ASSOCIATION OF PHYSICAL ABILITIES TO ACADEMIC SUCCESS IN POLICE STUDENTS

Abstract

As physical abilities are essential for good health and performance in police officers, they are also one of the major factors for the enrolment in a police academy. However, their relationship to academic success and efficacy has not yet been clearly established, especially in females. The aim of this research was to investigate the association of physical abilities with academic success measured by grade point average (GPA) and academic efficacy measured by time to graduate of female candidates for police studies. Physical abilities of 40 female candidates for the admission to the University of Criminal Investigation and Police Studies were analyzed at the time of selection and their study success and efficacy were obtained after they graduated. The correlation and regression analyses were used to investigate the association of physical abilities with GPA and time to graduate. The GPA was associated with repetitive power of upper extremities and whole-body contraction extension test (WBCE). It could be concluded that students whose physical exercise culture was beter developed also had stronger chances of a favorable academic outcome. It could be argued that the UCIPS students who have a beter-developed exercise culture also have stronger chances of a favourable academic outcome. The results of this research could be used as the foundation for future research that would investigate the association between physical abilities and success in policing jobs. This would help in the identification of the best individuals for the job and in the development of new selection, education, and exercise programs for police officers.