Role stress in relationship to the placement of child support enforcement function in New Jersey probation system
Abstract
This research draws on the Role Development theorist's perspective in Role Conflict and measures significant factors that influence the development of job satisfaction in the probation setting; specifically, the Role/Job Satisfaction of probation officers assigned to the child support enforcement function in New Jersey. The influence of legal, socio-economic, experiential and caseload comparison factors are measured for their effect as determinants of job satisfaction. The probation departments used as the study sites are the twenty-one county probation departments in New Jersey. Since the unit of analysis is the level of job satisfaction, interviews were conducted with probation personnel in order to distinguish attitudes towards the child support assignment. In addition, in order to further improve the accuracy of identifying the level of job satisfaction for probation officers a questionnaire was distributed to probation staff throughout the state. The resulting job satisfaction sample is comprised of 137 determinants. This study was successful in identifying factors which affect the level of job satisfaction for probation officers and identified attitude and other factors which limit the development of job satisfaction with the child support divisions of New Jersey Probation Departments. Results indicate that the perceived expectations of probation staff concerning the role of the probation officer, the attitude of the probation officer, and consensually held beliefs on professionalism are the significant factors in the development of role conflict for probation officers assigned to the child support enforcement function. These findings support the role satisfaction perspective, and raise questions about the way duties are developed for probation departments. Additional questions about the structure of probation in contemporary judicial administration are also raised.
Subject Area
Sociology|Criminology|Labor relations
Recommended Citation
Rainville, Raymond Russell, "Role stress in relationship to the placement of child support enforcement function in New Jersey probation system" (1992). ETD Collection for Fordham University. AAI9223822.
https://research.library.fordham.edu/dissertations/AAI9223822
