Lawyers’ Problems and their Relationship with Perceived Stress and Occupational Burnout: A Study on Lawyers Practicing Civil and Criminal Law

Abstract

The major objectives of the study were to identify the level of perceived stress and burnout among lawyers and to elucidate the relationship between various occupational problems among civil and criminal lawyers. The mediating effect between lawyers’ perception of problems, with respect to nature of specialization (i.e. criminal and civil law), perceived stress and burnout was also studied. This cross-sectional and correlational study was conducted on a sample of N = 535 criminal and civil court lawyers, n = 255 (47.7%) and n = 280 (52.3%), respectively. Lawyers Perception of Problem Scale (LPPS), Oldenburg Burnout Inventory (OBI) and Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) were administered. A positive relationship between occupational stress and occupational burnout was found. The criminal court lawyers reported higher stress and more family problems than the civil court lawyers. Highly experienced lawyers have reported lesser levels of stress. Results from multiple regression show that financial problems and police involvement significantly predict occupational stress. A mediating effect of perceived problems was also found between type of specialization and stress and burnout. Overall, less experienced and criminal court lawyers face more problems related to family, finances, and security, and they also perceive more stress and burnout.