The accumulated impact of direct and indirect workplace violence exposure on mental health and physiological activity among correctional officers

Abstract

Correctional officers are differentially exposed to workplace violence, but little is known about how both direct and indirect exposure may impact officers. The current study examines differences in the impact of direct (i.e., being the primary target of assault) and indirect (i.e., responding to a violent incident) violence exposure on stress responsivity and mental health problems in a sample of correctional officers from Minnesota (N = 488). Greater accumulation of direct assault exposures increased the overall incidence of mental health problems but was not associated with changes in stress responsivity measured via salivary biomarkers. Alternatively, the accumulation of indirect assault exposures did not increase the prevalence of mental health problems but was associated with subsequent changes in cortisol. These results indicate that the stress-related consequences of assault exposure vary based on officers' exposure type. Future programming should target both direct and indirect violence exposures to mitigate negative, stress-related outcomes, including mental health problems.