Stress, Trauma, and Wellbeing in the Legal System

All individuals face stress in their daily lives, but this is often particularly true for those who enforce the law, administer justice, or are forced into the legal system. Uncontrolled strain can result in negative behaviors, burnout, risk-taking, and physical and psychological symptoms ranging from colds to depression and suicide. This, in turn, can have a dramatic impact on the functioning of the legal system as a whole. On the other hand, contact with the legal system has the potential to promote wellbeing for many individuals, such as victims who feel that justice has been served and jurors and judges who feel they have helped preserve the integrity of the legal system. Stress, Trauma, and Wellbeing in the Legal System presents theory, research, and scholarship from a variety of social scientific disciplines and offers suggestions for those interested in exploring and improving the wellbeing of those who are voluntarily (police, probation officers, civil plaintiffs, lawyers, judges, court staff) or involuntarily (jurors, criminal defendants, witnesses, children, the elderly) drawn into the legal system. This comprehensive volume is an invaluable resource for those intersested in protecting the wellbeing of individuals in the legal system, particularly criminal justice professionals, judges, attorneys, forensic psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, researchers in psychology, criminology, and sociology, and students in each of these areas.