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FORUM on Corrections Research
Stress Among British Prison Officers
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A recent study by researchers Gilles Launay and Primrose J. Fielding on prison officers in England
overlaps considerably with the study completed by Gareth Hughes in Canada. The aim of the British study
was to identify the major categories of stress that prison officers confront, and to determine the
impact of various forms of stress on the health of the officers. Based on their reading of the state of
previous research in this area, Launay and Fielding argued that there were two main sources of stress in
the prison setting: staff-inmate confrontations and communication difficulties between management and
uniformed staff. Launay and Fielding administered two questionnaires to 89 basic and senior-grade officers at H. M. Prison Maidstone. The Sources of Stress Questionnaire, which contained 25 items, was used to identify the perceived severity of a variety of potential work stressors. The General Health Questionnaire, designed to assess health status, included the measurement of sleep patterns, the experience of depression and other factors related to general health. Launay and Fielding's findings generally supported their initial hypothesis. The results demonstrated that prison stressors could be divided into the two broader categories of "inmate" and "management" problems. The British researchers were also able to link the sources of stress to the levels of health reported by the officers. The major finding was that stress associated with inmates had the greatest impact on health. Prison officers who reported that they found their relationships with inmates stressful had much poorer health than officers who did not. A large proportion of the sample indicated that they perceived management as a major source of stress. However, the perception that managers caused stress was not related to inferior health. For this reason, Launay and Fielding concluded that in order to reduce the health consequences of prison stress, British prison administrators should place an emphasis on programs that help prison officers develop better relationships with inmates. Launay, G. & Fielding, P.J. (1989). Stress among Prison Officers: Some Empirical Evidence Based on Self-Report. The Howard Journal, 28, 138-148. |
