The influences of personal background on perceptions of juvenile correctional environments

This study examined whether the individual characteristics of race, sex, an d education affect juvenile correctional staffs perceptions of their work e nvironments. Prior to 1970, correctional staff were minimally educated and predominantly comprised of White males. Correctional reformers believed tha t employing more female, minority, and highly educated staff members would lead to more efficacious correctional environments. The existing research c onducted in adult correctional facilities not only calls this belief into q uestion, but also indicates that the hiring of nontraditional staff may hav e exacerbated existing internal hostilities. These research efforts uniform ly examined adult correctional institutions, however. This study examined t hese issues in a large national sample of juvenile correctional staff. Resu lts revealed that individual characteristics of juvenile correctional staff do significantly affect perceptions. Contrary to the prior research in adu lt facilities, the current study found few, if any, manifestations of eithe r racial or sexual hostility in juvenile correctional facilities. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.