NCJ Number
178488
Journal
Journal of Criminal Justice Volume: 27 Issue: 4 Dated: July/August 1999 Pages: 371-385
Date Published
1999
Length
15 pages
Annotation
This study examined the contribution of work-home conflict to work-related stress among correctional officers as well as the role gender plays in the contribution of work-home conflict to work-related stress among correctional officers.
Abstract
This research on stress among correctional officers derived from a larger study on stress among correctional employees, a group that consists of the administrative staff of a prison as well as guards. The sample for this larger study of correctional employees was drawn from a medium-security correctional facility in a large southwestern State. The questionnaire was distributed to correctional officers at shift meetings. Out of 600 surveys distributed, 327 were returned (a response rate of 54 percent). For the purposes of this study, clerical and professional staff were excluded, limiting the final sample to 202 correctional officers. The dependent variable was a scale measure of each respondent's perception of stress on the job created from two five-point Likert scale items. In measuring work-home conflict the focus was on behavior-based conflict. Eight sources of work- related stress suggested by previous research were also measured. A number of variables were used as controls, including individual characteristics of the respondents, work characteristics, and gender-role orientation. Findings support the prediction that work-home conflict is an important contributor to work-related stress for females. The analysis, although tentative, also suggests that males experience work-home conflict but experience its effect at home, rather than work. 7 tables and 38 references