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Correctional officers' mental health and its relationship with job stressors and help-seeking pattern
Author
Kwek, Boon Siang
Supervisor
Cheng, Yuan Shan
Abstract
Correctional officers around the world face significant job stress which leads to high personal, organisational and social costs. Personal costs on correctional officers include detrimental effects on their mental health, with problems related to depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, suicide, and aggression (Lindquist & Whitehead, 1986). Organisational costs include poor performance, increased staff turnover, sick leaves, and security threats (Finn, 2000). Social costs are related to marital problems, parenting duty difficulties and behavioural problems experienced by correctional officers (Cheek & Miller, 1983).
This study systematically explored the effects of job stressors, personal- and work-related factors, and help-seeking pattern on correctional officers’ mental health in Singapore Prison Service. In this non-experimental cross sectional study, 502 correctional officers participated in a pen and paper survey. Correctional officers reported mental health scores that were better than those from US, UK and New Zealand. However, about 40% of the sample population either reported GHQ-12 scores that suggested psychological caseness and might require professional attention. This result helped to establish a baseline of the mental health of correctional officers in Singapore, contributing to the scarce understanding of the mental health of correctional officers in the South East Asia.
The job stressors that were found to explain for correctional officers’ mental health was their perceived Overall Job Stress level, Role Problems, Career Development, Negative Interaction with Supervisors and Work-Home Conflict. Out of all the work-related factors, only Rank was related to correctional officers’ mental health. Contrary to previous studies, personal factors (e.g., gender, age) and Help-Seeking Pattern did not show any significant relationship with correctional officers’ mental health. Recommendations to mitigate the impact of these job stressors were discussed.
This study systematically explored the effects of job stressors, personal- and work-related factors, and help-seeking pattern on correctional officers’ mental health in Singapore Prison Service. In this non-experimental cross sectional study, 502 correctional officers participated in a pen and paper survey. Correctional officers reported mental health scores that were better than those from US, UK and New Zealand. However, about 40% of the sample population either reported GHQ-12 scores that suggested psychological caseness and might require professional attention. This result helped to establish a baseline of the mental health of correctional officers in Singapore, contributing to the scarce understanding of the mental health of correctional officers in the South East Asia.
The job stressors that were found to explain for correctional officers’ mental health was their perceived Overall Job Stress level, Role Problems, Career Development, Negative Interaction with Supervisors and Work-Home Conflict. Out of all the work-related factors, only Rank was related to correctional officers’ mental health. Contrary to previous studies, personal factors (e.g., gender, age) and Help-Seeking Pattern did not show any significant relationship with correctional officers’ mental health. Recommendations to mitigate the impact of these job stressors were discussed.
Date Issued
2016
Call Number
BF575.S75 Kwe
Date Submitted
2016