O impacto da regulação emocional no stress fisiológico em agentes da Polícia de Segurança Pública

Abstract

Being a police officer presupposes constant exposure to various potentially stressful stimuli, triggering high levels of physiological stress, with an impact on these individuals’ physiological and psychological functioning. Being exposed to such stressors requires, on the part of these officers, capacities and strategies to attenuate the impact of these stimuli, and emotional regulation may be one of these capacities.
The literature on police in Portugal that mentions physiological stress and emotional regulation is still scarce, and it is necessary to invest more in the study of stress related aspects that impact police officers’ health, given the risk this group is exposed to in their daily lives. In this investigation, a correlational design was adopted between physiological stress, monitored through peripheral neurophysiological measures (cardiac, electrodermal and respiratory modalities), and emotional regulation in a sample of 17 PSP agents (Public Security Police) during an experimental paradigm. The results showed frequent use of cognitive
reassessment strategies, and, emotional suppression strategies, also showing a high capacity for emotional differentiation. However, they did not reveal high levels of perceived stress. At a physiological level, the data showed that specific strategies associated with emotional regulation promote a decrease in the physiological stress response, namely, in the respiratory and electrodermal modalities.

Date of Award	18 Oct 2022
Original language	Portuguese
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Patrícia Oliveira-Silva (Supervisor)