The Relationship between Workplace Incivility and Well-Being in Administrative Court Judges.

Judicial stress is an important area of study, as judges' decisions have life-altering consequences for the immediate parties and, sometimes, society in general. Although there are numerous studies of judicial stress, few have specifically investigated the relationship between judicial stress and workplace incivility (i.e., rude or condescending behavior with ambiguous intent). This survey investigated relationships between workplace incivility and judicial stress, health, and job outcomes in a group of administrative judges. Overall, judges reported moderate levels of stress and low exposure to incivility. They indicated that incivility is a moderate problem, with attorneys as the most common source of incivility. Supporting the Model of Judicial Stress, workplace incivility was positively associated with levels of stress and compassion fatigue and negatively associated with job satisfaction. The relationships between incivility and measures of mental health, physical health, and compassion fatigue were all mediated by stress. Implications for judicial stress interventions include the need for judicial training and interventions to curb incivility.

Individual Differences Relate to Support for Insanity and Postpartum Depression Legal Defenses: The Mediating Role of Moral Disengagement.

Postpartum depression defense (PPDD) is a form of insanity defense often used when mothers harm their children. Although courts have determined that insanity defenses, including PPDD, can be used as legitimate criminal defenses, such defenses are often misunderstood among jurors and laypersons. The current survey of 467 undergraduates examines relationships between individual differences and support for PPDD and the insanity defense. Need for cognition was found to be positively related to support for PPDD and the insanity defense, while legal authoritarianism (LA) was found to be negatively related to support for both defenses. Faith in intuition is negatively related to support for the insanity defense. In this sample, women are more likely than men to support the PPDD, but not the insanity defense. Additionally, relationships between support and both the need for cognition and LA are partially mediated by moral disengagement, which is negatively related to support for PPDD and insanity defenses. These results replicate a model used in different legal contexts. Implications for legal and academic communities are discussed.