR:

Summary data: Master data file (nij_masterfile.csv) containing demographics, summed scores from self-report questionnaires, behavioral markers, biomarkers, and mindfulness practice logs; Fitbit activity, heart rate, and sleep data (nij_fitbitSummary.csv); saliva sample collection data (nij_salivaCollectionNotes.csv, nij_salivaQCSpreadsheet.xlsx, nij_salivaryCortCleaned.csv, nij_salivaryCortProcessed.csv, nij_salivaryCortRaw.csv); work event log data (nij_workEventsRaw.xlsx)
Raw behavioral data files: for all timepoints, affective go/no-go task data (agnRaw) and mnemonic similarity task data (mstRaw)
Summary behavioral data files (agnSummary): for all timepoints, affective go/no-go task data
Raw Fitbit data files (fitbitRaw): activity/steps, heart rate, and sleep data for all timepoints
Scripts: R, Python, and bash scripts, with readme files, that were used in biomarker and behavioral marker data cleaning/analysis

Qualitative interview data and documentation are not available at this time.
description: The objectives of this study were to:

Investigate the impact of an 8-week mindfulness-based training program designed for law enforcement on reducing perceived stress in sworn police officers.
Investigate the impact of mindfulness training on stress-related health outcomes.
Identify training-related changes in biological and behavioral markers of perceived stress.
description: This study used a randomized controlled trial design. Data collection and mindfulness classes took place between March 2018 and December 2019. Participants were enrolled in two discrete cohorts: March-April 2018 (Cohort 1) and February-March 2019 (Cohort 2). Formal recruitment activities included emails sent by agency liaisons, flyers at district stations, and announcements at daily briefings. Prior to Cohort 2, the research team worked with department stakeholders to develop strategies to engage officers of color in the study. Interested individuals contacted the study team and completed a phone screening to confirm eligibility.
For both 2018 and 2019, baseline data collection (T1) took place in March and April. Informed consent and in-person baseline assessments took place at the research team's center. Testing procedures were completed on a desktop computer in a quiet space, with self-report data administered with Qualtrics and behavioral tasks administered with PsychoPy. Measures collected at baseline, post-training, and 3-month follow-up were behavioral tasks (mnemonic similarity task and affective go/no-go task), self-report questionnaires, height and weight, blood sample, and hair sample. Following baseline data collection, participants were randomly assigned to mindfulness training or the waitlist control group.
Field measures were collected over the following work week after in-person assessments. Participants were provided with a Fitbit and asked to wear it the evening before their first workday and ending after their final shift to obtain continuous heart rate, activity, and sleep data. To measure cortisol levels, participants collected four saliva samples throughout the day for three consecutive days. Participants also completed a work events log to measure exposure and perceived stress for work stressors at the end of each workday.
Mindfulness classes for the intervention group occurred between April and June. Instructors recorded attendance at each class. In addition to formal class-based practice, participants were provided with recorded guided practices and were encouraged to practice 6 days a week and integrate mindfulness practice into daily activities. Participants logged both formal and informal practices.
Post-program data collection (T2) occurred in June. The 3-month follow-up data collection (T3) occurred in September, and a sub-sample of participants were also invited at this time to complete an optional, semi-structured interview. Waitlist control participants completed the mindfulness classes in October through December.
description: Master dataset: Data are structured by individual participant and contain summary values from the following sources:

Affective go/no-go task: accuracy and response time for each emotion target
Mnemonic similarity task: lure discrimination index (LDI)
Blood samples: C-reactive proteins and dried blood spot (DBS) processing items
Saliva samples: cortisol levels
Participant height and weight
Mindfulness practice/class logs: total number of mindfulness classes attended, number of minutes in and out of class during the 8-week session, frequency of practice during follow-up period
Self-report questionnaires: calculated sums for scales and sub-scales. Please refer to the Scales field for a list of measures used and to the Data Collections Instruments for item wording and coding schemes.
Demographic items: sex, age at baseline, education level, household income, marital status, rank, years worked in policing

Affective go/no-go task (AGN): Raw data are organized by trial. For each trial, variables indicate target face emotion, non-target face emotion, gender of face, participant's response (go or no-go), and reaction time. Summary data contain summarized values for individual blocks within the task for each participant: target reaction time, accuracy, number of correct and incorrect responses, and standard deviation of reaction time.
Mnemonic similarity task (MST): Raw data are organized by trial. For each trial, variables indicate the object stimulus shown to the participant, participant's response, whether the object was correctly identified, response time, and calculated LDI.
Fitbit data: Raw data are organized by 1-minute intervals for the week the device was worn. Activity data contains steps count (per minute). Heart rate data contains measured heart rate (per minute). Sleep data contains the participant's sleep state (awake, restless, or asleep) during each minute of the sleep cycle.
Saliva/cortisol data: Data are structured by sample. Raw data contains timepoint, day, sample number (up to 4 per day), and cortisol level. Quality checks and cleaned data contain an additional indicator of whether the sample should be included in analysis. Processed data contains raw data plus summary values for a single day. Self-reported stress level and additional notes to explain events that may have affected sample collection are included in the saliva collection notes.
Work events logs: Raw data are structured by each day of the participant's work week. Start time, end time, duration of shift, and whether the participant was working overtime are provided. Participants were given a list of possible work events and asked to rate their level of exposure to each event (0 to 3, higher value means more exposure) and how much stress they experienced as a result of their exposure (0 to 10, higher value means more stress).
Semi-structured interviews: Participants were asked for their impressions of the mindfulness training program, such as what was most and least helpful about the training, then were asked to reflect on how completing the training impacted or influenced their work (e.g., an example of how they worked through strong emotions, tools used to manage stress). Participants also provided insights into the feasibility of incorporating mindfulness practice at work (supports and challenges), if they would recommend the training to colleagues, and if it should be added to police academy curriculum.
description: Response Rates: 135 law enforcement officers approached research staff and were assessed for eligibility. 115 of these individuals were eligible and provided informed consent, and 114 provided baseline data and were randomized to mindfulness (n=57) and waitlist control (n=57) groups. 110 individuals completed the post-training assessment and 105 individuals completed the 3-month follow-up.
description: Presence of Common Scales: 
Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT)
Brief Resilience Scale (BRS)
Critical Incident History Questionnaire (CIHQ)
Childhood Trauma Questionnaire - Short Form (CTQ)
Emotional Style Questionnaire (ESQ)
Five-Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire - Short Form (FFMQ-S)
Health Behaviors Checklist (HBC)
Life Events Checklist
Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale (M-CSD)
Oldenburg Burnout Inventory (OLBI)
Operational Police Stress Questionnaire (OpPSQ)
Organizational Police Stress Questionnaire (OrgPSQ)
Perceived Stress Scale (PSS)
Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Inventory (PSQI)
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Checklist for DSM-5
Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS)
Work/Family Spillover
description: Participants self-selected among all sworn law enforcement officers in 3 partner agencies in Dane County, Wisconsin. Exclusionary criteria included significant previous meditation practice or participation in a previous mindfulness class. Personnel in command positions or sheriff's deputies working primarily in the county jail were excluded in the first cohort, but eligible for the second cohort.
description: Datasets: 
DS1: The Impact of Mindfulness-Based Resilience Training on Stress-Related Biological, Behavioral, and Health-Related Outcomes in Law Enforcement Officers, Wisconsin, 2018-2019
description: Sworn law enforcement officers working in Dane County, Wisconsin law enforcement agencies between 2018-2019.
description: face-to-face interview; mixed mode; on-site questionnaire; web-based survey