NCJ Number
201957
Journal
The Prison Journal Volume: 83 Issue: 3 Dated: September 2003 Pages: 277-288
Date Published
September 2003
Length
12 pages
Annotation
This study examined differences between female and male correctional officers in levels of job-related stress.
Abstract
The large influx of women officers into adult correctional institutions has focused attention on the nature of correctional work and on gender differences in adaptation to the work. Previous research from the 1980’s has indicated that female correctional officers experience greater job-related stress than do their male counterparts. Aside from these previous studies from the 1980’s, little empirical research exists to test the relationship between job burnout and gender in a maximum security prison setting. As such, the authors administered the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) to 277 correctional officers (181 men and 46 women) in 2 prison settings, 1 of which was a medium-security prison while the other housed female offenders. Results of statistical analyses revealed that female correctional officers experienced a greater sense of job-related personal achievement than male correctional officers. This finding is contrary to similar research conducted in the 1980’s. Moreover, male and female correctional officers were found to be similar on emotional exhaustion and depersonalization. Future research on the relationship between gender and job-related stress in correctional settings should focus on how the amount of inmate contact relates to stress. Tables, appendix, references