NCJ Number
79149
Journal
Sociological Spectrum Volume: 1 Issue: 1 Dated: (January-March 1981) Pages: 53-65
Date Published
1981
Length
13 pages
Annotation
Questionnaire responses from 144 prison guards working in a maximum-security penitentiary in the Midwest support the contention that commitment to a professional ideology reduces cynicism among prison guards.
Abstract
Professionalism was measured through Hall's (1968) professionalism scale, as revised by Snizek (1972), by tailoring it to correctional personnel specifically. Four professionalism subscales used in the investigation were sense of calling to the field, belief in public service, belief in autonomy, and belief in public self-regulation. Cynicism was measured by a modified form of Niederhoffer's (1967) police cynicism scale. Results show that the relationship between professionalism and cynicism among prison guards is complex. Findings support related literature suggesting the importance of professional occupational socialization among prison guards in coping with various ills, such as cynicism (Farmer, 1977), absenteeism (Regoli et al., 1979), and occupational alienation (Jacobs and Retsky, 1975). The results suggest that a sense of calling to the field is the most dominant variable affecting the professional's degree of dedication toward work. Correctional institutions should give guards more opportunity to become fully involved in the institution's management process, with the goal of eventually implementing participatory management. Five tables, 5 footnotes, and 28 references are provided.