From Soldiers to Staff Members: An Examination of Veteran Status Across Occupational Outcomes Within the Prison Context

• Author: Matthew W. Logan,Kristin Swartz,John Wooldredge
• DOI: 10.1177/00938548221076076
• Date: 01 July 2022
• Published date: 01 July 2022
• Subject Matter: Articles

CRIMINAL JUSTICE AND BEHAVIOR, 2022, Vol. 49, No. 7, July 2022, 971 –990.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/00938548221076076

Article reuse guidelines: sagepub.com/journals-permissions

© 2022 International Association for Correctional and Forensic Psychology

971

FROM SOLDIERS TO STAFF MEMBERS

An Examination of Veteran Status Across

Occupational Outcomes Within the Prison Context

MATTHEW W. LOGAN

Texas State University

KRISTIN SWARTZ

University of Louisville

JOHN WOOLDREDGE

University of Cincinnati

Some prison systems across the United States actively recruit veterans of the Armed Forces based on the idea that prior

military experience is an asset for prison work—a presupposition that has yet to be empirically validated. We examined

whether military experience is relevant in explaining variation in occupational outcomes in a statewide random sample of

prison staff in Kentucky. Results from a structural equation model (confirmatory factor analysis and multivariate regression

with latent constructs of job outcomes) suggest more similarities than differences between veteran and nonveteran prison

staff—a finding that also applies across veterans with different military backgrounds (based on branch of service, years

served, injuries sustained during service, etc.). Implications for theory and policy are discussed and suggestions for future

research are provided.

Keywords: military veterans; correctional staff; job stress; job burnout; job dissatisfaction; prison

Prisons are uniquely stressful working environments due in part to the task of supervising

offenders serving time for serious crimes and who may be uncooperative with staff

(Armstrong & Griffin, 2004; DeLisi, 2003; Griffin et al., 2012; Morgan, 2009). Staff must

also contend with limited resources, insufficient training, and administrative constraints.

Collectively, these factors result in high rates of turnover and are detrimental to correctional

organizations’ long-term goals (Denhof et al., 2014). Administrators have responded by

recruiting individuals with certain background characteristics that they believe will better

prison work.

AUTHORS’ NOTE: The authors thank all staff who participated. The findings, conclusions, and recommenda-

tions expressed in this manuscript are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Kentucky

Department of Corrections. The authors have no funding or conflicts of interest to disclose. Data for the current

study come from a previous project supported by the Kentucky Department of Corrections. Correspondence

concerning this article should be addressed to Matthew W. Logan, School of Criminal Justice and Criminology,

Texas State University, 601 University Dr., San Marcos TX 78666; e-mail: mwl39@txstate.edu.

1076076CJBXXX10.1177/00938548221076076Criminal Justice and BehaviorLogan et al. / From Soldiers to Staff Members

research-article2022

972 CRIMINAL JUSTICE AND BEHAVIOR

One strategy has been to hire military veterans (Trigg, 2021). Both the military and

prison systems have been characterized as “total institutions” based on structure and order,

involve working long hours, and encourage a sense of composure and hypervigilance in

anticipation of danger. Veterans tend to have more experience with handling firearms, phys-

ical conditioning, and critical incident response than nonveterans (Reingle-Gonzalez et al.,

2019). Thus, prior military service could insulate staff from the difficulties associated with

prison work. The appeal in hiring military veterans may also be related to efficiency due to

having their background checks expedited and agencies may capitalize on word-of-mouth

recruiting from veterans who are already employed. Prior military service may also count

toward time served in an institution and employee pensions.

Despite structural similarities between military and prison systems, and preferences of

correctional agencies to hire veterans, there is scant research on the perceptions of veterans

employed in corrections. Contrary to the above, anecdotal evidence suggests that prior ser-

vice could be a potential liability, especially for those who have experienced combat and

trauma exposure leading to things such as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD; Fleming

et al., 2013). Studies show that the working conditions of prison correspond with high rates

of PTSD among correctional staff, mirroring rates of PTSD among military veterans (~33%;

L. James & Todak, 2018). Thus, prior military service (especially for those who have expe-

rienced trauma during service) could enhance challenges posed by prison environments,

resulting in veterans faring worse than nonveterans.

Our focus is on differences in occupational adaptation between veteran and nonveteran

correctional staff in Kentucky. Whether veteran status serves as an asset or liability within

prison represent variations of the same assumption: Veterans are a distinct group. Both per-

spectives are based on the notion that the backgrounds of veterans should affect their ability

to work in prison, but they differ on how these effects should manifest.

SOURCES OF STRESS AMONG CORRECTIONAL STAFF

The idea that prisons are demanding work environments is theoretically congruent with

the stress process paradigm (Pearlin et al., 1981). Advocates of this perspective link work-

place characteristics, such as lack of job autonomy and variety, to job burnout and dissatis-

faction (Dewe et al., 1993; Karasek & Theorell, 1990). The model assumes that organizational

dynamics determine job conditions, which in turn affect the psychosocial well-being of

employees. For instance, some jobs are complex and psychologically demanding, with high

levels of decision latitude that require workers to use individual skill sets. These job char-

acteristics can buffer the onset of stress (Griffin et al., 2012; Link et al., 1993). Conversely,

some jobs are characterized by dangerous work conditions and simple, routine skills where

employees have little to no control over any occupational aspect, which contributes to stress

(Van Der Doef & Maes, 1999). Prison work has been characterized as the latter: physically

and psychologically demanding where employee input is minimal or devalued and daily

tasks are monotonous, repetitive, and exacerbated by the omnipresent threat of danger at the

hands of incarcerated persons (IPs; Brower, 2013; Siennick et al., 2021).

IPs can be a source of stress among staff for many reasons. Data from the National

Institute of Justice show that IPs injure approximately 2,000 correctional staff annually

across the United States, whereas the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports a fatality rate of 2.7

per 100,000 full-time correctional staff—40% of which are IP-related (Brower, 2013). Staff