Facility dogs during police investigative interviews: Does it decrease children's reluctance?

BACKGROUND: Using facility dogs during police investigative interviews is a recent practice in Canada. While the common use of this intervention is decidedly an indicator of sympathy capital, its utility in this context is relatively unknown and no study has specifically evaluated the effect of using facility dogs on children's collaboration during investigative interviews. OBJECTIVE: This study compares police investigative interviews conducted in the presence of a service dog (n = 46) to those without (n = 45) to examine the effects of the presence of and interactions with a dog on children's reluctance. PARTICIPANTS, SETTING AND METHODS: The interviews were done with children aged 3 to 15 years and were coded for children's reluctance, their physical interactions with and comments about the dog, as well as for investigator's verbal support. RESULTS: No significant group differences were found in terms of children's overall reluctance (p = 0.700), though the children accompanied by a dog showed significantly more digression (p = 0.008). Among the children who were accompanied by a dog, those who interacted with the dog more frequently (p = 0.035) and who made more comments about the dog (p < 0.001) showed more signs of reluctance, even after accounting for child age and investigator support. No association was observed between children's reluctance and the total duration of dog-child physical interactions (p = 0.097). CONCLUSIONS: This study contributes to an enhanced understanding of the usefulness of facility dogs and the factors that influence children's reluctance during investigative interviews.

Cardiorespiratory fitness in police recruits: Assessing the validity of the 20-meter shuttle run test for recruitment purposes.

BACKGROUND: Although the 20-meter shuttle run test (20MSR) is frequently used by police organisations for recruitment purposes, to our knowledge no study has yet assessed the accuracy of this test to estimate maximal oxygen consumption (VO2max) in police recruits. OBJECTIVE: The primary objective of this study was to assess the validity of the 20MSR as a predictor of VO2max in police cadets. METHODS: 49 police cadets completed both an indirect calorimetry VO2max assessment and a 20MSR. Based on their results, estimated VO2max was calculated using an established equation. Furthermore, two models estimating the VO2max was also developed using the final stage completed and sex as independent variables in the first model (model A) as well as the final half-stage completed and sex in the second model (model B). RESULTS: A strong and significant bivariate correlation was found between measured VO2max and the final stage completed at the 20MSR (r = 0.874, p < 0.001). Nevertheless, limits of agreement analysis showed relatively large agreement errors between measured VO2max and estimated VO2max based on the established equation (0.46±6.29 ml·min-1·kg-1), model A (0.00±5.58 ml min-1 kg-1), and model B (0.00±5.48 ml min-1·kg-1). CONCLUSIONS: Although the 20MSR can be a useful tool to estimate cardiorespiratory fitness for research and conditioning purposes, the large agreement errors found in this study suggest that results at the 20MSR should be interpreted with caution when making "pass or fail" decisions.

Fitness components associated with performance of a law enforcement physical employment standard in police cadets.

BACKGROUND: The physical preparation of cadets for both physical employment standards (PES) and police job performance is a major concern for police organizations. Identifying fitness components associated with both PES performance and work performance can provide essential information for the physical training of police cadets. Therefore, the objective of this study was to assess the association of fitness components with performance of the Standardized Physical Abilities Test (SPAT), a new law enforcement PES. METHODS: A sample of 41 police cadets was recruited to take part in this cross-sectional study. First, the participants were assessed using six fitness assessments (standing broad jump, medicine ball put, grip strength test, visuomotor reaction time (VMRT) test, modified agility T-test, and 600-meter run). In a second experiment, participants performed the SPAT. RESULTS: Bivariate correlation analysis showed moderate to strong associations between each fitness assessment and SPAT performance. Based on stepwise multiple regression analysis, results at the VMRT Test, the medicine ball put, and the agility T-test accounted for 66.0% of the variability in SPAT performance (R2=0.660; P<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Overall, our results suggest that exercise prescriptions for police cadets should focus on power, agility, and VMRT. Furthermore, our results show that performance in a PES can be estimated rather precisely based on low-cost fitness assessments. Therefore, such methodology could be used to develop fitness assessments specific to PES requirements.

Drug trajectories among youth undergoing treatment: the influence of psychological problems and delinquency.

Previous research has documented associations of addiction with delinquency and psychological problems. However, few studies have evaluated their influence on adolescent's drug use trajectories. The current study aims to examine the influence of these factors on the recovery trajectories of 199 youths aged 15.6 years on average admitted to inpatient and outpatient addiction treatment centers, followed up three and six months later. Results indicate that youth who show higher severity of drug abuse exhibit greater improvement than youth with a lower severity of drug abuse at the onset of treatment. Although psychological problems were associated with baseline drug use, they did not influence drug use trajectory over time. Only delinquency influenced the recovery trajectories of these youth. Results suggest that a high level of delinquency can have a significant effect on the drug recovery process of adolescents and that interventions should attempt to reduce both drug use and delinquency.

Internet gambling, substance use, and delinquent behavior: an adolescent deviant behavior involvement pattern.

Internet gambling among adolescents is a growing phenomenon that has received little attention to date. This study examines associations between Internet gambling and the severity of gambling, substance use (SU), and delinquent behavior among 1,870 Quebec students aged 14 to 18. The results show a higher proportion of Internet-gambling (IG) students reporting problematic substance use and delinquency, compared with nongamblers (NG) and non-Internet gamblers (NIG). Furthermore, a higher proportion of at-risk and probable pathological gamblers are found among IG compared with NIG. A moderating effect (Baron & Kenny, 1986) of the gambler categories (NIG, IG) was found in the relationship between the associated problems and the severity of gambling. Among IG, the severity of delinquency and of substance use contributes to explaining gambling severity whereas, among NIG, the severity of delinquency is the only factor that significantly contributes to such an explanation. Discussion of the results is based on Jessor, Donovan, and Costa's (1991) general deviance syndrome theory.