Do stress symptoms impact handgrip strength and firearm shooting accuracy among military police officers?

Introduction: The operations carried out by the Military Police (MP) in public safety and violence prevention, driven by the evolving needs of contemporary society, impose specific physical and psychological requirements on their personnel that are typically not encountered by the general population. In this context, factors such as exposure to violence, frequent risk of death, heavy workloads, challenging working conditions, and elevated stress levels associated with their missions are integral to the daily experiences of MP officers, rendering them one of the most vulnerable professional groups. Therefore, the objective of this study was to assess whether the presence of stress symptoms impacts handgrip strength and firearm shooting accuracy among MP officers. Methods: The study included 24 third-year officer cadets stationed at the Espírito Santo Military Police Academy; all participants volunteered. Stress levels were measured using Lipp’s Inventory of Stress Symptoms (LSSI), categ...