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Correctional officers (CO's) have high stress levels affecting their well-being and work performance. The longer-term adverse consequences of stress have been well documented. However, the immediate impacts of stress on CO's neurocognitive function have not been assessed (or among other law enforcement groups). Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) can measure ability to attend to relevant information when making decisions, especially when the context is emotionally charged. This study will use technology to understand the impact of CO's stress on their neurocognitive and physiological function.

The study builds on research from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)-funded Oregon Healthy Workforce Center that established an index of chronic stress among more than 1330 Oregon CO's. Researchers will perform a prospective 18-month observational study among CO's from two facilities (n=400) to relate their stress levels to work characteristics, work performance and economic costs. Researchers will identify a sub-cohort of higher/lower stress CO's (total n=60) and compare their fMRI findings; researchers will measure their biomarkers to develop predictive indices of fMRI findings and chronic stress levels. The overarching goal is to understand and effectively reduce chronic stress among corrections officers (COs).

The study attempts to ask the following questions:

1. How did stress levels among COs relate to work contributors of stress and work performance?
2. What were the relationships between fMRI, biomarker tests and stress in higher and lower stress sub-cohorts?

The overall purpose of this mixed methods, multi-site study was to explore the use of restrictive housing in United States prisons and jails from the perspective of incarcerated individuals and corrections officers who work in restrictive housing units. Restrictive housing, also known as solitary confinement or segregation, is defined as keeping an incarcerated person in their cell for 22 or more hours per day.

To study the extent to which exposure to restrictive housing affects outcomes (i.e., mental/physical health problems, deterrence from future misconduct) for incarcerated individuals, the research team collected administrative records of housing moves ("stints") from the Colorado Department of Corrections and Missouri Department of Corrections. Records are available for all individuals incarcerated between January 1, 2015 and December 31, 2017. Data from Colorado includes roughly 1.3 million observations from 39,849 incarcerations. Data from Missouri includes roughly 1.1 million observations from 79,208 incarcerations. To study the impact of working in restrictive housing units on officers' physical, emotional, and mental wellbeing, the team administered surveys to officers working in correctional facilities in Missouri (n=376), North Carolina (n=249), and Oregon (site 1 n=47, site 2 n=133).

The research team also conducted officer focus groups, interviews with agency leadership, observations of restrictive housing and general population units, and a national comprehensive survey about the use of restrictive housing in jails. Only the administrative records and officer wellbeing survey data are available in this collection.