NCJ Number
85211
Date Published
1981
Length
274 pages
Annotation
A total of 174 criminal trial court judges were surveyed to determine the extent to which they experienced work-related stress and what factors affected such stress.
Abstract
Data indicate that handling domestic cases is more stressful for judges than handling criminal cases. Variables positively associated with stress include decisionmaking responsibility, value conflict, and perception of danger. Other variables, such as role conflict, counsel incompetence, and workloads, are also associated with stress in many judges. Those factors which moderate the effects of stress for judges were generally weak in comparison to stressor variables but include judicial autonomy, positive job satisfaction, and social support by lawyer friends (the only strongly supported hypothesis). None of the variables hypothesized to determine vulnerability to the effects of stressors had more than moderate statistical support; only Type A personality and behavior had more than weak support. Study data, about 90 references, the questionnaire, and a list of variables used are included.