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Why Are Workplace Social Support Programs Not Improving the Mental Health of Canadian Correctional Officers? An Examination of the Theoretical Concepts Underpinning Support

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  • Geneviève Jessiman-Perreault

    (Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5T 3M7, Canada
    Institute for Work and Health, Toronto, ON M5G 1S5, Canada)

  • Peter M. Smith

    (Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5T 3M7, Canada
    Institute for Work and Health, Toronto, ON M5G 1S5, Canada)

  • Monique A. M. Gignac

    (Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5T 3M7, Canada
    Institute for Work and Health, Toronto, ON M5G 1S5, Canada)

Abstract

In Canada, public safety personnel, including correctional officers, experience high rates of mental health problems. Correctional officers’ occupational stress has been characterized as insidious and chronic due to multiple and unpredictable occupational risk factors such as violence, unsupportive colleagues and management, poor prison conditions, and shift work. Given the increased risk of adverse mental health outcomes associated with operational stressors, organizational programs have been developed to provide correctional officers with support to promote mental well-being and to provide mental health interventions that incorporate recovery and reduction in relapse risk. This paper uses two theories, the Job Demand Control Support (JDCS) Model and Social Ecological Model (SEM), to explore why workplace social support programs may not been successful in terms of uptake or effectiveness among correctional officers in Canada. We suggest that structural policy changes implemented in the past 15 years have had unintentional impacts on working conditions that increase correctional officer workload and decrease tangible resources to deal with an increasingly complex prison population. Notably, we believe interpersonal support programs may only have limited success if implemented without addressing the multilevel factors creating conditions of job strain.

Suggested Citation

  • Geneviève Jessiman-Perreault & Peter M. Smith & Monique A. M. Gignac, 2021. "Why Are Workplace Social Support Programs Not Improving the Mental Health of Canadian Correctional Officers? An Examination of the Theoretical Concepts Underpinning Support," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(5), pages 1-11, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:5:p:2665-:d:511961
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Johnson, J.V. & Hall, E.M., 1988. "Job strain, work place social support, and cardiovascular disease: A cross-sectional study of random sample of the Swedish Working Population," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 78(10), pages 1336-1342.
    2. Lambert, Eric & Paoline III, Eugene A., 2010. "Take this job and shove it: An exploratory study of turnover intent among jail staff," Journal of Criminal Justice, Elsevier, vol. 38(2), pages 139-148, March.
    3. Gregory S. Anderson & Paula M. Di Nota & Dianne Groll & R. Nicholas Carleton, 2020. "Peer Support and Crisis-Focused Psychological Interventions Designed to Mitigate Post-Traumatic Stress Injuries among Public Safety and Frontline Healthcare Personnel: A Systematic Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(20), pages 1-16, October.
    4. Butler, H. Daniel, 2019. "An examination of inmate adjustment stratified by time served in prison," Journal of Criminal Justice, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 1-1.
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