Exploring organizational risk factors for health & wellness problems in correctional officers

Previous research has documented high rates of stress, PTSD, and other health and wellness problems in U.S. correctional officers (COs). In some studies, rates of mental health issues among COs surpassed those observed in combat-experienced veteran and police officer samples. Unfortunately, this crisis has not received much empirical attention. Drawing on a survey of COs working in Washington state (N = 420), we test whether facility and shift variables are related to CO stress, PTSD, and quality of life across four domains: physical health, mental health, social relationships, and physical environment. Few organizational factors were significantly related to health and wellness problems in COs. However, PTSD and stress levels were much higher in our sample than has been reported in past studies (e.g. 27% of our sample met the criteria for diagnosable PTSD). Thus, we find that the mental health crisis among COs is both worsening and unaffected by organizational variables like shift, weekly hours, and facility type. Additional research investigating this crisis is needed.