Abstract: The role of correctional officers has undergone rapid changes in response to increased prisoner populations and professionalization of the workforce to respond to more diverse prisoner issues and problems, including high levels of prisoners with substance abuse and mental health issues, ageing prisoners, and increased prisoner cultural diversity. Research into prisoner health has resulted in the implementation of strategies and some improvements in prisoner health. However there has been no corresponding research into the health of correctional officers. The last comprehensive research into correctional officer health was conducted by Webster et al[1] in 1982. Recently, in 2002, the New South Wales Auditor General raised correctional officers?? sick leave as an issue of concern. This pilot study tested a questionnaire which included some comparison questions with Webster??s study, as well as researching some more recent health issues. The questionnaire appeared overall to be valid and user friendly, and would be suitable for a larger study, albeit with minor alterations. The results of the research, as expected of a small pilot study (n=30) generated more questions than answers, and raised areas to be tested in a larger research study. Some results of this study were a reduction in correctional officer smoking levels from 1982 (Webster 44.3%, Australian population 39.1%), and a lower rate of smoking at 13% than the general male population in Australia in 2004, at 18.6%. Job satisfaction was almost twice as high as in 1982, yet correctional officers have almost half the level of occupational self esteem. Correctional officers had higher levels of harmful alcohol consumption (10%,) than 1982 correctional officers (5%) and of the 2004 male population in Australia (7.5%), and the 1982 population (5%). Occasional harmful alcohol consumption was almost twice as high amongst correctional officers (86%) than amongst other workers (42.8%). A high percentage of correctional officers had been assaulted in the course of their work (76%), but few sought professional debriefing, with most preferring to discuss this with family members (54%) and co-workers (46%). Although the mental health of correctional officers appears somewhat poorer than that of the general population, this, and any link between harassment or assault by prisoners and mental health and occupational self esteem and rewards requires further research.

Abstract: The role of correctional officers has undergone rapid changes in response to increased prisoner populations and professionalization of the workforce to respond to more diverse prisoner issues and problems, including high levels of prisoners with substance abuse and mental health issues, ageing prisoners, and increased prisoner cultural diversity. Research into prisoner health has resulted in the implementation of strategies and some improvements in prisoner health. However there has been no corresponding research into the health of correctional officers. The last comprehensive research into correctional officer health was conducted by Webster et al[1] in 1982. Recently, in 2002, the New South Wales Auditor General raised correctional officers?? sick leave as an issue of concern. This pilot study tested a questionnaire which included some comparison questions with Webster??s study, as well as researching some more recent health issues. The questionnaire appeared overall to be valid and user friendly, and would be suitable for a larger study, albeit with minor alterations. The results of the research, as expected of a small pilot study (n=30) generated more questions than answers, and raised areas to be tested in a larger research study. Some results of this study were a reduction in correctional officer smoking levels from 1982 (Webster 44.3%, Australian population 39.1%), and a lower rate of smoking at 13% than the general male population in Australia in 2004, at 18.6%. Job satisfaction was almost twice as high as in 1982, yet correctional officers have almost half the level of occupational self esteem. Correctional officers had higher levels of harmful alcohol consumption (10%,) than 1982 correctional officers (5%) and of the 2004 male population in Australia (7.5%), and the 1982 population (5%). Occasional harmful alcohol consumption was almost twice as high amongst correctional officers (86%) than amongst other workers (42.8%). A high percentage of correctional officers had been assaulted in the course of their work (76%), but few sought professional debriefing, with most preferring to discuss this with family members (54%) and co-workers (46%). Although the mental health of correctional officers appears somewhat poorer than that of the general population, this, and any link between harassment or assault by prisoners and mental health and occupational self esteem and rewards requires further research.

Research involving correctional officer stress has increased over the past several decades due to the overall concern of the consequences of stress within the field. When comparing the body of research for police officers versus correctional officers, it is clear that there is abundance of research for the former than the latter. Further, advanced stress management programs have yet to be evaluated in a correctional setting, specifically the cognitive-behavioral interventions supplied in medical and athletic settings. The present investigation studied the effects of an adaptive cognitive-behavioral stress management for correctional officers during their academy training and its effect on self-reported stress levels pre-field training, 3-month and 6-month field training time. Officers were placed into two groups, one of which received the 1-hour CBSM program (focusing on cognitive restructuring, assertion and problem-solving training) and the other that received the standard protocol in academy training. The officers completed a series of self-reported measures including the Job Stress Survey, Symptom Checklist-90-Revised, the Balanced Inventory of Desirable Responding and an assessment to determine their knowledge retention of the skills presented in the program. Results indicated that those in the experimental group's self-reported job stress severity increased over six months, compared to the control group. It was suggested that participants tended to present themselves in an overly confident and inaccurate manner, which may have contributed to the subclinical scores on the scales. Additionally, the experimental group demonstrated decreases on several job stress measures, and increases in phobic anxiety and depression.

abstract: Correctional officers are increasingly being trained in evidence-based practices and the willingness of officers to implement what they have learned is crucial for organizational reform. Most of the literature in this area has examined officer attitudes about rehabilitation and punitiveness. Left out are additional characteristics, such as self-control, that may affect an officer’s receptivity to learn and implement new techniques. The present study examines officer receptiveness to motivational interviewing using 280 surveys administered to correctional officers tasked with both delivering and supervising program delivery to inmates within the Arizona Department of Corrections. Three broad questions are asked: 1) Are officer attitudes about punishment associated with receptivity toward implementing rehabilitative techniques? 2) Are officer levels of self-control associated with receptivity toward implementing rehabilitative techniques? and 3) Is the association between officer attitudes toward punishment and receptivity toward implementing rehabilitation techniques moderated by officer self-control? The results suggest that punitiveness and self-control both have statistically significant direct effects on correctional officer receptivity to training and that self-control does not moderate the relationship between punitiveness and receptivity to training. However, these findings could be due to limitations in the present study’s sampling and statistical methods. Policy implications and future research are discussed. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Criminology and Criminal Justice 2018

Correctional Officers are responsible for responding to emergency/crisis situations in correctional settings. Research shows that their work is characterized by numerous psychological stressors that vary by degree and intensity, which can lead to compromised job performance and, ultimately, job burnout. Despite the increased attention directed to the problem of occupational stress in first responders among other professions over the past several years, virtually no investigations have focused on correctional officer resilience. The purpose of this study was to: (a) identify whether select positive personal variables (i.e., hope, optimism, social support) are associated with increased resilience, (b) determine the extent to which individual resilience acts as a protective factor against job burnout, (c) ascertain whether resilience serves as a significant mediator between hope, optimism and social support and reduced burnout, and (d) utilize the findings to make suggestions for future interventions and research in this area. By identifying specific individual characteristics that increase resilience and protect correctional officers against job burnout, it is expected that more efficacious approaches can be identified to enhance stress reduction and management.

No description available.

Job satisfaction among jail correctional officers is important because it ensures the continuity of officers who can promote and maintain a safe environment inside the jail for all staff and inmates. Most job satisfaction studies on correctional officers, however, are focused on prison officers and not county jail officers. The purpose of this correlational study was to test and extend Herzberg's Motivation-Hygiene theory by exploring job satisfaction and motivation among jail correctional officers in Miami-Dade Florida. Survey data were collected from 149 correctional officers using Specter's (1994) Job Satisfaction Survey. Data were analyzed through correlational and multiple regression analyses. Findings of the correlation results indicated positive relationships at the .05 level between the motivators and hygiene predictors with job satisfaction. Regression results indicated a statistically significant relationship between the motivators and hygiene predictors with job satisfaction (p = 0.00). The implications for social change include recommendations to jail administrators to provide channels through which their employees can inform them of prevalent issues to aid in increasing job satisfaction. Implementation of this recommendation may improve job satisfaction among jail correctional officers, thereby improving perceptions that the jail correctional officers are appreciated and trusted, increase their sense of self-sufficiency, improve morale problems, and help jail administrators invest in the well-being of current and future jail correctional officers that are needed to maintain the safety and security of correctional facilities.

There is no doubt that police and correctional officers face an extraordinary amount of work related stress. The current study hopes to shed additional light on what stressors each profession perceives as being particularly stressful, establish how each profession copes with these stressors, and conclude with what similarities or dissimilarities exist between the two. Officers working for various police and correctional facilities in East Tennessee were surveyed for this study. Independent samples t-test determined that police and correctional officers are similar in many ways. However, correctional officers did reported statistically higher rates of stress associated with organizational aspects of the job (p=.029). Correctional officers and police officers reported identical rates of operational stress, overall stress, and use of coping strategies.

Följande studie har undersökt hur kvinnliga kriminalvårdare upplever att de behandlas på klass 1-anstalter för manliga klienter i Sverige. Studien undersökte även hur kvinnliga kriminalvårdare behandlades av sina manliga kollegor och klienter. Materialet samlades in genom semistrukturerade intervjuer med åtta kvinnor i åldrarna 21 till 25, som är eller har varit anställda vid en klass 1-anstalt i Sverige. Utifrån deltagarnas berättelser kunde det urskiljas att en tydlig machokultur präglade de berörda anstalterna. Deltagarna beskrev bland annat anstalterna som ojämställda, i form av att de kunde uppleva sig underordnade männen. En sexistisk och nedvärderande jargong riktat mot deltagarna framkom mellan både manliga klienter och manliga kriminalvårdare. Vissa egenskaper hos deltagarna visades dock medföra en upplevd trygghet i rollen som kriminalvårdare. En högre ålder och längre erfarenhet ansågs som två trygghetsfrämjande faktorer som förenklade deltagarnas arbete. Som slutsats visade sig resultatet av denna studie till stor del överensstämma med tidigare forskning som finns kring området. Förvånande var att machokulturen på anstalterna utmärkte sig i så pass hög grad, trots att Sverige visat sig vara ett av världens mest jämställda länder. Resultatet bekräftade att Kriminalvården är i behov av utbildning, för att förebygga den ojämställdhet som råder. / The following study examined how female correctional officers in class 1 prisons for male inmates in Sweden perceive how they are being treated based on their femininity. Furthermore, the study examined how female correctional officers are being treated by their male colleagues and inmates. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews with eight women between the ages of 21 to 25, who are or have been employed at a class 1 prison. The participants described themselves as subordinate to the men. Moreover, the male inmates as well as the male colleagues used a sexist and degrading jargon against women. Some characteristics, however, were shown to lead to higher perceived safety as a prison officer. A higher age and longer experience were considered factors that simplified the participants' work. In conclusion, the results were largely consistent with previous research in the area. Surprisingly, the results showed that the macho culture in the prisons distinguished itself to such a high degree, even though Sweden has been proven to be one of the most equal countries in the world. The results confirmed that the Prison and Probation Service is in a need of education, in order to prevent the inequality that prevails.

This research explored correction officers’ perceptions and attitudes in relation to inmates with mental health issues. In a qualitative fashion, semi-structured interviews were conducted with five correction officers in Southern California (N = 5) during the Winter 2018 Quarter. Using thematic analysis, this study identified six major themes from the interview data: mental health has remained a prominent issue within the prison population; correction officers were fairly knowledgeable about mental health; correction officers perceived themselves as having to play a limited role in the rehabilitation of inmates with mental health problems; constant prompts in daily activities and medication management were two challenges encountered by correction officers in their interaction with inmates; correction officers’ progressive preparedness to serve mentally challenged inmates; and correction officers reported a need for more support and higher level of care within the prison system. Implications for the criminal justice system were discussed. Keywords: mental health, correction officers, inmates, preparedness, lack of support