Navigating Authority: Role Responses and Correctional Officer Victimization

Correctional officers (COs) face high rates of workplace violence compared to other professions. Yet, research remains limited about how COs’ responses to working in unpredictable carceral environments relate to victimization. Using self-report data from COs working in male facilities in a Southern state prison system ( N = 253), we examine the relationship between role responses and threats and physical assaults. Results showed that depersonalization, corruption, and erosion of authority were positively associated with threats, while counter workplace behaviors revealed a negative association. Although role responses were not directly associated with assaults, COs who were threatened had greater odds of being assaulted. Various demographic and occupational controls were also related to both outcomes. Findings fill key knowledge gaps and inform safety interventions.