NCJ Number
85141
Date Published
1981
Length
215 pages
Annotation
This study evaluates the effectiveness of a 4-day crisis intervention training workshop for police recruits, focusing on role-playing involvement as a mediator of training effects. It designed and constructed a measure of crisis intervention responses -- the Crisis Intervention Simulation Survey (CISS) -- to assess emotional and behavioral responses of police to family disturbance, suicide, rape, and death notification situations.
Abstract
A pilot study was conducted with a class of 30 recruits, using a pretest-posttest design. These results were used to refine the CISS and the two indices of role-play involvement. The final study involved a class of 60 recruits and spanned a period of 7 months, with repeated measurements on 5 occasions. Officers' awareness of their emotions and use of effective approaches increased following training, and this increase was associated with involvement in role playing during training. After training, officers felt increases in fear and sympathy in family disturbance situations; more fear, sympathy, and feelings of preparedness in suicide situations; greater feelings of preparedness in suicide situations; and greater feelings of preparedness, comfort, and confidence in death notification situations. Officers' response effectiveness may have improved in rape and death notification situations. Role-playing involvement was related to increased fear in family disturbance situations, increased sympathy and feelings of preparedness in suicide situations, and to other effects. Background factors, such as age, sex, and education, had little effect on these outcomes. Data tables, over 100 references, and some reference notes are supplied. Appendixes include training program schedules, role playing situations, the Role Playing Involvement Index, crisis situations from CISS and other material. (Author summary modified)