Canadian Provincial and Territorial Correctional Worker Mental Health and Well-Being Study (CWMH): Navigating Practical and Unanticipated Methodological Challenges

• Published date: 01 December 2024
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1177/00328855241286515
• Author: Rosemary Ricciardelli,Elizabeth Andres,Matthew S. Johnston,Tamara L. Taillieu,Sahar Dorniani,Marina Carbonell,Brittany Bennett,Kadie Hozempa,Ryan Coulling,Marcella Siqueira Cassiano,Tracie O. Afifi,R. Nicholas Carleton
• Date: 01 December 2024
• Subject Matter: Articles

Canadian Provincial and

Territorial Correctional

Worker Mental Health

and Well-Being Study

(CWMH): Navigating

Practical and

Unanticipated

Methodological

Challenges

Rosemary Ricciardelli

1

, Elizabeth Andres

1

,

Matthew S. Johnston

1

, Tamara L. Taillieu

2

,

Sahar Dorniani

1

, Marina Carbonell

1

, Brittany Bennett

1

,

Kadie Hozempa

3

, Ryan Coulling

4

,

Marcella Siqueira Cassiano

5

, Tracie O. Af‌if‌i

2

,

and R. Nicholas Carleton

3

Abstract

Previous research assessing correctional worker (CW) mental health has sel-

dom assessed for differences based on jurisdiction or diverse occupational

categories. The current study was designed to provide a nuanced

1

Marine Institute of Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John’s, NL, Canada

2

Unitiversity of Manitoba Max Rady College of Medicine, Winnipeg, Manitoba MB, Canada

3

University of Regina, Regina, SK, Canada

4

Providence University College, Otterburne, Manitoba MB, Canada

5

Univesity of Winnipeg, Winnipeg, Manitoba MB, Canada

Corresponding Author:

Rosemary Ricciardelli, Memorial University of Newfoundland’s Fisheries & Marine Institute,

Ocean & Public Safety Laboratory, School of Maritime Studies, 155 Ridge Rd., St. John’s, NL,

Canada, A1C5R3.

Email: rose.ricciardelli@mi.mun.ca

Article

The Prison Journal

2024, Vol. 104(6) 787–807

© 2024 SAGE Publications

Article reuse guidelines:

sagepub.com/journals-permissions

DOI: 10.1177/00328855241286515

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quantitative examination of mental health disorder prevalence and related

problems among CWs and to qualitatively explore the varying social con-

texts surrounding CW well-being. We ref‌lect on how we overcame unantic-

ipated challenges and disruptions (e.g., technology, COVID-19 pandemic)

throughout the design, launch, and analysis of the survey, and illustrate

how our national study, driven by a rigorous methodological approach and

collaborative research design, builds on the extant CW mental health and

wellness literature.

Keywords

research design, replication, correctional worker mental health, COVID-19,

operational challenges

Introduction

Canadian correctional workers (CWs) are a historically under-researched

sector of public safety personnel (PSP; Ricciardelli, 2019). In 2016,

researchers launched a research project designed to provide a national

Canadian assessment of diverse PSP, including CWs (Carleton et al.,

2018a). The study results evidenced that CWs, broadly def‌ined, were (1) fre-

quently exposed to potentially psychologically traumatic experiences

(Carleton et al., 2019) and (2) the exposures were associated with clinically

signif‌icant symptoms of diverse mental health disorders (Carleton et al.,

2018a), including suicidal behaviors (Carleton et al., 2018b). Many CWs in

the original survey (54.6%) screened positive for at least one mental health

disorder (Carleton et al., 2018a). The original results were limited because

CWs were assessed collectively without consideration for different jurisdic-

tions or institution levels (i.e., federal, provincial, and territorial), and

without stratifying respondents by occupational classif‌ication (e.g., correc-

tional off‌icer, probation off‌icer, teacher, and nurse). International research

examining CWs also typically focuses on correctional off‌icers (COs), aggre-

gates all CW categories together, or tends to be conducted internally to the

organization, potentiating stigma-related biases, all of which may mask

important nuances (Armstrong & Griff‌in, 2004; Bourbonnais et al., 2007;

Ghaddar et al., 2008; Griff‌in et al., 2010, 2012; Haynes et al., 2020;

Lambert, 2006; Lambert & Hogan, 2018). The Provincial and Territorial

Correctional Worker Mental Health and Well-being Study (CWMH) was

designed to build directly on the original survey and results (Carleton et al.,

2018a) by providing more nuanced assessments of CWs in Canada, assessing

for differences across jurisdictions and occupational classif‌ications of CWs.

788 The Prison Journal 104(6)