Analyzing Further Predictors of Correctional Officer Professional Orientations: The Role of Turnover Intentions. (May 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Ferdik, Frank Valentino; Hills, Phillip
• Is Part Of: International journal of offender therapy and comparative criminology. Volume 62:Number 6(2018)
• Page Start: 1668
• Page End: 1693
• Publication Date: 2018-05
• Subjects: professional orientations -- turnover intentions -- correctional officers -- rehabilitation ideals -- punitive ideals; Criminals -- Rehabilitation -- Periodicals; Criminal psychology -- Periodicals; Violent offenders -- Periodicals; Sex offenders -- Periodicals; Criminology -- Periodicals; 364.3
• DOI: 10.1177/0306624X16684567
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0306-624X

Abstract

Four professional orientations to which correctional officers can ascribe have been identified in extant literature, and they include the counseling roles, concern for corruption of authority, social distance, and punitive ideologies. Studies have generally found officer demographics and correctional working conditions to be significant predictors of these orientations. No study to date, however, has examined the predictive influence of officer voluntary resignation intentions. Linear regression equations using questionnaire data from a statewide population of maximum security correctional officers ( N = 649) were therefore estimated to explore whether officer desires to terminate their employment accounted for variance in their self-reported orientations. Stronger turnover intentions shared statistically significant associations with three orientations, including negatively predicting the counseling roles and positively predicting the punitive ideology. Implications for correctional policy are addressed.