Date

8-29-2025

Department

School of Behavioral Sciences

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology (PhD)

Chair

Matthew Ferdock

Keywords

Law Enforcement, mental health, anxiety, depression, trauma, PTSD, spirituality, faith, religion, pray, church, counsel, biblical, theology, work performance, occupational stress, psychological health, burnout, mental health stigma, religiosity, SWBS, PHQ-9, GAD-7, DSM, NSESS-PTSD, mediation, moderation

Disciplines

Psychology

Abstract

Law enforcement officers are often exposed to occupational stressors that can negatively affect their mental health and job performance. Spirituality has been thoroughly researched as a restorative method to improve physical and psychological health concerns. There has also been an increase in studies on workplace spirituality. The existing research on workplace spirituality suggests that incorporating spirituality into the workplace increases employee well-being and decreases stress and burnout. Unfortunately, research on police culture often neglects spirituality. There is little research to show how spirituality could mediate or moderate the adverse effects of mental health on law enforcement officers. This quasi-experimental, cross-sectional, quantitative study (based partly on archived data and partly on survey responses) examined the mental health, spirituality, and job performance of law enforcement officers in a small Midwestern city in Indiana. This study found no correlation between anxiety or depression and job performance based on participant responses to the GAD-7 and PHQ-9 scales compared to their 2024 performance evaluations. However, spirituality was found to partially mediate the relationship between PTSD symptoms and job performance (b=0.011, SE=0.006, p=.05). The results suggest that police departments acknowledge that spirituality, while not casual, has a mediating effect on the mental health effects of occupational stressors on job performance.

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