Date of Project
4-15-2026
Document Type
Honors Thesis
School Name
College of Arts and Sciences
Department
Psychology
Major Advisor
Jean Lamont
Second Advisor
Hayley Phillips
Abstract
Correctional officers (COs) work in institutions characterized by high interpersonal demand, safety risk, and organizational complexity; as a result, they experience elevated rates of occupational stress, burnout, and mental-health disorders relative to the general workforce. At the same time, research in allied helping professions demonstrates that mindfulness and related contemplative practices can reduce stress and improve emotion regulation and well-being. However, little is known about whether COs’ own, pre-existing informal mindfulness practices are associated with lower on-the-job stress or burnout rather than formal training courses. This review integrates findings from qualitative studies, quantitative analyses, and systematic reviews to show what is known and what remains uncertain. Its purpose is to ground the research question and justify the mixed-methods approach: by pairing validated survey measures with brief, context-sensitive interviews about daily practices, the proposed project aims to address important methodological and practical gaps in the literature and generate actionable insights for correctional settings.
Recommended Citation
Nasrallah, Anthony M., "A Proposal to Examine Naturally Occurring Mindfulness and Correctional Officer Stress and Burnout" (2026). Undergraduate Theses. 229.
https://scholarworks.bellarmine.edu/ugrad_theses/229
Included in
Health Psychology Commons, Human Factors Psychology Commons, Industrial and Organizational Psychology Commons, Multicultural Psychology Commons, Other Psychology Commons