Abstract
ABSTRACTMost correctional officers adhere to strong organizational norms that emphasize the importance of following rules. Some, however, break the custodial frame and behave inappropriately with inmates. Guided by Robert K. Merton’s social structure and anomie theory, we examined 501 questionnaires collected from correctional officers within the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. When correctional officers perceive that their coworkers engage in boundary violations with inmates, job satisfaction is significantly lower. Our novel application of Merton’s framework makes a contribution to the correctional job satisfaction literature and has important implications for the contemporary development and significance of social structure and anomie theory.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
