A Qualitative Inquiry Into the Sources of Resilience Found Among Maximum Security Correctional Officers

• Author: Jon T.A. Gist,Frank Ferdik,Hayden P. Smith
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1177/08874034221143750
• Published date: 01 April 2023
• Date: 01 April 2023
• Subject Matter: Articles

https://doi.org/10.1177/08874034221143750

Criminal Justice Policy Review

2023, Vol. 34(3) 291 –315

© The Author(s) 2023

Article reuse guidelines:

sagepub.com/journals-permissions

DOI: 10.1177/08874034221143750

journals.sagepub.com/home/cjp

Article

A Qualitative Inquiry Into

the Sources of Resilience

Found Among Maximum

Security Correctional

Officers

Jon T.A. Gist1, Frank Ferdik2,

and Hayden P. Smith3

Abstract

Resilient individuals are better able to cope with trauma, and overcome life’s

adversities. Correctional officers are routinely exposed to workplace stressors that

can be psychologically harmful. For these essential workers, resilience, therefore,

offers a way to counteract the aversive conditions of their employment. In light of

its importance in promoting mental wellness, studies have explored antecedents of

resilience, yet few of which were conducted among correctional officers. To address

this literature void, open-ended questionnaire data were collected from maximum-

security corrections officers (N = 193) working in a southeastern state to understand

the factors they believe most crucial in developing resilience. Respondents identified

seven key themes associated with resilience, including co-worker support, establishing

purpose in life, individual characteristics, self-care, life balance, prayer/meditation, and

finally, maintaining positive attitudes. Results are discussed in light of interventions

targeted at improving correctional officer mental health.

Keywords

correctional officer, prison, health and wellness, resilience, trauma

1Internal Revenue Service, Washington, DC, USA

2Austin Peay State University, Clarksville, TN, USA

3University of South Carolina, Columbia, USA

Corresponding Author:

Frank Ferdik, Assistant Professor, Department of Criminal Justice, Austin Peay State University, P.O. Box

4454, Clarksville, TN 37044, USA.

Email: ferdikf@apsu.edu

1143750CJPXXX10.1177/08874034221143750Criminal Justice Policy ReviewGist et al.

research-article2023

292 Criminal Justice Policy Review 34(3)

Human capital is the lifeblood that sustains any successful organization. Personnel

employed across multiple professional sectors such as education, health care, and

manufacturing, for instance, produce invaluable work that allows their respective

agencies to operate (Gentry & Dietz, 2020; Winwood et al., 2013). Absent these vital

human resources, many industries would cease to exist. Within the penal system, it is

the correctional officer (herein CO) who is charged with balancing responsibilities

designed to uphold institutional security and the effective operations of their facilities,

while also addressing the needs of incarcerated populations. Often with limited or non-

existent resources, officers working in the correctional system are asked to regulate

inmate behavior, search cells for contraband and other illicit items, disrupt physical

altercations, and respond to administrative requests that can at times be demanding

and conflicting (Ferdik et al., 2014). Responsibilities fulfilled by COs are so integral

to corrections systems that some have declared these frontline bureaucrats to be “the

single most important resource available to any correctional agency” (Archambeault

& Archambeault, 1982, p. 72).

It has been well documented that, despite their invaluable contributions, COs work

in an extremely hazardous profession that poses considerable risk to their mental

health. This may include exposure to violent and potentially fatal interactions between

incarcerated populations and staff (Ferdik, 2016; Lahm, 2009). COs may also encoun-

ter inmates who engage in serious self-injurious or suicidal behaviors (Konrad et al.,

2005; Smith, 2015). Other occupational and organizational stressors corrections offi-

cers are routinely exposed to include working nontraditional shifts requiring extended

hours on their feet, perceiving and responding to danger across their work environ-

ment, and negotiating workplace role conflict and role ambiguity (Lavender & Todak,

2021; Steiner & Wooldredge, 2015).

Experiencing any of these adverse working conditions can create significant mental

health challenges for COs, such as developing anxiety, emotional exhaustion, panic

disorder, and/or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) (Dowden & Tellier, 2004;

Ferdik & Smith, 2017; Fusco et al., 2021). Officers suffering from these conditions are

more likely to require absences from work or voluntarily resign altogether, thus creat-

ing negative consequences for their institutions such as increases in inmate misbehav-

ior, higher inmate-to-staff ratios, and fiscal constraints for administrators (Ferdik &

Smith, 2017). To date, there has been a reliance on addressing these challenges via

piecemeal interventions. For example, mental health services have been used to coun-

teract the negative effects of correctional work, yet these strategies frequently occur

after a traumatic event, and many have been rated as ineffective at helping officers

deal with the everyday challenges of their job (Winwood et al., 2013). A more holistic

approach used to support the mental health of COs requires scholarly assessments of

key health concepts, such as resilience.

A derivative of positive psychology, resilience has been defined as “the process

of negotiating, managing and adapting to significant sources of stress or trauma”

(Windle, 2011, p. 331). Different from recovery that involves a period of grief fol-

lowing some type of emotional upheaval, resilience, instead, reflects the ability to

maintain a stable equilibrium without suffering negative mental health effects after