CORRECTIONAL OFFICERS AND WORK-RELATED ENVIRONMENTAL ADVERSITY: A CROSS-OCCUPATIONAL COMPARISON

This study explores differences in perceived work-related environmental adversity between correctional officers and those in other occupations in order to gain a clearer understanding of how prisons may impact those who work there. The Work-Related Environmental Adversity Scale (WREAS) was developed in order to assess the perceptions of employees across a range of occupations, including correctional officers. The instrument was completed by 440 participants and, as hypothesized, results indicate that correctional officer perceptions of work-related environmental adversity were significantly higher than the perceptions of those employed in all other occupations assessed (with the exception of police and emergency service workers). Further analyses of sub-scales indicated that correctional workers identify a number of specific environmental factors that impact their perceptions and subsequent well-being. The results of this study identify the importance of empirically assessing occupational workplace adversity as a component of the overall understanding of correctional officer well-being.