Correctional officer experiences of moral distress, trauma-informed organizational practices, and structural stigma.

The purpose of this pilot study was to explore moral distress (MD), organizational practices to reduce traumatic stress, and to elicit perspectives related to these challenges from professionals working in Canadian prisons and jails. This mixed-method study enlisted Canadian correctional agents (n = 77) for an online questionnaire including a measure of MD, a trauma-informed organizational assessment, and an open text box in which participants could share their perspectives in relation to MD and their organization’s efforts to mitigate traumatic stress. Three hypotheses were tested: (a) MD will be observed among Canadian correctional agents; (b) Actions to alleviate traumatic stress will correlate with lower MD levels; (c) Correctional agents belonging to equity-deserving groups will experience higher levels of MD. Qualitative data submitted by a subsample of the participants (n = 30) were inductively coded to describe their insights. Based on hierarchical regression analyses, the results indicated that a subgroup of correctional agents experience MD; those from groups facing discrimination may be at higher risk; and MD and trauma-informed organizational practices showed a negative relationship. Considering the risks MD is shown to pose to other professional groups, the advantages of trauma-informed initiatives to diminish harm and discrimination in correctional facilities, and the substantial distress endured by some correctional agents, future research should focus on effective systemic strategies to address the needs of equity-deserving correctional agents and to reduce MD among all correctional agents.