Predicting work-related stress in correctional officers: A meta-analysis

Abstract

The present review examined the predictors of job stress in correctional officers and marked the first meta-analysis of this topic area. Twenty studies were selected for inclusion, producing 191 individual effect size estimates. Overall, the findings revealed that work attitudes (i.e., participation in decision-making, job satisfaction, commitment, and turnover intention) and specific correctional officer problems (i.e., perceived dangerousness and role difficulties) generated the strongest predictive relationships with job stress. Furthermore, both favorable (i.e., human service/rehabilitation orientation and counseling) and unfavorable (i.e., punitiveness, custody orientation, social distance, and corruption) correctional officer attitudes yielded moderate relationships with job stress, with the country of study emerging as a critical moderating variable. The weakest correlates of job stress were demographic variables and job characteristics (e.g., security level). The implications of these findings are discussed and directions for future research are provided.