The Association Between Organizational Justice and Organizational Trust Among Correctional Staff

Authors

• Monica Solinas-Saunders, Indiana University Northwest
• Eric G. Lambert, Indiana University Northwest
• Stacy H. Haynes, Mississippi State University
• Linda D. Haynes, University of Mississippi
• Matthew C. Leone, University of Nevada, Reno
• David C. May, Mississippi State University

ORCID

Solinas-Saunders: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2625-6496; May: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8275-6773

MSU Affiliation

College of Arts and Sciences; Department of Sociology

Creation Date

2026-06-01

Abstract

This study employed organizational justice theory to examine the influence of employee perceptions of distributive, procedural, and interactional justice on whether employees trust their supervisors and management. Analysis of survey results from 322 employees of a state prison located in the Southern United States indicate that procedural and interactional justice—but not distributive justice—predict employee trust in both supervisors and management. These findings present important policy implications that suggest that the employing organization would benefit from having mechanisms in place to ensure that decisions follow consistent rules and strategies. Considering the relevance of employee trust to the organization, transparency in the use of pre-determined standards to allocate resources and rewards fairly needs to become a priority in institutions of corrections.

Publication Date

2-25-2024

Publication Title

Criminal Justice and Behavior

Publisher

SAGE Publications

First Page

707

Last Page

723

Rights

© 2024 International Association for Correctional and Forensic Psychology

Recommended Citation

Solinas-Saunders, M., Lambert, E. G., Haynes, S. H., Haynes, L. D., Leone, M. C., & May, D. C. (2024). The Association Between Organizational Justice and Organizational Trust Among Correctional Staff. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 51(5), 707-723.