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Although Australian law students report elevated distress compared with community norms and other student groups, few studies have examined the relationships between perceived stress in law school and adjustment in law students. A total of 647 Australian law students completed the purpose-built Law Student Perceived Stress Scale (LSPSS). Analyses indicated that the LSPSS was psychometrically sound and measured four dimensions of law school stress: academic demands, social isolation, career pressure and study/life imbalance. Regression analyses on a subsample (n D 481) indicated that higher scores on each dimension were related to higher depression and anxiety symptoms. Social isolation was related to reduced life satisfaction and psychological well-being across all dimensions. Further analysis indicated that the majority of law students reported Moderate to Extremely Severe symptoms of depression (53%) and anxiety (54%). Practice implications, including the need to promote social connectedness in law schools, are discussed.

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The purpose of this study was to explain previously reported high levels of psychological distress in lawyers. General demands (i.e., time pressure and emotional demands) and lawyer demands (i.e., emphasis on profits and competitiveness), as well as three resources (i.e., control, pay, and praise) were examined, along with the moderating role of overcommitment. Participants included 448 Australian lawyers who completed an online questionnaire distributed to them by their state or territory law society. Results revealed significant direct relationships between the demands, resources, and overcommitment on depression and anxiety. Significant two-way interactions indicated that the positive relationship of general demands on depression and anxiety were more marked for high overcommitted lawyers, as was the negative relationship of pay on anxiety. Contrary to predictions for the three-way interaction, in the presence of high general demands, there was a trend to suggest that high control was positively related to psychological distress for high overcommitted lawyers. The theoretical and practical implications of these results, including the importance of identifying overcommitted lawyers and developing preventive interventions to reduce overcommitment prior to the development of strain, are discussed.

The purpose of this study was to examine the main and interactive effects of four dimensions of professional commitment on strain (i.e., depression, anxiety, perceived health status, and job dissatisfaction) for a sample of 176 law professionals. The study utilized a two-wave design in which professional commitment and strain were measured at Time 1 and strain was measured again at Time 2 (T2), 2 months later. A significant two-way interaction indicated that high affective commitment was related to less T2 job dissatisfaction only for lawyers with low accumulated costs. A significant fourway interaction indicated that high affective professional commitment was only related to fewer symptoms of T2 anxiety for lawyers with high normative professional commitment and both low limited alternatives and accumulated costs. A similar pattern of results emerged in regard to T2 perceived health status. The theoretical and practical implications of these results for career counselors are discussed.