Beyond contextual stressors: uncertain reflective functioning, loneliness and emotional exhaustion as psychological correlates of perceived stress in prison officers.

purposeThis study aims to examine how uncertain reflective functioning (RF_U), loneliness (isolation, relational connectedness and trait loneliness) and emotional exhaustion (EE) contribute to perceived stress among prison officers (POs), beyond traditional contextual factors. DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH: A cross-sectional study was conducted with a sample of 58 Italian POs (mean age = 44.3 years; 72.4% male, 27.6% female) who completed standardized self-report measures distributed via Qualtrics. Descriptive statistics, Pearson correlations and multiple regression analyses were conducted to examine associations among variables.

findingsCorrelation analysis indicated that higher perceived stress was linked to greater loneliness, particularly low relational connectedness, higher EE and greater RF_U. However, only relational connectedness and RF_U significantly predicted perceived stress in the multiple regression analysis, controlling for age, gender and job type, highlighting their key role in shaping stress responses. ORIGINALITY/VALUE: These findings suggest the potential utility of interventions targeting both external conditions and internal relational processes to effectively reduce perceived stress in POs.