The Relationship Between Social Support and Subjective Well-being in Female Prison Guards: The Roles of Job Stress and Professional Identity

Abstract Subjective well-being is a multidimensional concept, encompassing three dimensions: life satisfaction, positive affect, and negative affect. Social support is one of the significant factors affecting an individual's subjective well-being. To explore the impact of social support on the subjective well-being of female prison guards, as well as the serial mediating role of occupational stress and occupational identity, this study employed a questionnaire survey method and investigated 263 female prison guards nationwide. The results show: (1) Social support can significantly and positively predict the subjective well-being of female prison guards; (2) Social support can predict the subjective well-being of female prison guards through occupational stress; (3) Social support can predict the subjective well-being of female prison guards through occupational identity; (4) Occupational stress and occupational identity play a serial mediating role between social support and subjective well-being. The findings not only enrich the research related to female prison guards but also provide some theoretical support for the sustainable development of the prison guard industry.