Assessing the Affective Organizational Commitment Scale: A Multilevel Psychometric Study among Prison Staff

Research in various occupational contexts has demonstrated the relevance of affective organizational commitment in generating beneficial outcomes for workers and organizations in terms of well-being, performance, and customer satisfaction. Findings from a small number of prison studies confirm the relevance of commitment for prison workers and prison agencies. Of the various existing measures, the affective organizational commitment scale is the most acclaimed instrument to measure affective organizational commitment outside the penitentiary environment. However, it is unclear whether the scale is suitable for prison contexts. In this paper, we explore the psychometric qualities of the scale among a sample of Dutch prison workers and five additional subsamples reflecting specific job roles ( N total = 2,667). The findings validate the suitability of the affective organizational commitment scale in a prison context. We consider limitations and discuss implications for researchers interested in the study of affective organizational commitment of prison staff.