Resilience in rural front-line workers and law enforcement officers : A trial of mindfulness-based resilience training

Zullig, Keith and Canady, Brittany and Brumage, Michael and Goerling, Richard and Coyne, Madelin and Lilly, Christa and Smith, Stephanie (2025) Resilience in rural front-line workers and law enforcement officers : A trial of mindfulness-based resilience training. Journal of Rural Mental Health, 49 (4). pp. 410-421.

Abstract

Front-line workers and law enforcement officers experience uniquely high levels of occupational distress. The present study investigated the effectiveness of mindfulness-based resilience training with rural front-line workers and law enforcement officers to enhance personal well-being and professional functioning. A total of 162 participants were recruited into 10 cohorts from February to June 2022. Each cohort received a 2-day training followed by 4 weekly online trainings. Descriptive analysis was followed by longitudinal linear mixed models analyzing differences in key health outcome variables across all time points while adjusting for important covariates. Results suggest mindfulness (Est. = 5.72, p < .001), emotional intelligence (Est. = 6.28, p < .001), perceptions of health (Est. = 2.89, p < .001), and life satisfaction (Est. = 2.01, p < .001), improved significantly from baseline to the 180-day posttraining assessment. Further, participants reported stress (Est. = −2.05, p < .001), difficulties regulating emotions (Est. = −14.95, p < .001), emotional distress (Est. = −6.13, p < .001), fatigue (Est. = −3.80, p < .001), and sleep disturbance (Est. = −4.57, p < .001), decreased significantly from baseline to the 180-day posttraining assessment. Given the challenges faced by rural front-line workers and law enforcement officers, mindfulness-based resilience training shows promise in reducing the potential negative occupational effects associated with these professions.