Burnout, Reasons for Living and Dehumanisation among Italian Penitentiary Police Officers

Abstract

The literature on burnout syndrome among Penitentiary Police Officers (PPOs) is still rather scarce, and there are no analyses on the protective factors that can prevent these workers from the dangerous effect of burnout, with respect to the weakening of the reasons for living and de-humanization. This study aimed to examine the relationships between burnout, protective factors against weakening of the reasons for living and not desiring to die and the role of de-humanisation, utilising the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI); the Reasons for Living Inventory (RFL); the Testoni Death Representation Scale (TDRS); and the Human Traits Attribution Scale (HTAS), involving 86 PPOs in a North Italy prison. Results showed the presence of a high level of burnout in the group of participants. In addition, dehumanization of prisoners, which is considered a factor that could help in managing other health professional stress situations, does not reduce the level of burnout.

Burnout in Spanish Security Forces during the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…This suggests that although there were high scores in the previous subscales, the sense of achievement and self-efficacy were high, indicating great professional involvement. This result agrees with those of other European studies [37,40,41] considering the existence of burnout, although the percentage we found is much higher, suggesting that the context of the COVID-19 pandemic accentuates the number of people affected. Our findings contradict those of other studies such as one conducted in another context and in other countries, which find low job satisfaction in a group of police officers [42].…”

“…We found that 28.5% of those surveyed reported a high level of burnout and high levels on the subscales of Emotional Exhaustion (53.8%) and Depersonalization (58.0%), and low levels of lack of personal fulfillment (46.3%). Similar results were found in a study in Italy [37], where there was no analysis of the protective elements that could protect these workers from the effect of burnout or of the weakening of the reasons for living and dehumanization.…”

Hardships in Italian Prisons During the COVID-19 Emergency: The Experience of Healthcare Personnel

“…Thus the pandemic revealed some generalized problems with respect to the prison issue, because there were no significant differences in the impact of the emergency across the three areas in the North, Center, and Southern Italy. The most significant difficulty presented by all participants was overcrowding, a phenomenon that existed before the pandemic (Ministry of Justice of Italy, 2011 ; Ristretti Orizzonti, 2020 ; Testoni et al, 2020a , b ), but this was not the only one. Lack of competences, organization, and facilities were consistently denounced by almost all participants who considered that the hardships they faced are rooted in these institutional weaknesses.…”

“…The participants described the discomfort experienced by the inmates, including being cut off from their families, their distorted perception of the world outside, and their anxieties related to death. As noted in the literature, the relationship between prison guards and inmates is characterized by tensions that can result in dehumanization (Testoni et al, 2020b ). Some participants, in interviews, referred to high levels of dehumanization in this relationship, comparing the relationship between guards and inmates with that between humans and animals.…”

Insomnia among Prison Officers and Its Relationship with Occupational Burnout: The Role of Coping with Stress in Polish and Indonesian Samples

“…This influences their judgments of life and job satisfaction. Occupational stress and burnout are also more frequent among penitentiary personnel than the general population [51][52][53][54][55]. Additionally, hypertension is more frequently diagnosed among penitentiary personnel, and they relate it to the characteristics of their workplace [56].…”