Perceived Stress and Perceived Self-Efficacy Within a California Juvenile Justice Center

Stress can contribute to high levels of employee turnover rates within law enforcement, particularly among juvenile institutional officers. While stress has been examined extensively in juvenile institutions, little research has been conducted on the perceived stress of officers in different types of facilities. Furthermore, little research has examined the ways in which self-efficacy is related to resiliency to stress for juvenile institutional officers working in different settings. Using Hans Selye's theory of stress as its foundation, this study examined differences in perceived stress among 150 juvenile institutional officers working in mental health and non-mental health units at the California Juvenile Justice Department. Participants completed the Perceived Stress Scale and General Perceived Self-Efficacy Scale to determine perceived self-efficacy and perceived stress among staff within 2 types of facilities: mental health or a non-mental health juvenile justice location. How self-efficacy moderates stress in these different environments was also examined. ANOVA and Pearson correlation analysis revealed no main effect of self-efficacy on stress, although stress was related to self-efficacy for those in the mental health facility but not in the non-mental health facility. Results can be used to effect positive social change in the juvenile justice system by highlighting the importance of self-efficacy in certain high-stress environments such as mental health facilities. Furthermore, the findings of this study can serve those who strive to improve the quality of the juvenile justice system. Conducting future research may increase developmental training programs that influence a full range of training skills in self-efficacy and stress within juvenile justice settings, which may result in revitalization of career longevity and work performance.