Date of Conferral

2019

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Public Policy and Administration

Advisor

Gregory Campbell

Abstract

Correctional institutions across the United States continue to experience prisoner sexual assault despite the enactment of the Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003 (PREA). The purpose of this correlational study was to examine the association between jail administrators' difficulty complying with the PREA and their transformational leadership styles. The theories of punctuated equilibrium theory and general strain theory formed the theoretical framework of the study. The data were collected through an Internet-based survey from 22 local and regional jail administrators from the East Coast. Data analysis using Pearson's correlation coefficient was performed on leadership scores to test the hypotheses. There were results showed no statistically significant correlations between 5 attributes of transformational leadership styles and PREA compliance. A multiple linear regression analysis was performed; however, this question could not be answered because 2 fundamental assumptions of multiple linear regressions were not satisfied. Social change implications of this study include using the study results to expand leadership development programs that could influence a full range of leadership skills essential for addressing the present and future policies of PREA affecting correctional facilities in the United States.

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