2008/10/01 by Allison M. Hicks
Health Professions · Social Sciences · #Criminal Justice and Corrections Analysis #Homelessness and Social Issues #Social Work Education and Practice
paper · doi:10.1525/si.2008.31.4.400
openalex publication_date 2008/10/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
The conclusion that prisons, as total institutions, are “forcing houses” for the changing of persons can be extended beyond inmates to the prison staff. In this article I focus on one subset of prison staff that has received only scant examination: prison chaplains. Using qualitative interview data, I analyze the occupational socialization of state‐employed prison chaplains. I begin by discussing the initial expectations chaplains held about their work and what they hoped to accomplish. I describe the challenges of working in the correctional environment and note the occupational adjustments chaplains made in reaction to these challenges. I conclude with a theoretical examination of the role and identity processes that framed the occupational socialization of prison chaplains.