Job Experience and Perceived Job Stress among Police, Correctional, and Probation/Parole Officers

A survey of nearly 4,500 police, correctional, and probation and parole officers provided a unique opportunity for cross-occupational comparisons of perceived job stress among criminal justice personnel. The questionnaire included a modified version of Spielberger's Police Stress Survey. Results revealed that police and probation/parole officers demonstrated an apparent curvilinear relationship between time on the job and perceived stress. However, the trend was more linear when only line officers of both groups were considered. Correctional officers, as a group, did not show a curvilinear pattern, although line correctional officers did. The reasons for these patterns are discussed.