NCJ Number
166712
Journal
American Jails Volume: 10 Issue: 3 Dated: (July/August 1996) Pages: 23-24,27-28
Date Published
1996
Length
4 pages
Annotation
This article discusses the prevalence of correctional officer suicide and its relationship to stress, followed by a discussion of programs to address suicide and stress, as well as the unintended consequences of programs and organizational actions.
Abstract
Although hardly any research has been conducted on correctional officer suicides and relatively few departments keep statistics on the suicides of correctional officers, the rate of suicide for correctional officers might be as high as for police officers. A New York City study, for example, found that correctional officer suicide is at least as great a problem in the city as police suicide. Occupational stress is one factor in the etiology of suicide, although its precise role is difficult to understand. Stress is linked both as cause and effect with other factors related to suicide, such as alcohol and drug abuse, and depression and hopelessness. Another factor is the increasing societal acceptance of suicide as a means of escaping from overwhelming suffering and problems. Organizational factors also affect the likelihood of suicide. Correctional departments determine to a degree the extent to which a job will be stressful and the availability of programs to address that stress. Departments are in turn subject to financial and political pressures that limit their options. Some of the larger departments in the United States have some form of counseling or psychological services available to corrections personnel. Some departments have peer counseling programs. Rather than the goal of suicide prevention, the assessment of suicide proneness is perhaps a more realistic goal. This has the additional advantage of attempting to intercept the psychological and behavioral problems that are associated with suicide. In addition to their benefits, one unintended consequence of many stress reduction programs is that they put the responsibility for dealing with the problem on the individual correctional officer rather than on either an organization or a society that may be structured in ways that promote stress. 10 references and 2 notes