Examining the Role of Physiological and Psychological Responses to Critical Incidents in Prisons in the Development of Mental Health Problems among Correctional Officers, Minnesota, 2018-2020

This study sought to better understand the long-term implications of critical incident exposure on mental health outcomes among correctional officers. To accomplish this objective, the research team compiled a longitudinal dataset comprised of three types of assessments. First, to assess mental health outcomes as well as subjective appraisals of psychological stress, the researchers surveyed correctional officers at three waves of data collection, spaced approximately six months apart. These surveys included questions related to demographics, work assignments, perceptions of workplace danger, work-family conflict, social support, and work-related psychological stress. In addition, the wave 1 and wave 3 surveys included items from psychometrically validated measures of mental health problems--posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and anxiety. Second, to assess changes in physiological stress over the study period, the research team collected salivary biomarkers Cortisol and Alpha-Amylase during each wave of data collection. Third, the researchers compiled objective indicators of critical incident exposure (e.g. disciplinary data and detailed incident reports) rather than relying on subjective assessments. The compiled dataset allowed for not only the direct association between critical incident exposure and mental health problems, but also indirect pathways that included psychological stress and physiological stress. The resulting dataset consists of 488 officers employed at three correctional institutions across Minnesota.