Mindful Non-Judging and Posttraumatic Reactions in Police Academy Cadets: A Path Analysis

Dispositional mindfulness has been associated with lower posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other negative health symptoms in the police population. Of the various mindfulness facets (i.e., non-judging, observing, describing, acting with awareness), non-judging has been demonstrated to be the strongest predictor of lower PTSD symptoms in police academy cadets. The mechanisms by which non-judging may lead to enhanced health outcomes in police officers are poorly understood and require further investigation.

The purpose of the current study was to test a model involving a pathway from pre-trauma mindful non-judging to PTSD symptoms and ultimately posttraumatic growth (PTG) that is mediated by worldviews in a sample of police academy cadets (n = 379). Data were collected via a survey packet distributed at a police academy located in a Southern state of the United States. We examined the relationships among demographic factors, adverse child events, negative life events, mindful non-judgment, world assumptions, PTSD, and PTG using path analysis.

The results indicated that positive worldviews served as a mediator between dispositional mindful non-judging and lower PTSD symptoms, which ultimately led to lower PTG.

These findings have important implications for the selection and training of police academy cadets with the goal of increasing resilience to occupational trauma exposure. Additionally, these results have clinical implications regarding the treatment of officers experiencing symptoms of PTSD.

This study is not preregistered.