Professional Stressors, Moral Dilemmas and Coping Strategies among Judges, State Attorneys and Defense Lawyers

Judges, state attorneys and defense lawyers are central figures in the legal system. Work psychology research has neglected their potential professional stressors - unlike that of doctors, managers, leaders, or teachers.
We examined (a) the professional stressors of judges, state attorneys and lawyers, particularly those associated with moral dilemmas; (b) and their use of coping strategies with professional difficulties and moral dilemmas.
The research involved two phases. (a) First we interviewed 90 judges, state attorneys and lawyers in Switzerland using qualitative methods. We inquired about potential professional stressors, moral dilemmas and coping strategies. Using this method, we identified specific types of professional difficulties, moral dilemmas and coping strategies. (b) In the second quantitative phase, we administered written questionnaires (developed form the qualitative interviews) to 383 judges, 180 state attorneys and 1152 defense lawyers.
We will discuss results from both phases. The interviews show that all three groups confront complex legal questions in their practice and experience interpersonal conflicts and emotional stress.
The questionnaires show that the three professional groups share common general stressors such as time pressure and emotional stress due to interpersonal conflicts. However, each group reported different specific stressors and different types of moral dilemmas.