A path model of job burnout among correctional officers from a southern state is examined. The analysis shows that direct contact with inmates is not distressing; however, administrative practices are bothersome to officers. The findings may be interpreted as supporting the recently advanced double-bind theory of correctional officer stress (Cheek and Miller, 1983)—which ascribes officer distress to administrative practices—and/or being consistent with street-level bureaucracy theory (Lipsky, 1980), which attributes worker distress to managerial control strategies. Implications for intervention are discussed.
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