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SCCJ Doctoral Research Assistant - Turning Points in the Careers of Correction Officers

Across my funded research projects, all levels of students (BA/MA/PhD) are involved in all aspects of the research. This includes receiving training to conduct – and actually conducting – interviews in the prisons. In addition to conducting interviews, all students involved in the project are also introduced to mixed-methods strategies and will learn both how to work with large volumes of administrative data (collected from the prisons) and how to combine and merge data across data sources. Through their collaborative work on the project, the PhD students develop mentoring relationships with the undergraduate and Master’s degree students.

  • Location:

    Off-site (with team meetings in Boston)

  • Remote Work:

    No

  • Semester:

    Summer 2025

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  • Project Title

    Turning Points in the Careers of Correction Officers

  • Faculty / Project Lead

    Natasha Frost

  • Project Description

    I currently run two funded projects with the Massachusetts Department of Correction (MADOC). Both are funded through the National Institute of Justice and both involve the collection of original data on-site at the MADOC. The Turning Points study is the first longitudinal study of occupational stress, violence exposure, psychological distress, trauma, and suicide risk across the careers of newly hired correction officers. The primary goal of this research is to distinguish the short- and long-term impacts of chronic operational and organizational stressors from the short- and long-term impacts of acute episodic stressors related to exposure to violence and traumatic incidents. The Climate, Culture, and Correction Officer Wellness project investigates the links between occupational culture, perceptions of climate, and officer wellbeing. We hope to show how fundamentally shifting aspects of the occupational workplace culture could generate immediate and long-term benefits for correctional organizations. We maintain that addressing some of the organizational stressors identified in our earlier studies will have meaningful impacts on job satisfaction and perceptions of occupational climate in the short-term that will in turn have profound effects on officers’ health and wellbeing in the long-term.

  • Qualifications Necessary

    Must be a current doctoral student in a CSSH doctoral program. If interested in interviewing and on-site data collection, MUST have a car (travel time is compensated and mileage is reimbursed). Strong analytic skills, including an ability to work in STATA, R, and/or SPSS. Familiarity with social network data and analysis desirable (but not required).

  • Hours per Week

    20 Hour Position