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Prison violence is a concern in many correctional institutions. The systems management approach (i.e., assigning an inmate to a higher security level) is costly While there are many different interventions [...]

Prior research on correctional staff turnover intent and turnover generally assumes that staff are impacted by the workplace in a similar manner regardless of career stage. This study examined whether correctional officers (N = 2,621) with a Southwestern correctional agency differed in their level of turnover intent across different career stages, and whether the impact of work environment variables on turnover intent varied across career stages. Results indicated that turnover intent was lowest among staff with less than 1 year into their careers, and that the effects of work environment variables on turnover intent varied greatly across the 4 career stages. Commitment to the organization was the only work environment variable to be a significant predictor of intent to leave among four career stages, with a negative association in each of the four career groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the last few decades, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of women entering the traditionally male-dominated field of corrections. During this time, researchers, using a variety of different methodological techniques, have attempted to disentangle the potential gender differences among correctional personnel. In building on this research, the following study surveyed correctional staff at a Midwestern high security state prison in the fall of 2000 in order to determine whether male and female correctional staff differed in their perceptions of the work environment, as well as their general attitudes toward their jobs. A total of 28 work environment indices were measured, including occupational attitudes not traditionally examined. Bivariate results indicated gender differences in perceptions of dangerousness, role ambiguity, role conflict, input into decision-making, job autonomy, supervision, punishment ideology, and job satisfaction; however, after controlling for age, race, education, position, tenure, and supervisory status, only dangerousness and job satisfaction remained statistically significant. The implications of these contemporary findings for correctional research and practice are also considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two major forms of organizational trust are supervisor trust and management trust. Guided by the job demand-resources model, this exploratory study examined how the job demand variables of role conflict, role ambiguity, role overload, and fear of being victimized at work and the job resource variables of instrumental communication, job autonomy, job variety, and quality training were linked to both forms of organizational trust among staff at a private U.S. prison. Results showed that workplace variables predicted both types of trust and were generally stronger predictors than personal attributes. Moreover, resources played a greater role than job demands in shaping both supervisor and management trust. Among the demands, only role conflict was a significant negative predictor of supervisor trust and management trust. Instrumental communication, job autonomy, and job variety were significant positive predictors of supervisor trust. Job autonomy and job variety both had significant positive associations with management trust., Competing Interests: Nancy L. Hogan declared no conflicts of interest Eric G. Lambert declared no conflicts of interest Jennifer L. Lanterman declared no conflicts of interest Emily Berthelot declared no conflicts of interest, (© 2023 The Australian and New Zealand Association of Psychiatry, Psychology and Law.)