The Impact of Correction Officer Suicide on the Institutional Environment and on the Wellbeing of Correctional Employees, Massachusetts, 2010-2019 (ICPSR 37894)
Version Date: Jul 27, 2023 View help for published
Principal Investigator(s): View help for Principal Investigator(s)
Natasha A. Frost, Northeastern University
https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR37894.v1
Version V1
Summary View help for Summary
The project involved a partnership between the research team at Northeastern University, the Office of Strategic Planning and Research at the Massachusetts Department of Correction (MA DOC), the Massachusetts Correction Officers Federated Union (MCOFU) and clinical direct service providers at the Riverside Trauma Center (RTC), a program of Riverside Community Care (RCC).
The research was conducted in two overlapping phases, with findings from the first phase informing key elements of the second phase. In phase one, the Northeastern University research team conducted comprehensive qualitative case studies of the occupational and personal lives of the 20 correction officers and retirees who had died by suicide between 2010 and 2015.
In phase two, researchers collected both qualitative and quantitative data to assess the impacts of the correction officer suicides on correction officers still working in the state's prisons. Researchers conducted on-site and on-shift in-person interviews with 440 officers and administrators to assess the impacts of officer suicide on attitudinal, behavioral, and psychological well-being outcomes. The phase two officer interview opened with questions designed to collect egocentric social network data from each officer and included assessments of behavioral, emotional, and psychological health using validated instruments.
Researchers collected qualitative data for this study which are not currently available. The qualitative data will be made available at a later date.
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Access to these data is restricted. Users interested in obtaining these data must complete a Restricted Data Use Agreement, specify the reasons for the request, and obtain IRB approval or notice of exemption for their research.
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Data Collection Notes View help for Data Collection Notes
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Researchers collected qualitative data for this study which are not currently available. The qualitative data will be made available at a later date.
Study Purpose View help for Study Purpose
The purpose of the study was to conduct the first comprehensive mixed methods study of suicide among correction officers.
Study Design View help for Study Design
Qualitative and quantitative data were collected to examine the impacts of a cluster of correction officer suicides on the institutional environment and on the wellbeing of correction officers still working at the department, particularly in terms of behavioral, emotional, and psychological health outcomes.
The research was conducted in two overlapping phases. In phase one, researchers conducted comprehensive case studies of the 20 known officer suicides occurring between 2010 and 2015 among current and former correction officers from the Massachusetts Department of Correction (MA DOC). Researchers collected administrative record data, conducted group and individual interviews with family members and friends and colleagues and supervisors to develop a holistic understanding of the context within which correction officer suicides had occurred.
In phase two, findings from the phase one qualitative case studies were used to inform the development of an interview instrument with assessments that were administered during an interview with both purposively and randomly selected correction officers of all ranks from facilities across the MA DOC. Through these interviews and assessments, researchers sought to identify risk factors for anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and suicidal ideation among officers. Researchers also collected egocentric social network data to better understand how the structure, function, and composition of officers' social networks was related to psychological distress, behavioral outcomes, help-seeking and indicators of wellbeing.
Researchers collected qualitative data for this study which are not currently available. The qualitative data will be made available at a later date.
Sample View help for Sample
A simple random sample of officers was selected to represent the population of sworn officers working across the department. A second simple random sample of new recruits was selected to represent the population of officers just beginning their careers in the field. Two additional groups of participants were purposively sampled. The first was a selection of supervisors and administrators. The second was a group of officers known to have worked closely with, or been friends with, at least one of the officers who had died.
Time Method View help for Time Method
Universe View help for Universe
Correction officers working for the Massachusetts Department of Correction.
Unit(s) of Observation View help for Unit(s) of Observation
Data Type(s) View help for Data Type(s)
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Response Rates View help for Response Rates
Participants were sworn correction officers working for the Massachusetts Department of Correction (MA DOC) between May 2017 and December 2019. Researchers drew a random sample of 500 officers (approximately 15 percent of the population) from a list of all sworn officers (N=3,298). Of the 500 officers initially sampled, 451 were available to be interviewed at the time researchers reached their facility (49 had retired, resigned, or been terminated). Of the 451 randomly selected officers eligible for interviews, 319 completed the interview (71 percent) and 132 declined to participate (29 percent). Researchers also drew a simple random sample of new recruits to the department. Researchers randomly selected 50 new recruits from an academy of 147. Of the 50 randomly selected, 45 completed interviews (response rate 90 percent).
Presence of Common Scales View help for Presence of Common Scales
Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT)
Copenhagen Burnout Inventory (CBI)
Insomnia Severity Index (ISI)
Perceived Stress Scale (PSS)
PTSD Checklist-Civilian (PCL-C)
Trauma Symptom Inventory (TSI-II)
HideOriginal Release Date View help for Original Release Date
2023-07-27
Version History View help for Version History
2023-07-27 ICPSR data undergo a confidentiality review and are altered when necessary to limit the risk of disclosure. ICPSR also routinely creates ready-to-go data files along with setups in the major statistical software formats as well as standard codebooks to accompany the data. In addition to these procedures, ICPSR performed the following processing steps for this data collection:
- Checked for undocumented or out-of-range codes.
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