Exploring the Predictors of Treatment Views of Private Correctional Staff: A Test of an Integrated Work Model

Rehabilitation is a salient goal in the field of corrections. Correctional staff need to be supportive of rehabilitation efforts in order for them to be effective. Past studies that have examined correctional staff support for rehabilitation have produced conflicting results. Most studies have focused on personal characteristics, including age, gender, job position, tenure, education, marital status, prior military service, and race. To expand the area of inquiry and assess potential antecedents of the work environment regarding correctional staff support for inmate rehabilitation, this study examined the impact of the integrative work environment (i.e., dangerousness of the job, role stress, supervision, job variety, work-on-family conflict, family-on-work conflict, integration, instrumental communication, input into decision-making, organizational fairness, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment) on staff attitudes toward the treatment of offenders while controlling for the personal characteristics of gender, age, tenure, position, educational level, and race. The findings indicate that job variety, integration, and organizational commitment had positive associations with support for treatment of inmates, while work-on-family conflict had an inverse relationship. Correctional officers were less supportive of treatment than noncustodial staff. (Contains 2 tables.)