Work Environment Correlates of Staff Stress in a Youth Detention Facility

Abstract

We intensively interviewed 53 staff members of a state-operated regional children's detention center, located in a large, metropolitan, southern city. The center houses both delinquent and status offender youths, incarcerated on a variety of charges ranging from truancy to homicide. Staff stress was related to key features of their work environment. Concern about detainee acting out behavior, the perceived frequency of detainee “problem” behavior while in the facility, and the felt need for substance abuse services for detainees and better educational/recreational programs related positively to staff stress. Implications of these findings for developing a more realistic view of the nature and impact of the detention center experience for both detainees and staff are drawn.