Date of Award

8-2021

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science in Industrial and Organizational Psychology

Department

Psychology

First Reader/Committee Chair

Agars, Mark

Abstract

The United States (U.S.) is at the forefront when it comes to sending its citizens to correctional facilities. The U.S. prison population is estimated to be around 2,100,000, with China trailing at 1,700,000. With staggering incarceration rates, both nationally and locally, officials have begun to act by enacting legislation that would reduce California’s prison population. According to the National Institute of Justice (2015), however, two-thirds (67.8%) of released individuals will recidivate within three years. One critical avenue in reducing recidivism is employment; justice-involved individuals who find employment are less likely to reoffend. Little is known about justice-involved organizational experiences, specifically, how these experiences impact their health and career related outcomes. With the ordered release of thousands of prisoners, many of which will be seeking employment to sustain themselves and often families, research pertaining to their work experiences and the associated outcomes is warranted. Our study variables brought some light to a dark place. Specifically, the role that stigma consciousness plays in mediating the effect of perceived workplace discrimination on the study’s outcome variables. Awareness of their stigmatized status, although it negatively impacts job satisfaction, can ultimately serve as a path to help them lessen its negative effect on depressive symptoms. Although we did not find support for many of our study moderators, for the justice-involved, making external attributions during experiences of stigma in the workplace seems to be an avenue that can be beneficial in reducing depressive symptoms as well.

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