Work-Family Conflict, Depression, and Burnout Among Jail Correctional Officers: A 1-Year Prospective Study

Background Correctional officers (COs) experience elevated rates of mental and physical ill-health as compared with other general industry and public safety occupations. The purpose of this study was to investigate demographic, mental health, job tenure, and work-family characteristics and their prospective association to burnout within and between jail officers during one year of new employment. Methods In 2016, newly hired jail officers (N = 144) completed self-reported surveys across four time points in a one-year prospective study at a Midwestern United States urban jail. Linear mixed-effects and growth modeling examined how work-family conflict (W-FC) and depressive symptoms relate to perceptions of burnout over time. Results Jail officer burnout increased and was related to rises in W-FC and depression symptoms. Within-person variance for W-FC (B pooled = .52, p