Job satisfaction among police constables: A comparative study in three developing nations

The determinants of job satisfaction are explored extensively in organizational behavior literature but have not been addressed adequately in criminal justice. A conceptual model is developed in this paper, which draws on recent research in developed nations from both of those literatures. The model is then applied to police constables in three structurally similar but socially different developing Caribbean nations. Predictions are made concerning (1) the applicability of a developed-nation model to less developed nations and (2) the effects of differing sociopolitical factors on the constables' levels of job satisfaction and the efficacy of the model. The findings show that traditional predictors from the organizational behavior literature, such as promotion policy, affect satisfaction levels as do predictors from the police literature, such as citizens' support. Yet not all traditional predictors, such as individual characteristics, influence job satisfaction. The findings suggest that nation-specific external and internal political factors affect the explanatory power of the model as well as levels of job satisfaction. Policy implications of the findings for developing nations are discussed.