Occupational Stressors among Federal Correctional Officers Working in Different Security Levels

Abstract

This study investigated distress and self-esteem levels of 147 federal correctional officers working in that system's six different security level institutions. The General Severity Index (GSI), a scale of the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI), was used to measure distress; the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (SES) operationalized the other dependent variable. In addition, 13 variables were used as part of a multiple regression analysis to determine a prediction equation for the two outcomes studied. Lack of participation in decision making and years of continual employment were significantly related to distress, whereas responsibility for people and role conflict were related to self-esteem. Federal correctional officers across all security levels scored in the “clinical” range on the GSI and yielded high SES scores. Differences among security levels were not significant.

Predicting work-related stress in correctional officers: A meta-analysis

“…Studies that utilized physiological measures of stress (i.e., Lasky, Gordon, & Srebalus, 1986;Pollack & Sigler, 1998, etc. ) were excluded to maintain consistency of outcome measures as well as to control for the lack of systematic study present in the field of correctional officer stress (Huckabee, 1992).…”

The sources and consequences of corrections officers' stress: A South Korean example

“…Numerous studies in the United States found various explanations for correctional officer stress (Blau et al, 1986;Cheek & Miller, 1983;Cullen et al, 1985Cullen et al, , 1990Finn, 2000;Grossi & Berg, 1991;Hepburn & Albonetti, 1980;Jacobs, 1978;Lasky et al, 1986;Maghan & McLeish-Blackwell, 1991;Mitchell et al, 2000;Poole & Regoli, 1980;Triplett et al, 1996). Among the explanations cited, role conflict and role ambiguity were found by many researchers to be among the main sources of stress (Brodsky, 1982;Cheek & Miller, 1983;Cullen et al, 1990;Finn, 2000;Hepburn & Albonetti, 1980;Lasky et al, 1986;Mitchell et al, 2000;Poole & Regoli, 1980).…”

“…In as much as their roles are important in penal institutions, however, there are also pressing problems inherent in their roles (Finn, 2000;Poole & Regoli, 1980;Shamir & Drory, 1982;Triplett, Mullings, & Scarborough, 1996;Walters, 1996;Whitehead & Lindquist, 1989). In particular, researchers have long documented the prevalence of work-related stress among corrections officers, the problems associated with this stress, and the variety of reasons for the stress (Blau, Light, & Chamlin, 1986;Cheek & Miller, 1983;Cullen, Link, Cullen, & Wolfe, 1990;Cullen, Link, Wolfe, & Frank, 1985;Finn, 2000;Grossi & Berg, 1991;Hepburn & Albonetti, 1980;Jacobs, 1978;Lasky, Gordon, & Srebalus, 1986;Maghan & McLeishBlackwell, 1991;Mitchell, Mackenzie, Styve, & Gover, 2000;Poole & Regoli, 1980;Triplett et al, 1996). Many studies, for example, found that corrections officers experienced excessive levels of stress related to such reasons as prison overcrowding, the life-threatening aspects of correctional work, rotating shifts, role conflict and ambiguity, conflict with administrators, and even negative public image (Cheek & Miller, 1983;Cullen et al, 1990;Finn, 2000;Jacobs, 1978;Maghan & McLeish-Blackwell, 1991).…”

Prison segregation: administrative detention remedy or mental health problem?

“…The BSI has been widely used in studies investigating psychological distress in prison settings (e.g. Gibbs, 1987;Lasky et al, 1986). …”