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.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Blindman, M. J. , Hutchings, R. E., & Perrotto, R. S. (1976). Self-reported drug/alcohol use of adults and juveniles in the Delaware Department of Correction facilities. Wilmington, DE: Department of Health and Social Services, Division of Mental Health and Bureau of Substance Abuse.
2.
Brodsky, C. M. (1982). Work stress in correctional institutions. Journal of Prison and Jail Health, 2, 74-102.
3.
Brodsky, S. L. (1982). Intervention models for mental health services in jails. In C. S. Dunn & H. J. Steadman (Eds.), Mental health services in local jails. Rockville, MD: National Institute of Mental Health.
4.
Carbone, V. J. , & Lynch, R. (1982). Functional analysis of behavior in a juvenile detention facility. Journal of Offender Counseling Services, and Rehabilitation, 6, 21-41.
5.
Coates, R. B. , Miller, A. D., & Ohlin, L. E. (1975). Juvenile detention and its consequences. Cambridge, MA: Center for Criminal Justice, Harvard Law School.
6.
Cohen, E. (1975). Pre-adjucatory detention in three juvenile courts: An empirical analysis of the factors related to detention decision outcomes. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office.
7.
Cottle, T. J. (1979). Children in jail. Crime and Delinquency, 25, 318-334.
8.
Dungworth, T. (1977). Discretion in the juvenile justice system: The impact of case characteristics in prehearing detention. In T. N. Ferdinand (Ed.), Juvenile delinquency: Little brother grows up. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
9.
Fetrow, R. S. , & Fetrow, A. (1974). How a pretrial facility can destroy the self-esteem of the juvenile. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 18, 227-232.
10.
Fisher, S. M. (1972). Life in a children's detention center: Strategies for survival. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 42, 368-374.
11.
Gibbs, J. (1982). On “demons” and “goals”: A summary and review of investigations concerning the psychological problems of jail prisoners. In C. S. Dunn & H. J. Steadman (Eds.), Mental Health services in local jails. Rockville, MD: National Institute of Mental Health.
12.
Gibbs, J. (1983). Problems and priorities: Perceptions of jail custodians and social service providers. Journal of Criminal Justice, 11, 327-338.
13.
Jacobs, J. B. (1981). What prison guards think: A profile of the Illinois force. In R. R. Ross (Ed.), Prison guard/correctional office—The use and abuse of the human resources of prisons. Toronto: Butterworth.
14.
Kim, J. , & Mueller, C. W. (1978). Factor analysis: Statistical methods and practical issues. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
15.
Knitzer, J. (1984). Health services to children and adolescents: A national view of public policies. American Psychologist, 39, 905-911.
16.
McEachern, A. W. , Taylor, E. M., Newman, J. R., & Ashford, A. E. (1968). The juvenile probation system: Simulation for research and decision making. American Behavioral Scientist, 11, 1-43.
17.
Mulvey, E. P. , & Saunders, J. T. (1982). Juvenile detention criteria: State of the art and guidelines for change. Criminal Justice Abstracts, 14, 261-289.
18.
O'Connor, G. G. (1970). The impact of initial detention upon male delinquents. Social Problems, 18, 194-199.
19.
Pappenfort, D. M. , & Young, T. M. (1980). National study of juvenile detention: Use of secure detention for juveniles and alternatives to its use. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice.
20.
Sarri, R. C. (1974). Under lock and key: Juveniles in jail and detention. Ann Arbor: National Assessment of Juvenile Corrections, University of Michigan.
21.
Schuckit, M. , Herrman, G., & Schuckit, J. (1977). The importance of psychiatric illness in newly arrested prisoners. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 165, 118-125.
22.
Sumner, H. (1968). Locking them up. San Francisco: National Council on Crime and Delinquency.
23.
Swank, G. , & Winer, D. (1976). Occurrence of psychiatric disorder in a county jail population. American Journal of Psychiatry, 133, 1331-1333.
24.
U.S. Department of Justice . (1977). National evaluation design for the deinstitutionalization of status offender program. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office.
25.
U.S Department of Justice . (1983a). Prisoners and alcohol. Washington, DC: Bureau of Justice Statistics Bulletin, NCJ-86223.
26.
U.S. Department of Justice . (1983b). Prisoners and drugs. Washington, DC: Bureau of Justice Statistics Bulletin, NCJ-87575.
27.
U.S. General Accounting Office . (1983). Improved federal efforts needed to change juvenile detention practices. Gathersburg, MD: Author.
