The Effectiveness of Ontology Training Based on Giddens Theory on Role Ambiguity and Role Conflict

Prison is one of the workplaces that creates a lot of stress for its employees. Working in the prisons is difficult, and also leads to ambiguity and confusion in the assigned roles. This ambiguity and conflict can create psychological and physical problems for persons working in prisons which increase the risks of the workplace for them. This study aimed to investigate the effect of the ontology training based on Giddens' theory on the role ambiguity and role conflict in prison employees in Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad province.  

This study was a clinical trial and a two-group semi-experimental design with pre-test, post-test, and follow-up of the three months. The statistical population consisted of all prison employees in Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad province. the research sample consisted of 30 employees who usually had problems related to their job in the prison environment, and these problems had a negative impact on various areas of their employment relationships. Participants were randomly assigned to experimental and control groups (each group of 15), and in 10 sessions, ontological training based on Giddens' theory was performed for the experimental group. Data were collected through the Role Ambiguity and Role Conflict Questionnaires (Rizzo et al., 1970) and were analyzed using analysis of covariance (ANCOVA).

Results showed that there was a significant difference in role ambiguity and role conflict between experimental and control groups in the two stages of pre-test and post-test (p < 0.01). This effect continued during the follow-up phase also (p < 0.01).  

Based on the results of present study, it can be said that the implementation of ontological training based on Giddens theory reduces role ambiguity and role conflict in prison employees and the use of this training can be effective in reducing some problems related to prison work environment.