Date of Conferral
2020
Degree
Ph.D.
School
Criminal Justice
Advisor
Grace Telesco
Abstract
Communication serves as an avenue for individuals to introduce themselves to others and the world, but communication for individuals who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning/queer, or intersex (LGBTQI) creates an opportunity discrimination, bias, and mistreatment. Research has been conducted to address the issues of discrimination, bias, and mistreatment among LGBTQI youth in juvenile detention centers; however, a gap exists in the literature exploring correctional staff members’ beliefs, attitudes, and understandings of transgender juvenile offenders. The purpose of this action research, quasi-experimental, mixed-method study was to explore if correctional staff members’ religious beliefs, lack of LGBTQI training, and inadequate policies and procedures hinder effective interactions with transgender juvenile offenders. The theoretical framework came from Berger and Calabrese’s uncertainty reduction theory. A purposive sampling of 80 correctional staff from a detention center in Maryland was conducted. The instruments used in this study were an electronic survey, the Harvard implicit bias test, to measure attitudes and beliefs of correctional staff members toward the LGBTQI community. Following the surveys, participants took a pretest, participated in an intervention training, completed a paper posttest, and were giving the option to participate in a focus group to answer sub questions developed from this study. Results indicated a positive effect for higher education and professional occupations. The findings may be used by correctional staff members to learn how to communicate with transgender juvenile offenders.
Recommended Citation
Walker, Tawanda, "Identifying What Hinders Effective Interactions Between Correctional Staff and Transgender Juvenile Offenders" (2020). Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies. 9008.
https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/9008
