# Feasibility and acceptability of mindfulness-based resilience training for problematic alcohol use, mental health, and aggression in rural law enforcement officers

> **NIH NIH R01** · PACIFIC UNIVERSITY · 2022 · $266,790

## Abstract

The stress inherent to policing affects both officer health as well as the safety of their respective
communities. Our current and previous research has shown that Mindfulness-Based Resilience
Training (MBRT) leads to improvement in law enforcement officer (LEO) mental health and
behavioral outcomes, including alcohol use and aggression. In our current multisite R01
feasibility trial of MBRT, we have successfully met key feasibility and acceptability benchmarks
in urban and suburban LEO samples. What is lacking is exploration of feasibility and
acceptability in rural LEOs, who face unique stressors and challenges, and an integration of
evidence-based preventive intervention components to directly target problematic alcohol use.
Individuals living in rural communities are recognized as a target population for health disparities
research. Rural LEOs experience stressors specific to rural populations such as isolation and
work-role overload, yet often have fewer resources, including less access to stress
management trainings and mental health care, compared to their urban and suburban
counterparts. The combination of high stress coupled with low resources supporting mental
health and performance may lead to increased reliance on maladaptive behaviors, such as
excessive alcohol use. Indeed, LEOs have disproportionately higher rates of alcohol use, not
only affecting their own health and wellbeing but also exacerbating effects of stress on
aggression and excessive force in critical incidents. Preliminary evidence suggests alcohol use
may be more problematic among rural, relative to urban, LEOs. The proposed supplement
would support collection of data on feasibility and acceptability of MBRT in under-resourced
rural LEOs to inform further adaptations to better serve this community. Additionally, we
propose to integrate specific elements of an evidence-based mindfulness intervention for
substance use disorders to explicitly address problematic alcohol use and associated
consequences among rural LEOs, enhancing effects of MBRT on officer health, and in turn
reducing aggression and excessive use of force in critical incidents. Completion of supplement
aims will strengthen support for a multisite trial of an intervention that holds great potential to
reduce aggression and increase health and wellbeing among urban, suburban and rural LEOs
and the communities they serve.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10674433
- **Project number:** 3R01AT009841-04S1
- **Recipient organization:** PACIFIC UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Sarah Bowen
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $266,790
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2018-09-01 → 2024-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10674433

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10674433, Feasibility and acceptability of mindfulness-based resilience training for problematic alcohol use, mental health, and aggression in rural law enforcement officers (3R01AT009841-04S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-26 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10674433. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*