NCJ Number
99519
Date Published
1985
Length
25 pages
Annotation
A study using self-administered questionnaires examined the attitudes of correctional officers toward the employment of females in male prisons and the relationship of these attitudes to organizational and other factors.
Abstract
The study aimed to test the sources of correctional officer role conflict resulting from the introduction of female officers into a previously male occupation. Sources of conflict inherent in the role of correctional officer were identified as the contradictory goals involved in guard work, issues of danger and trust in fellow officers, feelings of alienation, cynicism, and isolation experienced by correctional officers, and occupational stress. Both demographic and organizational variables were assumed to influence conflicts between male and female correctional officers. Study data came from self-administered questionnaires that measured organizational, career-related, attitudinal, and demographic variables and asked officers whether and how strongly they agreed or disagreed. Of 320 officers contacted in 3 Federal facilities, 96 completed the questionnaires. The facilities represented minimum, medium, and maximum levels of security. Respondents included 80 whites, 16 nonwhites, 85 males, and 11 females. Multiple regression analysis revealed organizational variables, particularly the security level of the prison, to be more powerful than demographic ones in explaining attitudes toward female correctional officers. As the level of security increased, correctional personnel were less supportive of female officers. Those employed in corrections for longer periods also had less liberal attitudes toward female officers. It is concluded that the gender roles attitudes measured in this study result from the longstanding use of male correctional officers in all male prisons. Data tables, notes, and 42 references are supplied.