Questions about the abilities and appropriateness of female correctional officers working in adult men’s correctional institutions have been asked since women first entered men’s prisons. Although some scholars argue that women should not, or cannot, work effectively in such settings, others have shown that there are few differences in quality of work or productivity. Building on this line of research, the present study assesses self-reported perceptions of differences in aggressive responses to instances of inmate challenges and misbehavior. Findings indicate that there are no differences in men’s and women’s responses, and only three variables (job title, height, and having minor children) predict any differences in staff responses. In addition, although female correctional officers report a higher degree of job-related stress than do males, job stress is not related to likelihood of aggressive responses. Findings are discussed in relation to historical and contextual differences between the present study and previous research.
Bettencourt, B. A.
, & Miller, N. (1996). Gender differences in aggression as a function of provocation: A meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 119, 422-447.
2.
Cadwaladr, M. I. (1993). Breaking into jail: Women working in a men’s jail. Unpublished master’s thesis, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.
3.
Campbell, A.
, & Muncer, S. (1987). Models of anger and aggression in the social talk of men and women. Journal for the Theory of Social Behavior, 17, 489-511.
4.
Carlson, P. M. (1997). Assignments of female correctional officers to United States penitentiaries: Implementation in the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Southern California, Los Angeles.
5.
Carlson, J. R.
, Anson, R. H., & Thomas, G. (2003). Correctional officer burnout and stress: Does gender matter?The Prison Journal, 83, 277-288.
6.
Clement, M. H.
(1999). Rejoinder to Dr. Tewksbury? In C. B. Fields (Ed.), Controversial issues in corrections (pp. 194-200). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
7.
Crouch, B. M.
, & Alpert, G. (1982). Sex and occupational socialization among prison guards: A longitudinal study. Criminal Justice Bulletin, 9, 159-177.
8.
Eagly, A. H.
, & Steffen, V. J. (1986). Gender and aggressive behavior: A meta-analytic review of the social psychological literature. Psychological Bulletin, 100, 309-330.
9.
Farkas, M. A.
(1999). Inmate supervisory style: Does gender make a difference?Women and Criminal Justice, 10(4), 25-45.
10.
Feinman, C.
(1986). Women in the criminal justice system (2nd ed.). New York: Praeger.
11.
Felson, R. B.
(1996). Big people hit little people: Sex differences in physical power and interpersonal violence. Criminology, 34, 433-452.
12.
Fields, C. B.
(Ed.). (1999). Controversial issues in corrections. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
13.
Fry, L. J.
, & Glaser, D. (1987). Gender differences in work adjustment of prison employees. Journal of Offender Counseling, Services and Rehabilitation, 12, 39-52.
14.
Gross, G. R.
, Larson, S. J., Urban, G. D., & Zupan, L. L. (1994). Gender differences in occupational differences among correctional officers. American Journal of Criminal Justice, 18, 219-234.
15.
Hemmens, C.
, & Stohr, M. K. (2001). Correctional staff attitudes regarding the use of force in corrections. Corrections Management Quarterly, 5(2), 27-40.
16.
Hemmens, C.
, Stohr, M. K., Schoeler, M., & Miller, B. (2002). One step up, two steps back: The progression of perceptions of women’s work in prisons and jails. Journal of Criminal Justice, 30, 473-486.
17.
Jenne, D. L. (1995). Methods used by women correction officers to handle male inmates. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Rutgers-The State University of New Jersey, Newark.
18.
Jenne, D. L.
, & Kersting, R. C. (1996). Aggression and women correctional officers in male prisons. The Prison Journal, 76, 442-460.
19.
Jurik, N.
(1985). An officer and a lady: Organizational barriers to women working as correctional officers in men’s prisons. Social Problems, 32, 375-388.
20.
Kauffman, K.
(1985). Prison officers and their world. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
21.
Kercher, G.
, & Martin, S. (1975, March). Severity of correctional behavior in the prison environment. Paper presented at the Texas Academy of Sciences, Huntsville.
22.
Lawrence, R.
, & Mahan, S. (1998). Women corrections officers in men’s prisons: Acceptance and perceived job performance. Women and Criminal Justice, 9(3), 63-86.
23.
Marquart, J. W.
(1986). Prison guards and the use of physical coercion as a mechanism of prisoners control. Criminology, 24, 347-366.
24.
Morton, J. (1980). A study of employment of women correctional officers in state level adult male correctional institutions. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Georgia, Athens.
25.
Pogrebin, M. R.
, & Poole, E. D. (1998). Sex, gender, and work: The case of women jail officers. In J. T. Ulmer (Ed.), Sociology of crime, law, and deviance (Vol. 1, pp. 105-124). Stamford, CT: JAI.
26.
Pollock, J.
(1986). Sex and supervision: Guarding male and female inmates. New York: Greenwood.
27.
Pollock-Byrne, J.
(1990). Ethics in crime and justice: Dilemmas and decisions. Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole.
28.
Potter, J.
(1980). Should women guards work in prisons for men?Corrections Magazine, 6(5), 30-38.
29.
Rowan, J. R.
(1996). Having more female officers reduces prisoner assaults on staff. Overcrowded Times, 7(2), 2-3.
30.
Tewksbury, R.
(1999). Should female correctional officers be used in male institutions? In C. B. Fields (Ed.), Controversial issues in corrections (pp. 187-194). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
31.
U. S. Department of Justice
. (2003). Census of state and federal correctional facilities, 2000. Washington, DC: Bureau of Justice Statistics.
32.
Willoughby, K. R.
, & Blount, W. R. (1985). The relationship between law enforcement officer height, aggression and job performance. Journal of Police Science and Administration, 13, 225-229.
33.
Zimmer, L. E.
(1986). Women guarding men. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
34.
Zupan, L. L.
(1992). The progress of women correctional officers in all-male prisons. In I. Moyer (Ed.), The changing roles of women in the criminal justice system (2nd ed., pp. 323-343). Prospect Heights, IL: Waveland Press.
