Quick Reference

Quick Reference

Is the difference statistically significant? If the adjusted p-value is below the corrected threshold shown in the table note (e.g., > 0.01 or 0.001), then yes!

How big is the difference? Look at Cohen’s d:

  • Small: .20–.49
  • Moderate: .50–.79
  • Large: .80+

A Note on Interpreting Key Statistical Values (if you want the longer version)

p-value: Generally, a result is considered statistically significant when the p value is less than .05. This p-value represents the probability of finding this result by chance alone. For example, a p-value < .05 means that if there were truly no difference between the two groups, we would expect to observe a result this large or larger less than 5% of the time by chance alone.

Which p-value to use: Please prioritise the p (adjusted) column when interpreting results, where available. The adjusted p-value accounts for the fact that we ran multiple tests at once, which increases the risk of finding something significant by chance. The correction partially addresses this by raising the bar for what counts as significant. For example, if we ran 5 tests, the corrected threshold becomes p < .01 instead of the usual p < .05 to make it harder to call something significant by chance alone.

Cohen’s d: The magnitude of difference is categorised as small (.20–.49), moderate (.50–.79), or large (.80+). The Cohen’s d value tells us how large the difference is in practical terms. For instance, a statistically significant result with a small Cohen’s d (e.g., d = 0.2) means the difference is significant statistically but may not be particularly meaningful in practice. Conversely, a p value of .05 with a large Cohen’s d (e.g., d = 0.9) suggests that the difference between the two groups is significant statistically and large in magnitude.

Descriptive Statistics: Wellbeing Measures by Gender, Court Level, and Region

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Descriptive Statistics by Gender
Group n K10 Mean K10 SD STSS Mean STSS SD SWLS Mean SWLS SD
Male 302 15.82 5.93 30.59 11.73 24.72 5.84
Female 291 17.83 6.33 34.95 12.07 24.03 5.95
NA 9 18.29 6.10 37.12 12.33 24.00 5.92
Descriptive Statistics by Court Level
Group n K10 Mean K10 SD STSS Mean STSS SD SWLS Mean SWLS SD
Supreme 122 15.26 5.97 29.90 10.86 25.75 5.40
District 157 16.57 6.59 32.44 12.43 24.79 5.86
Local 268 17.63 6.04 34.04 12.18 23.57 6.11
NA 55 17.06 5.71 34.00 12.53 24.02 5.43
Descriptive Statistics by Location
Group n K10 Mean K10 SD STSS Mean STSS SD SWLS Mean SWLS SD
Metro 512 16.67 6.27 32.48 12.02 24.42 5.98
Regional 67 18.11 5.87 35.11 12.67 24.17 5.13
NA 23 16.33 5.15 32.57 11.79 24.05 6.32

Judicial Attitudes to Work Scale (JAWS) Stress Scores by Gender, Court Level, and Region

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Mean JAWS Stress Scores by Gender
Group n JAWS Stress (Item 1) JAWS Stress (Item 2)
Female 291 3.30 2.66
Male 302 2.77 2.30
NA 9 3.22 2.78
Mean JAWS Stress Scores by Court Level
Group n JAWS Stress (Item 1) JAWS Stress (Item 2)
District 157 2.85 2.27
Local 268 3.35 2.78
Supreme 122 2.46 2.17
NA 55 3.32 2.38
Mean JAWS Stress Scores by Region
Group n JAWS Stress (Item 1) JAWS Stress (Item 2)
Metro 512 2.94 2.44
Regional 67 3.63 2.76
NA 23 3.48 2.86

Gender Differences across Wellbeing Measures

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Gender Differences in Wellbeing Measures
Scale Men average (n=302) Women average (n=291) t df p p (adjusted) sig Cohen’s d
Psychological Distress (K10) 15.817 17.825 -3.959 576.605 0.000 0.000 *** 0.328
Secondary Traumatic Stress (STSS) 30.586 34.947 -4.413 575.905 0.000 0.000 *** 0.366
Satisfaction with Life (SWLS) 24.717 24.031 1.409 583.865 0.159 0.796 0.116
Note. * p < .05, ** p < .01, *** p < .001. p (adjusted) reflects Bonferroni correction across all 5 tests (corrected threshold: p < .01).
Gender Differences in JAWS Stress Scores
Scale Men average (n=302) Women average (n=291) t df p p (adjusted) sig Cohen’s d
JAWS Stress (Item 1) 2.773 3.296 -5.563 563.640 0 0 *** 0.468
JAWS Stress (Item 2) 2.302 2.662 -4.128 559.851 0 0 *** 0.348
Note. * p < .05, ** p < .01, *** p < .001. p (adjusted) reflects Bonferroni correction across all 5 tests (corrected threshold: p < .01).

Note. Box plots display the median (centre line), interquartile range (IQR; box), and 1.5 times the IQR (whiskers). Dots represent outliers falling beyond the whiskers.

Plain text Summary. We compared wellbeing and work-related stress between male and female judicial officers using t-tests. Women reported higher psychological distress and secondary traumatic stress than men, while life satisfaction was similar between the two groups. Women also reported higher work-related stress on both JAWS items. These differences held up even after we applied a statistical correction to account for running multiple tests, which gives us a bit more confidence that the findings are reliable rather than due to chance.

Summary w/Statistics. We conducted independent samples t-tests to examine gender differences across wellbeing and JAWS stress items. We also applied Bonferroni correction to control for Type I error because of how many tests were performed. The results in the 1st and 2nd tables above show that women reported significantly higher psychological distress (K10; t(576.60) = -3.96, p < .001, d = 0.33) and secondary traumatic stress (STSS; t(575.90) = -4.41, p < .001, d = 0.37) than men, with no significant difference in life satisfaction (SWLS; t(583.87) = 1.41, p = .16, d = 0.12). Women also reported significantly higher scores on both JAWS stress items (Item 1: t(563.64) = -5.56, p < .001, d = 0.47; Item 2: t(559.85) = -4.13, p < .001, d = 0.35). All the significant results remained significant after correction, which tells us that women judicial officers tended to experience greater psychological distress, secondary traumatic stress, and work-related stress than their male counterparts, even after controlling for Type I error.

Limitations. We ran five inferential tests across several variables in this section. One problem that oftentimes arises from running multiple tests at once is that we’re more likely to find something that looks significant just by chance (i.e., Type I error or false positives). We tried to address this statistically using Bonferroni correction, which essentially works by raising the bar for what counts as significant. In other words, instead of the usual threshold of p < .05, we divide that by the number of tests run (since we have 5 tests, the corrected threshold was p < .01) to make it harder to find something significant by chance alone. However, this only reduces the risk of false positives but does not completely remove it, so we still recommend treating these findings with caution and avoiding drawing strong conclusions.

Court Level Differences across Wellbeing Measures

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Mean Wellbeing Scores by Court Level with ANOVA Results
Outcome Supreme (n=122) District (n=157) Local (n=268) F df1 df2 p p_adj sig Eta2
Psychological Distress (K10) 15.256 16.573 17.627 12.401 1 539 0.000 0.002 ** 0.022
Secondary Trauma (STSS) 29.901 32.440 34.038 9.865 1 535 0.002 0.009 ** 0.018
Satisfaction with Life (SWLS) 25.752 24.790 23.572 12.271 1 540 0.000 0.002 ** 0.022
Note. * p < .05, ** p < .01, *** p < .001. p_adj reflects Bonferroni correction across all 5 tests (corrected threshold: p < .01).
Mean JAWS Stress Scores by Court Level with ANOVA Results
Outcome Supreme (n=122) District (n=157) Local (n=268) F df1 df2 p p_adj sig Eta2
JAWS Stress (Item 1) 2.461 2.846 3.349 58.228 1 520 0 0 *** 0.101
JAWS Stress (Item 2) 2.167 2.272 2.778 34.475 1 516 0 0 *** 0.063
Note. * p < .05, ** p < .01, *** p < .001. p_adj reflects Bonferroni correction across all 5 tests (corrected threshold: p < .01).
Tukey HSD Post-Hoc Tests: Wellbeing by Court Level
Outcome Comparison Mean Difference Lower CI Upper CI p (adjusted) sig
Psychological Distress (K10) District vs Supreme 1.317 -0.443 3.077 0.185
Local vs Supreme 2.371 0.773 3.970 0.002 **
Local vs District 1.054 -0.414 2.522 0.211
Secondary Trauma (STSS) District vs Supreme 2.539 -0.897 5.976 0.193
Local vs Supreme 4.137 1.053 7.221 0.005 **
Local vs District 1.598 -1.274 4.469 0.392
Satisfaction with Life (SWLS) District vs Supreme -0.962 -2.635 0.711 0.367
Local vs Supreme -2.180 -3.698 -0.662 0.002 **
Local vs District -1.218 -2.612 0.176 0.101
Tukey HSD Post-Hoc Tests: JAWS Stress by Court Level
Outcome Comparison Mean Difference Lower CI Upper CI p (adjusted) sig
JAWS Stress (Item 1) District vs Supreme 0.385 0.069 0.700 0.012
Local vs Supreme 0.888 0.603 1.173 0.000 ***
Local vs District 0.503 0.242 0.765 0.000 ***
JAWS Stress (Item 2) District vs Supreme 0.105 -0.194 0.405 0.686
Local vs Supreme 0.612 0.341 0.882 0.000 ***
Local vs District 0.506 0.258 0.754 0.000 ***

Note. Box plots display the median (centre line), interquartile range (IQR; box), and 1.5 times the IQR (whiskers). Dots represent outliers falling beyond the whiskers.

Plain text Summary. We compared psychological distress, secondary traumatic stress, satisfaction with life, and work-related stress across three court levels (Supreme, District, and Local) to see whether judicial officers in different courts reported different wellbeing and stress levels.

Our results showed that Local court judicial officers reported the highest levels of psychological distress, secondary traumatic stress, and work-related stress, and the lowest satisfaction with life.

Our follow-up (i.e., post-hoc) tests assessing which specific court level pairs differed from each other showed that the differences were most pronounced between Local and Supreme Court officers. Local court officers reported significantly higher distress, secondary trauma, and work stress, and lower life satisfaction than their Supreme Court counterparts. District and Supreme Court officers did not differ significantly from each other on any measure, and neither did Local and District Court officers on the wellbeing measures. However, Local court officers did report significantly higher work-related stress than both Supreme and District Court officers.

Summary w/Statistics. We conducted one-way ANOVAs to examine differences in wellbeing and JAWS stress scores across court levels: Supreme, District, and Local. We then ran the Tukey HSD post-hoc tests to identify which specific court level pairs differed significantly. We also applied Bonferroni correction across all five ANOVA tests to control for Type I error (corrected threshold for 5 tests = p < .01). The results show that Local court judicial officers reported significantly higher psychological distress (K10; F(1, 539) = 12.40, p < .001), higher secondary traumatic stress (STSS; F(1, 535) = 9.87, p = .002), and lower satisfaction with life (SWLS; F(1, 540) = 12.27, p < .001) compared to Supreme and District court officers, with a consistent pattern of increasing distress from Supreme to District to Local court. Local court officers also reported significantly higher scores on both JAWS stress items (Item 1: F(1, 520) = 58.23, p < .001; Item 2: F(1, 516) = 34.48, p < .001).

Post-hoc tests clarified that for wellbeing outcomes, significant differences were found only between Local and Supreme Court officers. Local court officers reported significantly higher psychological distress (mean difference = 2.37, p = .002), higher secondary traumatic stress (mean difference = 4.14, p = .005), and lower satisfaction with life (mean difference = -2.18, p = .002) than Supreme Court officers. No significant differences were found between District and Supreme Court officers, or between Local and District Court officers, on any wellbeing measure. For JAWS stress, Local court officers reported significantly higher stress than both Supreme Court officers (Item 1: mean difference = 0.89, p < .001; Item 2: mean difference = 0.61, p < .001) and District Court officers (Item 1: mean difference = 0.50, p < .001; Item 2: mean difference = 0.51, p < .001), while District and Supreme Court officers did not differ significantly from one another on either item.

Limitations. We also ran five inferential tests across several variables in this section. One problem that oftentimes arises from running multiple tests at once is that we’re more likely to find something that looks significant just by chance (i.e., Type I error or false positives). We tried to address this statistically using Bonferroni correction, which essentially works by raising the bar for what counts as significant. Instead of the usual threshold of p < .05, we divide that by the number of tests run (since we have 5 tests, the corrected threshold was p < .01) to make it harder to call something significant by chance alone. Tukey HSD further controls for familywise error rate across the three pairwise comparisons within each outcome. However, these corrections only reduce the risk of false positives but do not completely remove it, so we still recommend treating these findings with caution and avoiding drawing strong conclusions.

Regional Differences across Wellbeing Measures

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Location Differences in Wellbeing Measures
Scale Metro (n=512) Regional (n=67) t df p p (adjusted) sig Cohen’s d
Psychological Distress (K10) 16.666 18.106 -1.858 85.534 0.067 0.333 0.231
Secondary Trauma (STSS) 32.480 35.106 -1.592 81.132 0.115 0.577 0.217
Satisfaction with Life (SWLS) 24.418 24.167 0.367 89.666 0.714 1.000 0.043
Note. * p < .05, ** p < .01, *** p < .001. p (adjusted) reflects Bonferroni correction across all 5 tests (corrected threshold: p < .01).
Location Differences in JAWS Stress Scores
Scale Metro (n=512) Regional (n=67) t df p p (adjusted) sig Cohen’s d
JAWS Stress (Item 1) 2.943 3.629 -4.962 81.513 0.000 0.000 *** 0.614
JAWS Stress (Item 2) 2.437 2.758 -2.264 77.270 0.026 0.132 0.306
Note. * p < .05, ** p < .01, *** p < .001. p (adjusted) reflects Bonferroni correction across all 5 tests (corrected threshold: p < .01).

Note. Box plots display the median (centre line), interquartile range (IQR; box), and 1.5 times the IQR (whiskers). Dots represent outliers falling beyond the whiskers.

Plain text Summary. We compared wellbeing and work-related stress between Metro and Regional/Remote judicial officers. There were no meaningful differences in psychological distress, secondary traumatic stress, or life satisfaction between the two groups. However, Regional/Remote officers did report higher work-related stress than their Metro counterparts, and this difference was statistically significant

Summary w/Statistics.. We conducted independent samples t-tests to examine whether wellbeing outcomes and JAWS stress scores differed between Metro and Other (Regional, Remote) judicial officers across the full sample, with Bonferroni correction applied across all five tests (corrected threshold: p < .01).

No significant differences were found between Metro and Regional/Remote judicial officers on any of the three wellbeing measures after correction. Although Regional/Remote officers reported slightly higher psychological distress (K10; t(85.53) = -1.86, p = .067, d = 0.23) and secondary traumatic stress (STSS; t(81.13) = -1.59, p = .115, d = 0.22) than Metro officers, neither result survived Bonferroni correction. No difference was found for life satisfaction (SWLS; t(89.67) = 0.37, p = .714, d = 0.04).

For JAWS stress, Regional/Remote officers reported significantly higher scores on Item 1 (t(81.51) = -4.96, p < .001, d = 0.61) than Metro officers, a medium to large effect that remained significant after correction. Item 2 showed a similar pattern but did not survive correction (t(77.27) = -2.26, p = .026, p adjusted = .132, d = 0.31).

Limitations. As mentioned in above sections, running multiple tests increases the risk of Type I error. We applied Bonferroni correction to partially address this, but it does not completely remove the risk. Additionally, the Regional/Remote sample is considerably smaller than the Metro sample (n = 67 vs n = 512), which reduces statistical power and may explain why some differences did not reach significance after correction.

Multiple Regression Predicting Wellbeing Outcomes using Court Level, Gender, and region

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Multiple Regression: Court Level, Gender, and Region Predicting Wellbeing
Outcome Predictor B SE t p 95% CI Lower 95% CI Upper
Psychological Distress (K10) Intercept (Higher, Male, Metro) 16.268 0.533 30.511 0.000 15.220 17.315
CourtLevel_fHigher -1.244 0.573 -2.169 0.031 -2.370 -0.117
Gender_fFemale 2.153 0.545 3.950 0.000 1.082 3.224
Location_fRegional 0.987 0.876 1.127 0.260 -0.734 2.708
Secondary Traumatic Stress (STSS) Intercept (Higher, Male, Metro) 31.477 1.032 30.487 0.000 29.449 33.506
CourtLevel_fHigher -1.958 1.114 -1.758 0.079 -4.147 0.230
Gender_fFemale 4.013 1.057 3.796 0.000 1.936 6.090
Location_fRegional 1.657 1.694 0.978 0.329 -1.672 4.986
Satisfaction With Life (SWLS) Intercept (Higher, Male, Metro) 23.953 0.508 47.135 0.000 22.955 24.952
CourtLevel_fHigher 1.439 0.548 2.627 0.009 0.363 2.515
Gender_fFemale -0.602 0.521 -1.156 0.248 -1.625 0.421
Location_fRegional 0.173 0.837 0.206 0.837 -1.472 1.817
Model Fit Statistics: Court Level, Gender, and Region Predicting Wellbeing
Outcome R2 Adj. R2 F p df df error
Psychological Distress (K10) 0.048 0.043 8.688 0.000 3 512
Secondary Traumatic Stress (STSS) 0.042 0.036 7.353 0.000 3 507
Satisfaction With Life (SWLS) 0.018 0.012 3.116 0.026 3 512

Plain text Summary. We examined whether court level, gender, and location predicted wellbeing outcomes. Gender was the most consistent predictor; women reported significantly higher psychological distress and secondary traumatic stress than men. Additionally, local court officers reported higher distress and lower life satisfaction than Higher Court officers. Location was not a significant predictor once court level and gender were accounted for statistically. These three predictors together explained only a small proportion of wellbeing variance, which tells us that other factors not captured here might play a larger role.

Summary w/Statistics. We conducted three multiple regression analyses to examine whether court level, gender, and location independently predicted psychological distress (K10), satisfaction with life (SWLS), and secondary traumatic stress (STSS). The reference categories (i.e., the baseline group other groups are compared against in the regression) were Higher Court, Male, and Metro.

Psychological Distress (K10): The overall model was significant (F(3, 512) = 8.69, p < .001) and explained 4.8% of variance (R² = .048, adjusted R² = .043). Local court officers reported significantly higher distress than Higher Court officers (B = -1.24, p = .031), and women officers reported significantly higher distress than males (B = 2.15, p < .001). Location was not a significant predictor (B = 0.99, p = .260).

Secondary Traumatic Stress (STSS): The overall model was significant (F(3, 507) = 7.35, p < .001) and explained 4.2% of variance (R² = .042, adjusted R² = .036). Women officers reported significantly higher secondary traumatic stress than males (B = 4.01, p < .001). Court level (B = -1.96, p = .079) and location (B = 1.66, p = .329) were not significant predictors.

Satisfaction with Life (SWLS): The overall model was significant (F(3, 512) = 3.12, p = .026) but explained only 1.8% of variance (R² = .018, adjusted R² = .012). Higher Court officers reported significantly higher life satisfaction than Local Court officers (B = 1.44, p = .009). Neither gender (B = -0.60, p = .248) nor location (B = 0.17, p = .837) were significant predictors.

Limitations. Three separate regression models were estimated, one for each wellbeing outcome. While each model was theoretically motivated, running multiple models on the same sample does still increase the risk of stumbling across chance findings. Moreover, the models explain a relatively small proportion of variance, which tells us that other factors not captured here contribute substantially to judicial officer wellbeing.

Correlational Analyses for Wellbeing measures

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Pearson Correlations Between Wellbeing Measures
Measure
  1. K10
  1. STSS
  1. SWLS
  1. K10 (Psychological Distress)
0.84*** -0.49***
  1. STSS (Secondary Traumatic Stress)
0.84***
-0.49***
  1. SWLS (Satisfaction With Life)
-0.49*** -0.49***
Note. • p < .05, ** p < .01, *** p < .001

Judicial Officer Coping Strategy Use Across Gender, Court Level, and Region

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Chi-Square/Fisher’s Exact Tests: Coping Strategies by Gender
Coping Strategy Test Chi-Square df p p_adj sig
Alcohol Chi-Square 0.02 1 0.900 0.930
Smoking/Vaping Chi-Square 3.25 1 0.071 0.143
Prescribed Meds Chi-Square 2.70 1 0.101 0.176
Non-Prescribed Meds Chi-Square 5.82 1 0.016 0.037
Prof. Mental Health Support Chi-Square 2.06 1 0.152 0.236
Other Chi-Square 0.01 1 0.930 0.930
None of the Above Chi-Square 7.03 1 0.008 0.037
Prefer Not to Say Fisher’s Exact NA NA 0.370 0.471
Support from Colleagues Chi-Square 14.38 1 0.000 0.002 **
Support from Family & Friends Chi-Square 12.25 1 0.000 0.003 **
Exercise Chi-Square 0.04 1 0.850 0.930
Meditation/Mindfulness Chi-Square 6.11 1 0.013 0.037
Faith Practices Chi-Square 1.23 1 0.268 0.375
Artistic/Creative Activities Chi-Square 6.43 1 0.011 0.037
Note. • p < .05, ** p < .01, *** p < .001. Significance based on p_adj (FDR corrected, Benjamini-Hochberg, corrected threshold: p < .05). Fisher’s Exact Test used when expected cell count < 5. Males are the reference group.
Chi-Square/Fisher’s Exact Tests: Coping Strategies by Court Level
Coping Strategy Test Chi-Square df p p_adj sig
Alcohol Chi-Square 0.13 1 0.722 1.000
Smoking/Vaping Chi-Square 3.41 1 0.065 0.452
Prescribed Meds Chi-Square 0.22 1 0.642 0.999
Non-Prescribed Meds Fisher’s Exact NA NA 1.000 1.000
Prof. Mental Health Support Chi-Square 9.23 1 0.002 0.033
Other Chi-Square 1.29 1 0.256 0.999
None of the Above Chi-Square 0.07 1 0.786 1.000
Prefer Not to Say Fisher’s Exact NA NA 0.622 0.999
Support from Colleagues Chi-Square 0.64 1 0.425 0.999
Support from Family & Friends Chi-Square 0.45 1 0.503 0.999
Exercise Chi-Square 0.55 1 0.460 0.999
Meditation/Mindfulness Chi-Square 0.48 1 0.488 0.999
Faith Practices Chi-Square 0.00 1 0.968 1.000
Artistic/Creative Activities Chi-Square 0.00 1 0.965 1.000
Note. • p < .05, ** p < .01, *** p < .001. Fisher’s Exact Test used when expected cell count < 5. Higher Court is the reference group. p_adj reflects FDR correction (Benjamini-Hochberg) across 14 tests.
Chi-Square/Fisher’s Exact Tests: Coping Strategies by Region
Coping Strategy Test Chi-Square df p p_adj sig
Alcohol Chi-Square 7.97 1 0.005 0.067
Smoking/Vaping Fisher’s Exact NA NA 0.357 0.785
Prescribed Meds Chi-Square 0.73 1 0.393 0.785
Non-Prescribed Meds Fisher’s Exact NA NA 0.357 0.785
Prof. Mental Health Support Chi-Square 0.07 1 0.789 0.917
Other Chi-Square 0.03 1 0.852 0.917
None of the Above Fisher’s Exact NA NA 0.379 0.785
Prefer Not to Say Fisher’s Exact NA NA 1.000 1.000
Support from Colleagues Chi-Square 0.81 1 0.368 0.785
Support from Family & Friends Chi-Square 0.16 1 0.687 0.917
Exercise Chi-Square 0.18 1 0.674 0.917
Meditation/Mindfulness Chi-Square 1.80 1 0.180 0.785
Faith Practices Chi-Square 0.11 1 0.739 0.917
Artistic/Creative Activities Chi-Square 0.09 1 0.770 0.917
Note. • p < .05, ** p < .01, *** p < .001. Fisher’s Exact Test used when expected cell count < 5. Metro is the reference group. p_adj reflects FDR correction (Benjamini-Hochberg) across 14 tests.

Plain text Summary. We examined whether coping strategy use endorsed by the judicial officers differed by gender, court level, and region. Gender showed the most variation, with six significant differences found. Women were more likely to seek support from colleagues and family and friends, less likely to report using no coping strategies, and more likely to use meditation/mindfulness, artistic/creative activities, and non-prescribed medications than men. Local court officers were more likely to seek professional mental health support than Higher Court officers. No significant differences were found by region after correction.

Summary w/Statistics. We conducted chi-square tests (or Fisher’s Exact Tests where expected cell counts were below 5) to examine whether coping strategy use differed by gender, court level, and region. FDR correction (Benjamini-Hochberg) was applied across 14 tests within each comparison.

By Gender: After FDR correction, six significant differences were found. Women were significantly more likely to seek support from colleagues (χ²(1) = 14.38, p < .001, p_adj = .002) and family and friends (χ²(1) = 12.25, p < .001, p_adj = .003) than men. Women were also significantly less likely to report using none of the listed coping strategies (χ²(1) = 7.03, p = .008, p_adj = .037), suggesting they tend to use more coping strategies overall, and more likely to engage in meditation/mindfulness (χ²(1) = 6.11, p = .013, p_adj = .037), artistic/creative activities (χ²(1) = 6.43, p = .011, p_adj = .037), and non-prescribed medications (χ²(1) = 5.82, p = .016, p_adj = .037) than men. No significant differences were found for alcohol, smoking/vaping, prescribed medications, professional mental health support, exercise, or faith practices.

By Court Level: One significant difference remained after FDR correction. Local court officers were significantly more likely to seek professional mental health support than Higher Court officers (χ²(1) = 9.23, p = .002, p_adj = .033). No other coping strategies differed significantly by court level.

By Region: No significant differences were found after FDR correction. Although alcohol use showed a nominally significant difference before correction (χ²(1) = 7.97, p = .005), this did not survive FDR adjustment (p_adj = .067).

Limitations. Fourteen chi-square or Fisher’s Exact tests were conducted for each demographic comparison, totalling 42 tests across the three tables. FDR correction (Benjamini-Hochberg) was applied within each comparison group to control the false discovery rate. While this is less conservative than Bonferroni, results should still be interpreted with caution given the exploratory nature of the analysis.

Association between Judicial Officer Coping Strategy Use and wellbeing measures

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Coping Strategy Use and Psychological Distress (K10)
Coping Strategy Mean (No) Mean (Yes) t df p p (adjusted) sig
Alcohol 16.58 17.40 -1.52 423.9 0.128 1.000
Smoking/Vaping 16.74 23.45 -3.21 10.3 0.009 0.126
Prescribed Meds 16.19 22.08 -5.84 72.8 0.000 0.000 ***
Non-Prescribed Meds 16.74 23.55 -3.05 10.3 0.012 0.166
Prof. Mental Health Support 16.01 20.58 -6.06 135.4 0.000 0.000 ***
Other 16.89 16.62 0.32 67.4 0.747 1.000
None of the Above 16.94 13.69 2.23 12.8 0.044 0.621
Prefer Not to Say 16.85 19.50 -2.17 3.3 0.110 1.000
Support from Colleagues 17.70 16.61 1.58 186.2 0.116 1.000
Support from Family & Friends 16.09 17.00 -1.22 113.7 0.227 1.000
Exercise 17.42 16.73 0.98 157.6 0.329 1.000
Meditation/Mindfulness 16.42 18.29 -2.94 210.3 0.004 0.051
Faith Practices 16.88 16.73 0.15 56.4 0.883 1.000
Artistic/Creative Activities 16.72 17.46 -1.16 177.6 0.246 1.000
Note. • p < .05, ** p < .01, *** p < .001. Significance based on Bonferroni corrected p values (corrected threshold: p < .004). n comparisons = 14. Mean (No) = did not endorse strategy, Mean (Yes) = endorsed strategy.
Coping Strategy Use and Secondary Traumatic Stress (STSS)
Coping Strategy Mean (No) Mean (Yes) t df p p (adjusted) sig
Alcohol 32.13 34.15 -1.91 428.5 0.056 0.791
Smoking/Vaping 32.75 37.45 -1.37 10.5 0.198 1.000
Prescribed Meds 31.77 41.09 -5.17 75.8 0.000 0.000 ***
Non-Prescribed Meds 32.61 45.60 -3.36 9.3 0.008 0.112
Prof. Mental Health Support 31.26 39.69 -6.02 142.0 0.000 0.000 ***
Other 32.83 32.98 -0.09 65.9 0.931 1.000
None of the Above 32.98 26.75 1.78 11.5 0.101 1.000
Prefer Not to Say 32.87 29.50 0.70 3.1 0.532 1.000
Support from Colleagues 34.49 32.36 1.57 181.6 0.119 1.000
Support from Family & Friends 31.01 33.16 -1.47 111.3 0.144 1.000
Exercise 33.83 32.61 0.87 150.0 0.383 1.000
Meditation/Mindfulness 32.02 35.47 -2.81 214.3 0.005 0.076
Faith Practices 32.90 32.23 0.35 55.2 0.727 1.000
Artistic/Creative Activities 32.33 34.92 -1.95 163.5 0.053 0.741
Note. • p < .05, ** p < .01, *** p < .001. Significance based on Bonferroni corrected p values (corrected threshold: p < .004). n comparisons = 14. Mean (No) = did not endorse strategy, Mean (Yes) = endorsed strategy.
Coping Strategy Use and Satisfaction With Life (SWLS)
Coping Strategy Mean (No) Mean (Yes) t df p p (adjusted) sig
Alcohol 24.53 24.16 0.74 442.0 0.459 1.000
Smoking/Vaping 24.49 19.82 2.15 10.3 0.057 0.791
Prescribed Meds 24.67 22.35 2.64 76.3 0.010 0.142
Non-Prescribed Meds 24.48 20.45 1.86 10.3 0.092 1.000
Prof. Mental Health Support 24.94 22.00 4.43 144.0 0.000 0.000 ***
Other 24.29 25.48 -1.63 69.7 0.107 1.000
None of the Above 24.43 23.08 0.83 11.5 0.422 1.000
Prefer Not to Say 24.50 10.50 7.51 3.1 0.004 0.061
Support from Colleagues 22.67 24.92 -3.46 183.4 0.001 0.009 **
Support from Family & Friends 22.08 24.81 -3.47 104.7 0.001 0.010
Exercise 22.82 24.78 -2.90 150.4 0.004 0.061
Meditation/Mindfulness 24.34 24.61 -0.49 244.2 0.622 1.000
Faith Practices 24.46 23.73 0.77 55.7 0.447 1.000
Artistic/Creative Activities 24.37 24.52 -0.23 170.0 0.816 1.000
Note. • p < .05, ** p < .01, *** p < .001. Significance based on Bonferroni corrected p values (corrected threshold: p < .004). n comparisons = 14. Mean (No) = did not endorse strategy, Mean (Yes) = endorsed strategy.

Plain text Summary. We examined whether using each coping strategy was associated with higher or lower psychological distress, life satisfaction, and secondary traumatic stress. Prescribed medication use and professional mental health support were consistently associated with higher distress and secondary trauma. Professional mental health support was also associated with lower life satisfaction. Support from colleagues and family and friends showed a similar pattern but did not survive correction.

Summary w/Statistics. We conducted independent samples t-tests to examine whether judicial officers who endorsed each coping strategy reported different levels of psychological distress (K10), life satisfaction (SWLS), and secondary traumatic stress (STSS) compared to those who did not. Bonferroni correction was applied across 14 tests within each outcome (corrected threshold: p < .004).

Psychological Distress (K10): Two coping strategies were significantly associated with higher K10 scores after correction. Officers who used prescribed medications reported significantly higher distress than those who did not (M = 22.08 vs 16.19; t(72.8) = -5.84, p < .001). Officers who sought professional mental health support also reported significantly higher distress (M = 20.58 vs 16.01; t(135.4) = -6.06, p < .001). No other strategies were significantly associated with K10 after correction.

Secondary Traumatic Stress (STSS): Two strategies were significantly associated with higher STSS after correction. Officers using prescribed medications reported significantly higher secondary traumatic stress than those who did not (M = 41.09 vs 31.77; t(75.8) = -5.17, p < .001), as did those seeking professional mental health support (M = 39.69 vs 31.26; t(142.0) = -6.02, p < .001). No other strategies were significantly associated with STSS after correction.

Satisfaction with Life (SWLS): One strategy was significantly associated with SWLS after correction. Officers who sought professional mental health support reported significantly lower life satisfaction than those who did not (M = 22.00 vs 24.94; t(144.0) = 4.43, p < .001). Although support from colleagues (M = 24.92 vs 22.67; t(183.4) = -3.46, p_adj = .009) and family and friends (M = 24.81 vs 22.08; t(104.7) = -3.47, p_adj = .010) were associated with higher life satisfaction before correction, neither survived the Bonferroni corrected threshold of p < .004. No other strategies were significantly associated with SWLS after correction.

Limitations. These analyses are cross-sectional, so we cannot determine the direction of the relationship between coping strategy use and wellbeing. Additionally, Bonferroni correction was applied to account for the 14 t-tests conducted per outcome, but the risk of Type I error cannot be completely eliminated.

Household and Labour Dynamics across Gender, Court Level, and Region

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Gender Differences in HILDA Work-Life Balance Items
HILDA Item Mean (Male, n=302) SD (Male) Mean (Female, n=291) SD (Female) t df p p (adjusted) sig
Job interferes with family/home 2.95 0.90 2.63 0.89 4.22 562.8 0.000 0.000 ***
Family/home interferes with job 3.66 0.80 3.54 0.80 1.76 563.0 0.078 0.234
Sense of time 2.09 0.64 1.67 0.60 7.93 561.1 0.000 0.000 ***
Note. • p < .05, ** p < .01, *** p < .001. p (adjusted) reflects Bonferroni correction across 3 tests (corrected threshold: p < .017). Higher scores indicate less frequency (1 = Always, 5 = Never). Can’t Choose responses excluded.
Regional Differences in HILDA Work-Life Balance Items
HILDA Item Mean (Metro, n=512) SD (Metro) Mean (Regional, n=67) SD (Regional) t df p p (adjusted) sig
Job interferes with family/home 2.80 0.90 2.63 1.00 1.25 74.3 0.215 0.645
Family/home interferes with job 3.58 0.81 3.63 0.66 -0.49 86.4 0.623 1.000
Sense of time 1.88 0.66 1.90 0.67 -0.31 76.6 0.755 1.000
Note. • p < .05, ** p < .01, *** p < .001. p (adjusted) reflects Bonferroni correction across 3 tests (corrected threshold: p < .017). Higher scores indicate less frequency (1 = Always, 5 = Never). Can’t Choose responses excluded.
Court Level Differences in HILDA Work-Life Balance Items
HILDA Item Mean (Sup.) SD (Sup.) Mean (Dist.) SD (Dist.) Mean (Loc.) SD (Loc.) F df p p (adjusted) sig
Job interferes with family/home 2.66 0.91 2.75 0.84 2.89 0.95 2.90 2 0.056 0.168
Family/home interferes with job 3.43 0.80 3.60 0.84 3.67 0.76 3.73 2 0.025 0.075
Sense of time 1.89 0.65 1.89 0.63 1.87 0.68 0.03 2 0.970 1.000
Note. • p < .05, ** p < .01, *** p < .001. p (adjusted) reflects Bonferroni correction across 3 tests (corrected threshold: p < .017). Higher scores indicate less frequency (1 = Always, 5 = Never). Can’t Choose responses excluded.

Plain text Summary. We examined work-life balance across gender, location, and court level using three HILDA items. Women reported more frequent work-life interference than men, particularly feeling that their job interferes with family life and feeling more rushed for time overall. No significant differences were found by location or court level after correction.

Summary w/Statistics. We examined gender, location, and court level differences across three HILDA work-life balance items using independent samples t-tests and one-way ANOVAs respectively. Bonferroni correction was applied across all 3 tests within each comparison (corrected threshold: p < .017). Note that higher scores indicate less frequency of interference (1 = Always, 5 = Never), so lower mean scores reflect more frequent work-life conflict.

Gender Differences: Two significant differences were found after Bonferroni correction. Women reported more frequent job interference with family and home life than men (Women M = 2.63, Men M = 2.95; t(562.8) = 4.22, p < .001, p_adj < .001). Women also reported feeling more rushed for time than men (Women M = 1.67, Men M = 2.09; t(561.1) = 7.93, p < .001, p_adj < .001). Note that for both items, lower scores indicate more frequent interference or feeling more rushed, so women’s lower means reflect greater work-life conflict and time pressure. No significant difference was found for family or home interfering with job (t(563.0) = 1.76, p = .078, p_adj = .234).

Location Differences: No significant differences were found between Metro and Regional/Remote officers on any of the three work-life balance items after correction. Job interference with family (t(74.3) = 1.25, p = .215, p_adj = .645), family interference with job (t(86.4) = -0.49, p = .623, p_adj = 1.000), and sense of time (t(76.6) = -0.31, p = .755, p_adj = 1.000) were all comparable between groups.

Court Level Differences: No significant differences were found across Supreme, District, and Local court levels after correction. Family or home interfering with job showed a nominally significant difference before correction (F(2) = 3.73, p = .025) but did not survive Bonferroni correction (p_adj = .075), with Local court officers reporting slightly more frequent interference (M = 3.67) than Supreme Court officers (M = 3.43). Job interference with family (F(2) = 2.90, p = .056, p_adj = .168) and sense of time (F(2) = 0.03, p = .970, p_adj = 1.000) were not significant.

Limitations. Bonferroni correction was applied across 3 tests per comparison to reduce the risk of Type I error.

Psychosocial Safety Climate across Gender, Court Level, and Region

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PSCS Average by Gender
Group n Mean SD Min Max
Female 282 3.00 0.98 1 5
Male 278 3.33 0.95 1 5
Note. Higher scores indicate higher psychosocial safety climate.
PSCS Average by Court Level
Group n Mean SD Min Max
Supreme 110 3.56 0.78 1 5
District 148 3.07 1.00 1 5
Local 256 3.05 0.99 1 5
Note. Higher scores indicate higher psychosocial safety climate.
PSCS Average by Region
Group n Mean SD Min Max
Metro 483 3.17 0.98 1 5.00
Regional 62 3.12 0.94 1 4.75
Note. Higher scores indicate higher psychosocial safety climate.

Sharyn: JAWS Response Patterns by Gender

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Table 1. JAWS Item Frequencies: Source of Satisfaction and Stress
Source of Satisfaction
Source of Stress
Item Sat n Never/Almost Never Seldom Sometimes Often Always/Almost Always N/A Str n Never/Almost Never Seldom Sometimes Often Always/Almost Always N/A
Working with judicial colleagues 571 8 (1.4%) 30 (5.3%) 119 (20.8%) 247 (43.3%) 167 (29.2%) 0 (0%) 571 132 (23.1%) 213 (37.3%) 171 (29.9%) 47 (8.2%) 8 (1.4%) 0 (0%)
Working with other court staff 574 5 (0.9%) 19 (3.3%) 119 (20.7%) 272 (47.4%) 159 (27.7%) 0 (0%) 574 140 (24.4%) 225 (39.2%) 165 (28.7%) 35 (6.1%) 9 (1.6%) 0 (0%)
Dealing with other staff in court 573 4 (0.7%) 35 (6.1%) 158 (27.6%) 262 (45.7%) 114 (19.9%) 0 (0%) 572 118 (20.6%) 239 (41.8%) 155 (27.1%) 48 (8.4%) 12 (2.1%) 0 (0%)
Relationship between judiciary and court admin 568 26 (4.6%) 100 (17.6%) 177 (31.2%) 166 (29.2%) 99 (17.4%) 0 (0%) 569 95 (16.7%) 168 (29.5%) 194 (34.1%) 90 (15.8%) 22 (3.9%) 0 (0%)
Appellate review of decisions 556 66 (11.9%) 142 (25.5%) 251 (45.1%) 77 (13.8%) 20 (3.6%) 0 (0%) 563 71 (12.6%) 134 (23.8%) 217 (38.5%) 87 (15.5%) 54 (9.6%) 0 (0%)
Judicial leadership within my court 565 55 (9.7%) 101 (17.9%) 159 (28.1%) 139 (24.6%) 111 (19.6%) 0 (0%) 565 109 (19.3%) 163 (28.8%) 156 (27.6%) 92 (16.3%) 45 (8%) 0 (0%)
Media commentary 547 157 (28.7%) 203 (37.1%) 167 (30.5%) 17 (3.1%) 3 (0.5%) 0 (0%) 553 79 (14.3%) 156 (28.2%) 208 (37.6%) 80 (14.5%) 30 (5.4%) 0 (0%)
Capacity to develop professionally 574 41 (7.1%) 98 (17.1%) 197 (34.3%) 168 (29.3%) 70 (12.2%) 0 (0%) 572 130 (22.7%) 197 (34.4%) 168 (29.4%) 61 (10.7%) 16 (2.8%) 0 (0%)
Going on circuit 423 25 (5.9%) 56 (13.2%) 113 (26.7%) 119 (28.1%) 110 (26%) 0 (0%) 427 98 (23%) 138 (32.3%) 122 (28.6%) 55 (12.9%) 14 (3.3%) 0 (0%)
Living away from home 383 89 (23.2%) 97 (25.3%) 122 (31.9%) 54 (14.1%) 21 (5.5%) 0 (0%) 385 77 (20%) 95 (24.7%) 117 (30.4%) 63 (16.4%) 33 (8.6%) 0 (0%)
Table 2. Often and Always/Almost Always N(%) by Gender
Satisfaction
Stress
Male
Female
Male
Female
Item n Often Always n Often Always n Often Always n Often Always
Working with judicial colleagues 302 113 (40.6%) 88 (31.7%) 291 127 (44.7%) 78 (27.5%) 302 27 (9.7%) 2 (0.7%) 291 20 (7%) 5 (1.8%)
Working with other court staff 302 128 (45.6%) 83 (29.5%) 291 141 (49.6%) 74 (26.1%) 302 13 (4.6%) 2 (0.7%) 291 20 (7%) 6 (2.1%)
Dealing with other staff in court 302 121 (43.2%) 60 (21.4%) 291 139 (48.9%) 53 (18.7%) 302 20 (7.2%) 3 (1.1%) 291 26 (9.2%) 8 (2.8%)
Relationship between judiciary and court admin 302 82 (29.4%) 56 (20.1%) 291 80 (28.6%) 43 (15.4%) 302 31 (11.1%) 5 (1.8%) 291 57 (20.4%) 16 (5.7%)
Appellate review of decisions 302 35 (12.8%) 9 (3.3%) 291 41 (15%) 10 (3.7%) 302 36 (12.9%) 15 (5.4%) 291 49 (17.8%) 39 (14.1%)
Judicial leadership within my court 302 68 (24.7%) 60 (21.8%) 291 71 (25.3%) 50 (17.8%) 302 35 (12.7%) 19 (6.9%) 291 54 (19.2%) 26 (9.3%)
Media commentary 302 10 (3.8%) 2 (0.8%) 291 7 (2.6%) 1 (0.4%) 302 32 (11.8%) 8 (3%) 291 45 (16.4%) 21 (7.7%)
Capacity to develop professionally 302 87 (31.1%) 33 (11.8%) 291 78 (27.4%) 37 (13%) 302 19 (6.8%) 7 (2.5%) 291 40 (14%) 9 (3.2%)
Going on circuit 302 56 (26.3%) 60 (28.2%) 291 62 (30.5%) 49 (24.1%) 302 20 (9.3%) 1 (0.5%) 291 35 (17%) 12 (5.8%)
Living away from home 302 32 (16.3%) 12 (6.1%) 291 22 (12.2%) 9 (5%) 302 32 (16.1%) 7 (3.5%) 291 30 (16.8%) 24 (13.4%)
Table 3. Often and Always/Almost Always N(%) by Court Level
Satisfaction
Stress
Supreme
District
Local
Supreme
District
Local
Item n Often Always n Often Always n Often Always n Often Always n Often Always n Often Always
Working with judicial colleagues 122 50 (43.9%) 46 (40.4%) 157 56 (38.1%) 41 (27.9%) 268 113 (44.1%) 68 (26.6%) 122 5 (4.4%) 1 (0.9%) 157 12 (8.2%) 0 (0%) 268 26 (10.2%) 6 (2.3%)
Working with other court staff 122 57 (49.6%) 37 (32.2%) 157 67 (45%) 37 (24.8%) 268 127 (49.4%) 74 (28.8%) 122 3 (2.6%) 0 (0%) 157 10 (6.7%) 1 (0.7%) 268 17 (6.6%) 6 (2.3%)
Dealing with other staff in court 122 52 (46%) 22 (19.5%) 157 61 (40.9%) 26 (17.4%) 268 127 (49.2%) 55 (21.3%) 122 8 (7.1%) 0 (0%) 157 13 (8.7%) 2 (1.3%) 268 23 (8.9%) 6 (2.3%)
Relationship between judiciary and court admin 122 34 (30.6%) 15 (13.5%) 157 38 (26.2%) 19 (13.1%) 268 80 (31%) 56 (21.7%) 122 13 (11.6%) 2 (1.8%) 157 29 (20%) 7 (4.8%) 268 40 (15.5%) 10 (3.9%)
Appellate review of decisions 122 16 (14.7%) 6 (5.5%) 157 20 (13.5%) 6 (4.1%) 268 34 (13.7%) 7 (2.8%) 122 8 (7.2%) 7 (6.3%) 157 36 (24.3%) 14 (9.5%) 268 36 (14.2%) 27 (10.7%)
Judicial leadership within my court 122 35 (31.2%) 36 (32.1%) 157 39 (26.4%) 26 (17.6%) 268 53 (21%) 38 (15.1%) 122 8 (7.1%) 1 (0.9%) 157 23 (15.5%) 9 (6.1%) 268 50 (19.9%) 28 (11.2%)
Media commentary 122 3 (2.8%) 0 (0%) 157 2 (1.4%) 1 (0.7%) 268 9 (3.7%) 2 (0.8%) 122 11 (10%) 3 (2.7%) 157 22 (15.3%) 7 (4.9%) 268 41 (16.5%) 15 (6%)
Capacity to develop professionally 122 47 (41.2%) 18 (15.8%) 157 41 (27.7%) 21 (14.2%) 268 64 (24.8%) 28 (10.9%) 122 7 (6.1%) 2 (1.8%) 157 18 (12.2%) 2 (1.4%) 268 30 (11.7%) 10 (3.9%)
Going on circuit 122 10 (16.7%) 13 (21.7%) 157 46 (36.2%) 34 (26.8%) 268 56 (28.6%) 49 (25%) 122 2 (3.3%) 1 (1.7%) 157 16 (12.5%) 6 (4.7%) 268 33 (16.7%) 7 (3.5%)
Living away from home 122 8 (13.3%) 3 (5%) 157 19 (16.1%) 8 (6.8%) 268 26 (15%) 8 (4.6%) 122 4 (6.7%) 2 (3.3%) 157 14 (11.9%) 7 (5.9%) 268 38 (21.8%) 23 (13.2%)

Natalie: JAWS Court Leadership as Source of Satisfaction and Stress

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Judicial Leadership Within My Court: Source of Satisfaction and Stress
Category Satisfaction Stress
Never/Almost Never 55 (9.7%) 109 (19.3%)
Seldom 101 (17.9%) 163 (28.8%)
Sometimes 159 (28.1%) 156 (27.6%)
Often 139 (24.6%) 92 (16.3%)
Always/Almost Always 111 (19.6%) 45 (8%)
N/A 0 (0%) 0 (0%)
Judicial Leadership Within My Court by Gender
Male
Female
Category Satisfaction Stress Satisfaction Stress
Never/Almost Never 29 (10.5%) 68 (24.7%) 26 (9.3%) 41 (14.6%)
Seldom 37 (13.5%) 88 (32%) 61 (21.7%) 73 (26%)
Sometimes 81 (29.5%) 65 (23.6%) 73 (26%) 87 (31%)
Often 68 (24.7%) 35 (12.7%) 71 (25.3%) 54 (19.2%)
Always/Almost Always 60 (21.8%) 19 (6.9%) 50 (17.8%) 26 (9.3%)
N/A 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%)
Judicial Leadership Within My Court by Court Level
Supreme
District
Local
Category Satisfaction Stress Satisfaction Stress Satisfaction Stress
Never/Almost Never 5 (4.5%) 37 (33%) 15 (10.1%) 30 (20.3%) 28 (11.1%) 34 (13.5%)
Seldom 5 (4.5%) 32 (28.6%) 35 (23.6%) 44 (29.7%) 55 (21.8%) 75 (29.9%)
Sometimes 31 (27.7%) 34 (30.4%) 33 (22.3%) 42 (28.4%) 78 (31%) 64 (25.5%)
Often 35 (31.2%) 8 (7.1%) 39 (26.4%) 23 (15.5%) 53 (21%) 50 (19.9%)
Always/Almost Always 36 (32.1%) 1 (0.9%) 26 (17.6%) 9 (6.1%) 38 (15.1%) 28 (11.2%)
N/A 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%)
Judicial Leadership Within My Court by Location
Metro
Other (Regional, Remote)
Category Satisfaction Stress Satisfaction Stress
Never/Almost Never 46 (9.5%) 98 (20.3%) 6 (10%) 6 (10%)
Seldom 84 (17.4%) 136 (28.2%) 13 (21.7%) 22 (36.7%)
Sometimes 133 (27.6%) 133 (27.5%) 18 (30%) 16 (26.7%)
Often 123 (25.5%) 78 (16.1%) 12 (20%) 10 (16.7%)
Always/Almost Always 96 (19.9%) 38 (7.9%) 11 (18.3%) 6 (10%)
N/A 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%)

Terese: Free Text Response Count by Gender

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Number of Participants Responding to Open-Ended Questions by Gender
Gender STSS Open Text Trauma Comments K10 Open Text JAWS Open Text Final Comments Manage Stress Other
Female 74 0 55 91 90 28
Male 66 1 43 82 70 25
NA 2 0 2 3 3 1
Total 142 1 100 176 163 54

Kylie: JAWS additional items and Queensland Local Court Wellbeing Outcomes by Gender

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Top 10 Most Stressful JAWS Items: Local Court (N = 268)
Rank Item Overall Male Female
1 Graphic audiovisual evidence -1.17 -0.90 -1.33
2 Self-represented litigants -1.15 -1.02 -1.22
3 AG public support -0.95 -0.92 -0.94
4 Frequency of interruptions -0.91 -0.67 -1.09
5 Rehabilitation programs -0.87 -0.57 -1.09
6 Adequacy of staffing -0.79 -0.27 -1.21
7 Media commentary -0.71 -0.44 -0.87
8 Isolation of judicial role -0.65 -0.38 -0.83
9 Financial benefits -0.61 -0.67 -0.53
10 Workload -0.60 -0.27 -0.89
Top 10 Most Stressful JAWS Items: QLD Local Court (N = 47)
Rank Item Overall Male Female
1 Rehabilitation programs -1.57 -0.94 -1.96
2 Self-represented litigants -1.52 -1.50 -1.56
3 Living away from home -1.44 -0.50 -1.61
4 Adequacy of staffing -1.40 -1.56 -1.24
5 AG public support -0.98 -1.50 -0.62
6 Frequency of interruptions -0.97 -1.40 -0.74
7 Isolation of judicial role -0.74 -0.81 -0.68
8 Media commentary -0.71 -0.56 -0.79
9 IT resources -0.60 -0.69 -0.44
10 Pace of colleagues -0.57 -0.64 -0.55
Top 10 Most Satisfying JAWS Items: Local Court (N = 268)
Rank Item Overall Male Female
1 Working with court staff 1.76 1.93 1.67
2 Remuneration 1.67 1.39 1.91
3 Camaraderie 1.66 1.69 1.63
4 Positive contribution to society 1.56 1.63 1.54
5 Dealing with other staff 1.49 1.73 1.38
6 Working with colleagues 1.45 1.58 1.36
7 Working with values 1.38 1.48 1.32
8 Formal judicial education 1.37 1.48 1.30
9 Privilege and status 1.08 1.29 0.92
10 Going on circuit 1.05 1.45 0.75
Top 10 Most Satisfying JAWS Items: QLD Local Court (N = 47)
Rank Item Overall Male Female
1 Remuneration 2.26 1.25 2.88
2 Dealing with other staff 1.26 1.44 1.20
3 Working with court staff 1.24 1.62 1.00
4 Leave entitlements 1.15 0.44 1.67
5 Working with values 1.12 0.88 1.36
6 Privilege and status 0.88 0.81 0.96
7 Professional activities outside court 0.88 1.09 0.80
8 Camaraderie 0.88 1.00 0.84
9 Positive contribution to society 0.83 0.88 0.84
10 Sentencing 0.69 0.81 0.60
K10, SWLS, & STSS Scores by Gender: QLD Local Court
Scale Group N Mean SD
K10 Female 26 16.23 3.76
Male 20 19.85 6.71
Total 47 17.87 5.45
SWLS Female 26 25.46 5.68
Male 20 21.70 6.30
Total 47 23.62 6.28
STSS Female 26 32.38 8.42
Male 20 41.10 14.56
Total 47 36.43 12.16
Wellbeing by Location: QLD Judicial Officers
Scale Metro (n=88) Regional (n=16) t df p p (adjusted) sig Cohen’s d
Psychological Distress (K10) 15.471 19.938 -3.094 20.469 0.006 0.017
0.863
Secondary Traumatic Stress (STSS) 30.349 43.188 -3.505 18.876 0.002 0.007 ** 1.100
Satisfaction with Life (SWLS) 25.091 24.938 0.132 31.154 0.896 1.000 0.026
Note. * p < .05, ** p < .01, *** p < .001. p (adjusted) reflects Bonferroni correction across 3 tests (corrected threshold: p < .017).
Distribution of Metro vs Regional Location by Gender: QLD Judicial Officers
Gender Metro Regional
Male 53 (89.8%) 6 (10.2%)
Female 34 (77.3%) 10 (22.7%)

Chi-square test: Gender x Location X² = 2.148 , df = 1 , p = 0.143

Kylie II: Top Stressors and Satisfiers among Qld Judical officer

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Top 5 Most Commonly Nominated Stressors (Top 3): QLD Local Court (N = 47)
Item N Percent
Control over working day 4 8.5
Isolation of judicial role 4 8.5
Self-represented litigants 3 6.4
Adequacy of staffing 2 4.3
Adequacy of breaks 2 4.3
Top 5 Most Commonly Nominated Satisfiers (Top 3): QLD Local Court (N = 47)
Item N Percent
Assessing legal argument 4 8.5
Privilege and status 3 6.4
Leave entitlements 3 6.4
Remuneration 3 6.4
Physical court environment 2 4.3
JAWS Satisfaction and Stress Mean Scores: Metro vs Regional/Remote
Scale Metro (n=512) Regional (n=67) t df p p (adjusted) sig Cohen’s d
JAWS Satisfaction (Mean) 3.169 3.082 1.375 85.256 0.173 0.346 0.160
JAWS Stress (Mean) 2.696 2.967 -3.775 82.439 0.000 0.001 *** 0.459
Note. * p < .05, ** p < .01, *** p < .001. p (adjusted) reflects Bonferroni correction across 2 tests (corrected threshold: p < .025).

Wellbeing Measures in the Lower Court by Gender

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Independent Samples T-Tests: K10, STSS, and SWLS by Gender — QLD Local Court
Scale Mean Female Mean Male t df p
K10 19.85 16.23 2.16 28.0 0.039
STSS 41.10 32.38 2.39 28.6 0.024
SWLS 21.70 25.46 -2.09 38.7 0.043
Independent Samples T-Tests: K10, STSS, and SWLS by Gender — All QLD Judicial Officers
Scale Mean Female Mean Male t df p
K10 15.98 16.47 -0.47 103.8 0.637
STSS 31.95 33.35 -0.58 101.5 0.566
SWLS 25.18 25.48 -0.26 94.1 0.793

NSW Judicial Officers: Wellbeing measures by Gender and Location

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Gender Differences in Wellbeing: All NSW Judicial Officers (N = 164)
Scale Mean Male Mean Female t df p p (adjusted) sig Cohen’s d
Psychological Distress (K10) 15.500 18.425 -2.706 137.752 0.008 0.023 0.438
Secondary Traumatic Stress (STSS) 29.871 35.917 -2.980 143.531 0.003 0.010 0.482
Satisfaction with Life (SWLS) 24.151 23.595 0.573 152.416 0.568 1.000 0.091
Note. • p < .05, ** p < .01, *** p < .001. p (adjusted) reflects Bonferroni correction across 3 tests (corrected threshold: p < .017).
Gender Distribution by Court Level: NSW Judicial Officers (N = 164)
Court Level Male Female
Supreme 16 (61.5%) 10 (38.5%)
District 27 (58.7%) 19 (41.3%)
Local 33 (48.5%) 35 (51.5%)

Chi-square test: Gender x Court Level (NSW) X² = 1.82 , df = 2 , p = 0.403

NSW Metro N (all courts): 124 NSW Regional N (all courts): 28
Wellbeing by Location: All NSW Judicial Officers
Scale Metro (n=124) Regional (n=28) t df p p (adjusted) sig Cohen’s d
Psychological Distress (K10) 16.975 17.185 -0.169 48.122 0.867 1 0.03
Secondary Traumatic Stress (STSS) 32.892 33.148 -0.111 49.395 0.912 1 0.02
Satisfaction with Life (SWLS) 23.820 23.571 0.207 44.377 0.837 1 0.04
Note. • p < .05, ** p < .01, *** p < .001. p (adjusted) reflects Bonferroni correction across 3 tests (corrected threshold: p < .017).
Distribution of Metro vs Regional Location by Gender: All NSW Judicial Officers
Gender Metro Regional
Male 68 (86.1%) 11 (13.9%)
Female 55 (76.4%) 17 (23.6%)

Chi-square test: Gender x Location (All NSW) X² = 1.743 , df = 1 , p = 0.187

NSW Local Court N: 69
Gender Differences in Wellbeing: NSW Local Court (N = 69)
Scale Mean Male Mean Female t df p p (adjusted) sig Cohen’s d
Psychological Distress (K10) 16.34 19.09 -1.69 62.4 0.097 0.290 0.413
Satisfaction with Life (SWLS) 23.06 22.94 0.08 65.8 0.939 1.000 0.019
Secondary Traumatic Stress (STSS) 31.12 36.09 -1.66 64.9 0.101 0.304 0.405
Note. • p < .05, ** p < .01, *** p < .001. p (adjusted) reflects Bonferroni correction across 3 tests (corrected threshold: p < .017).
NSW Local Court Metro N: 40 NSW Local Court Regional N: 21
Wellbeing by Location: NSW Local Court Judicial Officers
Scale Metro (n=40) Regional (n=21) t df p p (adjusted) sig Cohen’s d
Psychological Distress (K10) 18.842 17.150 1.004 52.285 0.320 0.96 0.247
Secondary Traumatic Stress (STSS) 34.256 34.190 0.021 48.464 0.984 1.00 0.005
Satisfaction with Life (SWLS) 22.950 22.952 -0.001 45.509 0.999 1.00 0.000
Note. • p < .05, ** p < .01, *** p < .001. p (adjusted) reflects Bonferroni correction across 3 tests (corrected threshold: p < .017).
Distribution of Metro vs Regional Location by Gender: NSW Local Court
Gender Metro Regional
Male 19 (67.9%) 9 (32.1%)
Female 20 (62.5%) 12 (37.5%)

Chi-square test: Gender x Location (NSW Local Court) X² = 0.026 , df = 1 , p = 0.871

Plain text Summary. We examined wellbeing outcomes among NSW judicial officers by gender, court level, and location, looking at both all NSW judges and local court judges specifically. At the state level, women reported higher psychological distress and secondary traumatic stress than men before correction. However, after applying Bonferroni correction, only secondary traumatic stress remained significant. We found no significant differences in gender distribution across court levels. No significant location differences were found for either all NSW or local court judges, and the distribution of men and women across locations did not differ significantly at either level.

Wellbeing Measures by Gender (All NSW Judicial Officers) (N = 164): After Bonferroni correction, women reported significantly higher secondary traumatic stress than men (Women M = 35.92, Men M = 29.87; t(143.53) = -2.98, p = .003, p_adj = .010, d = 0.48). Women also reported higher psychological distress than men, but this did not survive correction (Women M = 18.43, Men M = 15.50; t(137.75) = -2.71, p = .008, p_adj = .023, d = 0.44). No significant difference was found for life satisfaction (t(152.42) = 0.57, p = .568, d = 0.09).

Wellbeing measure by Gender (All NSW Judicial Officers) (N = 164): After Bonferroni correction, women reported significantly higher secondary traumatic stress (Women M = 35.92, Men M = 29.87; t(143.53) = -2.98, p = .003, p_adj = .010, d = 0.48). No significant difference was found for life satisfaction (t(152.42) = 0.57, p = .568, d = 0.09).

Gender Distribution by Court Level (NSW): The proportion of men and women did not differ significantly across Supreme, District, and Local court levels (χ²(2) = 1.82, p = .403). Local court had the most even gender split (48.5% men, 51.5% women), while Supreme Court was more male dominated (61.5% men).

Wellbeing by Location (All NSW Judicial Officer): No significant differences were found between Metro and Regional/Remote NSW judicial officers on any wellbeing measure after correction. Psychological distress (t(48.12) = -0.17, p = .867, d = 0.03), secondary traumatic stress (t(49.40) = -0.11, p = .912, d = 0.02), and life satisfaction (t(44.38) = 0.21, p = .837, d = 0.04) were all comparable between groups with negligible effect sizes. The distribution of men and women across locations did not differ significantly (χ²(1) = 1.74, p = .187), with 13.9% of men and 23.6% of women located in Regional/Remote areas.

Wellbeing measure by Gender (NSW Local Court Only) (N = 69): No significant differences were found between men and women after Bonferroni correction. Women reported numerically higher psychological distress (Women M = 19.09, Men M = 16.34; t(62.4) = -1.69, p = .097, p_adj = .290, d = 0.41) and secondary traumatic stress (Women M = 36.09, Men M = 31.12; t(64.9) = -1.66, p = .101, p_adj = .304, d = 0.41) than men, with small to medium effect sizes, but neither survived correction. Life satisfaction was comparable between groups (t(65.8) = 0.08, p = .939, d = 0.02).

Wellbeing by Location (NSW Local Court Only): No significant differences were found between Metro and Regional/Remote local court officers on any wellbeing measure after correction. Psychological distress (t(52.29) = 1.00, p = .320, d = 0.25), secondary traumatic stress (t(48.46) = 0.02, p = .984, d = 0.01), and life satisfaction (t(45.51) = 0.00, p = .999, d = 0.00) were all comparable between groups with negligible to small effect sizes. The distribution of men and women across locations did not differ significantly (χ²(1) = 0.03, p = .871), with 32.1% of men and 37.5% of women in local court located in Regional/Remote areas.

Limitations. Running multiple tests increases the risk of Type I error. Bonferroni correction was applied to reduce this risk. The relatively small sample sizes for NSW local court (n = 69) and Regional/Remote NSW (n = 28 overall, n = 21 local court) substantially limit statistical power.

VIC Judicial Officers: Wellbeing measures by Gender and Location

expand VIC total N: 173 VIC Local Court N: 91 VIC total N: 173
Gender Differences in Wellbeing: All VIC Judicial Officers (N = 173)
Scale Mean Male Mean Female t df p p (adjusted) sig Cohen’s d
Psychological Distress (K10) 16.238 17.886 -1.718 163.075 0.088 0.263 0.266
Secondary Traumatic Stress (STSS) 30.488 34.092 -1.955 161.625 0.052 0.157 0.304
Satisfaction with Life (SWLS) 24.675 24.391 0.298 160.321 0.766 1.000 0.046
Note. • p < .05, ** p < .01, *** p < .001. p (adjusted) reflects Bonferroni correction across 3 tests (corrected threshold: p < .017).
Gender Distribution by Court Level: VIC Judicial Officers (N = 173)
Court Level Male Female
Supreme 24 (60%) 16 (40%)
District 15 (42.9%) 20 (57.1%)
Local 39 (44.8%) 48 (55.2%)

Chi-square test: Gender x Court Level (VIC) X² = 3.027 , df = 2 , p = 0.22

VIC Metro N (all courts): 151 VIC Regional N (all courts): 17
Wellbeing by Location: All VIC Judicial Officers
Scale Metro (n=151) Regional (n=17) t df p p (adjusted) sig Cohen’s d
Psychological Distress (K10) 16.880 18.706 -1.074 19.311 0.296 0.888 0.290
Secondary Traumatic Stress (STSS) 32.420 32.647 -0.065 18.863 0.949 1.000 0.019
Satisfaction with Life (SWLS) 24.846 23.562 0.812 18.335 0.427 1.000 0.215
Note. • p < .05, ** p < .01, *** p < .001. p (adjusted) reflects Bonferroni correction across 3 tests (corrected threshold: p < .017).
Distribution of Metro vs Regional Location by Gender: All VIC Judicial Officers
Gender Metro Regional
Male 67 (85.9%) 11 (14.1%)
Female 81 (93.1%) 6 (6.9%)

Chi-square test: Gender x Location (All VIC) X² = 1.597 , df = 1 , p = 0.206

VIC Local Court N: 91
Gender Differences in Wellbeing: VIC Local Court (N = 91)
Scale Mean Male Mean Female t df p p (adjusted) sig Cohen’s d
Psychological Distress (K10) 16.54 18.90 -1.80 82.9 0.075 0.225 0.387
Satisfaction with Life (SWLS) 24.03 23.02 0.70 74.5 0.487 1.000 0.154
Secondary Traumatic Stress (STSS) 30.03 36.38 -2.36 77.1 0.021 0.063 0.516
Note. • p < .05, ** p < .01, *** p < .001. p (adjusted) reflects Bonferroni correction across 3 tests (corrected threshold: p < .017).
VIC Local Court Metro N: 70 VIC Local Court Regional N: 16
Wellbeing by Location: VIC Local Court Judicial Officers
Scale Metro (n=70) Regional (n=16) t df p p (adjusted) sig Cohen’s d
Psychological Distress (K10) 17.514 18.938 -0.764 21.027 0.453 1 0.225
Secondary Traumatic Stress (STSS) 33.929 32.812 0.290 20.866 0.775 1 0.086
Satisfaction with Life (SWLS) 23.868 23.667 0.113 20.978 0.911 1 0.032
Note. • p < .05, ** p < .01, *** p < .001. p (adjusted) reflects Bonferroni correction across 3 tests (corrected threshold: p < .017).
Distribution of Metro vs Regional Location by Gender: VIC Local Court
Gender Metro Regional
Male 26 (72.2%) 10 (27.8%)
Female 41 (87.2%) 6 (12.8%)

Chi-square test: Gender x Location (VIC Local Court) X² = 2.066 , df = 1 , p = 0.151

Plain text Summary. We examined wellbeing outcomes among VIC judicial officers by gender, court level, and location, looking at both all VIC judges and local court judges specifically. No significant differences were found between men and women at either the state or local court level. No significant differences were found in gender distribution across court levels. No significant location differences were found for either all VIC or local court judges, and the distribution of men and women across locations did not differ significantly at either level.

Summary w/Statistics. We conducted independent samples t-tests to examine gender differences in wellbeing among all VIC judicial officers and among VIC local court officers specifically, and to compare wellbeing between Metro and Regional/Remote officers at both levels. Bonferroni correction was applied across 3 tests in each comparison (corrected threshold: p < .017).

Wellbeing Measures by Gender (All VIC Judicial Officers) (N = 173): No significant differences were found between men and women after Bonferroni correction on any wellbeing measure. Women reported numerically higher psychological distress (Women M = 17.89, Men M = 16.24; t(163.08) = -1.72, p = .088, p_adj = .263, d = 0.27) and secondary traumatic stress (Women M = 34.09, Men M = 30.49; t(161.63) = -1.96, p = .052, p_adj = .157, d = 0.30) than men, but neither survived correction. Life satisfaction was comparable between groups (t(160.32) = 0.30, p = .766, d = 0.05).

Gender Distribution by Court Level (VIC): The proportion of men and women did not differ significantly across Supreme, District, and Local court levels (χ²(2) = 3.03, p = .220). Supreme Court was more male dominated (60% men), while District and Local courts had more even or female majority splits (District: 42.9% men, 57.1% women; Local: 44.8% men, 55.2% women).

Wellbeing by Location (All VIC Judicial Officers): No significant differences were found between Metro and Regional/Remote VIC judicial officers on any wellbeing measure after correction. Psychological distress (t(19.31) = -1.07, p = .296, d = 0.29), secondary traumatic stress (t(18.86) = -0.07, p = .949, d = 0.02), and life satisfaction (t(18.34) = 0.81, p = .427, d = 0.22) were all comparable between groups. The distribution of men and women across locations did not differ significantly (χ²(1) = 1.60, p = .206), with 14.1% of men and 6.9% of women located in Regional/Remote areas.

Wellbeing Measures by Gender (VIC Local Court Only) (N = 91): No significant differences were found between men and women after Bonferroni correction. Women reported numerically higher psychological distress (Women M = 18.90, Men M = 16.54; t(82.9) = -1.80, p = .075, p_adj = .225, d = 0.39) than men. Men reported numerically higher secondary traumatic stress than women (Men M = 36.38, Women M = 30.03; t(77.1) = -2.36, p = .021, p_adj = .063, d = 0.52), with neither surviving correction. Life satisfaction was comparable between groups (t(74.5) = 0.70, p = .487, d = 0.15).

Wellbeing by Location (VIC Local Court Only): No significant differences were found between Metro and Regional/Remote local court officers on any wellbeing measure after correction. Psychological distress (t(21.03) = -0.76, p = .453, d = 0.23), secondary traumatic stress (t(20.87) = 0.29, p = .775, d = 0.09), and life satisfaction (t(20.98) = 0.11, p = .911, d = 0.03) were all comparable between groups with negligible to small effect sizes. The distribution of men and women across locations did not differ significantly (χ²(1) = 2.07, p = .151), with 27.8% of men and 12.8% of women in local court located in Regional/Remote areas.

Limitations. Running multiple tests increases the risk of Type I error. Bonferroni correction was applied to reduce this risk.

Kate: JAWS Item 44 & 47 by Gender, Court Level, Region, & State

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RAW, Items 44 & 47, Overall

                                    Item   N Mean   SD
1                44. Sentencing (Stress) 502 3.18 1.01
2          44. Sentencing (Satisfaction) 502 3.59 0.89
3       47. Graphic AV evidence (Stress) 517 2.86 1.12
4 47. Graphic AV evidence (Satisfaction) 503 1.64 0.85

RAW, Items 44 & 47 by Gender

  Gender                                   Item   N Mean   SD
1 Female                44. Sentencing (Stress) 248 3.38 0.97
2   Male                44. Sentencing (Stress) 245 2.98 1.02
3 Female          44. Sentencing (Satisfaction) 248 3.57 0.83
4   Male          44. Sentencing (Satisfaction) 245 3.62 0.93
5 Female       47. Graphic AV evidence (Stress) 259 3.09 1.13
6   Male       47. Graphic AV evidence (Stress) 250 2.61 1.07
7 Female 47. Graphic AV evidence (Satisfaction) 253 1.64 0.86
8   Male 47. Graphic AV evidence (Satisfaction) 242 1.65 0.84

RAW, Items 44 & 47 by Court Level

   Court Level                                   Item   N Mean   SD
1        Local                44. Sentencing (Stress) 255 3.14 0.98
2     District                44. Sentencing (Stress) 134 3.35 1.01
3      Supreme                44. Sentencing (Stress)  79 3.04 1.09
4        Local          44. Sentencing (Satisfaction) 255 3.70 0.86
5     District          44. Sentencing (Satisfaction) 134 3.59 0.79
6      Supreme          44. Sentencing (Satisfaction)  79 3.28 1.02
7        Local       47. Graphic AV evidence (Stress) 242 2.89 1.11
8     District       47. Graphic AV evidence (Stress) 136 3.10 1.11
9      Supreme       47. Graphic AV evidence (Stress)  90 2.43 0.99
10       Local 47. Graphic AV evidence (Satisfaction) 235 1.76 0.89
11    District 47. Graphic AV evidence (Satisfaction) 134 1.53 0.75
12     Supreme 47. Graphic AV evidence (Satisfaction)  87 1.52 0.79

RAW, Items 44 & 47 by Region

    Region                                   Item   N Mean   SD
1    Metro                44. Sentencing (Stress) 419 3.16 1.02
2 Regional                44. Sentencing (Stress)  62 3.37 0.89
3    Metro          44. Sentencing (Satisfaction) 419 3.58 0.89
4 Regional          44. Sentencing (Satisfaction)  62 3.71 0.82
5    Metro       47. Graphic AV evidence (Stress) 436 2.86 1.13
6 Regional       47. Graphic AV evidence (Stress)  58 2.81 1.07
7    Metro 47. Graphic AV evidence (Satisfaction) 425 1.63 0.85
8 Regional 47. Graphic AV evidence (Satisfaction)  55 1.69 0.90

RAW, Items 44 & 47 by State

          State                                   Item   N Mean   SD
1           NSW                44. Sentencing (Stress) 137 3.28 0.97
2           VIC                44. Sentencing (Stress) 136 3.21 1.08
3           QLD                44. Sentencing (Stress)  91 2.90 1.01
4            WA                44. Sentencing (Stress)  43 3.23 1.04
5            SA                44. Sentencing (Stress)  47 3.28 0.93
6           TAS                44. Sentencing (Stress)  18 3.06 1.00
7           ACT                44. Sentencing (Stress)  14 3.43 0.76
8            NT                44. Sentencing (Stress)  14 3.21 0.97
9  Pref Not Say                44. Sentencing (Stress)   2   NA   NA
10          NSW          44. Sentencing (Satisfaction) 137 3.59 0.92
11          VIC          44. Sentencing (Satisfaction) 136 3.66 0.90
12          QLD          44. Sentencing (Satisfaction)  91 3.54 0.75
13           WA          44. Sentencing (Satisfaction)  43 3.37 1.02
14           SA          44. Sentencing (Satisfaction)  47 3.57 0.88
15          TAS          44. Sentencing (Satisfaction)  18 3.83 0.92
16          ACT          44. Sentencing (Satisfaction)  14 3.57 0.85
17           NT          44. Sentencing (Satisfaction)  14 3.43 1.02
18 Pref Not Say          44. Sentencing (Satisfaction)   2   NA   NA
19          NSW       47. Graphic AV evidence (Stress) 141 2.92 1.16
20          VIC       47. Graphic AV evidence (Stress) 147 2.94 1.16
21          QLD       47. Graphic AV evidence (Stress)  91 2.65 1.12
22           WA       47. Graphic AV evidence (Stress)  49 2.98 1.11
23           SA       47. Graphic AV evidence (Stress)  43 2.81 0.98
24          TAS       47. Graphic AV evidence (Stress)  17 2.35 1.00
25          ACT       47. Graphic AV evidence (Stress)  13 3.15 0.80
26           NT       47. Graphic AV evidence (Stress)  14 2.93 0.73
27 Pref Not Say       47. Graphic AV evidence (Stress)   2   NA   NA
28          NSW 47. Graphic AV evidence (Satisfaction) 135 1.70 0.84
29          VIC 47. Graphic AV evidence (Satisfaction) 144 1.65 0.85
30          QLD 47. Graphic AV evidence (Satisfaction)  89 1.76 0.95
31           WA 47. Graphic AV evidence (Satisfaction)  48 1.29 0.54
32           SA 47. Graphic AV evidence (Satisfaction)  42 1.57 0.80
33          TAS 47. Graphic AV evidence (Satisfaction)  16 1.88 0.89
34          ACT 47. Graphic AV evidence (Satisfaction)  13 1.46 0.66
35           NT 47. Graphic AV evidence (Satisfaction)  14 1.57 1.09
36 Pref Not Say 47. Graphic AV evidence (Satisfaction)   2   NA   NA

Sharyn II: JAWS Correlates

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Exploratory Factor Analysis: JAWS Most stressful (in progress)

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Exploratory Factor Analysis: JAWS Most Satisfying (in progress)

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Exploratory Factor Analysis: JAWS difference by satisfaction (in progress)

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Exploratory Factor Analysis: JAWS Difference by Distress

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Step 1: Sample Size

N = 576

Field suggested that more than 200 participants are required for the scree plot to be reliable.

Step 2: Correlation Matrix

No correlations were higher than .90., so no concerns about multicollinearity in the data.

Step 3: Bartlett’s Test of Sphericity

Chi-square = 13847.49 , df = 1128 , p < .001

significant p value suggests it is not an identity matrix and appropriate for factor analysis.

Step 4: Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) Measure of Sampling Adequacy

KMO Measure of Sampling Adequacy (Overall MSA = 0.93)
Item MSA
JAWS_1_NewDiff JAWS_1_NewDiff 0.95
JAWS_2_NewDiff JAWS_2_NewDiff 0.97
JAWS_3_NewDiff JAWS_3_NewDiff 0.94
JAWS_4_NewDiff JAWS_4_NewDiff 0.93
JAWS_5_NewDiff JAWS_5_NewDiff 0.95
JAWS_6_NewDiff JAWS_6_NewDiff 0.94
JAWS_7_NewDiff JAWS_7_NewDiff 0.94
JAWS_8_NewDiff JAWS_8_NewDiff 0.94
JAWS_9_NewDiff JAWS_9_NewDiff 0.95
JAWS_10_NewDiff JAWS_10_NewDiff 0.95
JAWS_11_NewDiff JAWS_11_NewDiff 0.94
JAWS_12_NewDiff JAWS_12_NewDiff 0.94
JAWS_13_NewDiff JAWS_13_NewDiff 0.94
JAWS_14_NewDiff JAWS_14_NewDiff 0.94
JAWS_15_NewDiff JAWS_15_NewDiff 0.94
JAWS_16_NewDiff JAWS_16_NewDiff 0.96
JAWS_17_NewDiff JAWS_17_NewDiff 0.91
JAWS_18_NewDiff JAWS_18_NewDiff 0.81
JAWS_19_NewDiff JAWS_19_NewDiff 0.94
JAWS_20_NewDiff JAWS_20_NewDiff 0.95
JAWS_21_NewDiff JAWS_21_NewDiff 0.91
JAWS_22_NewDiff JAWS_22_NewDiff 0.90
JAWS_23_NewDiff JAWS_23_NewDiff 0.94
JAWS_24_NewDiff JAWS_24_NewDiff 0.92
JAWS_25_NewDiff JAWS_25_NewDiff 0.96
JAWS_26_NewDiff JAWS_26_NewDiff 0.94
JAWS_27_NewDiff JAWS_27_NewDiff 0.95
JAWS_28_NewDiff JAWS_28_NewDiff 0.93
JAWS_29_NewDiff JAWS_29_NewDiff 0.92
JAWS_30_NewDiff JAWS_30_NewDiff 0.90
JAWS_31_NewDiff JAWS_31_NewDiff 0.95
JAWS_32_NewDiff JAWS_32_NewDiff 0.86
JAWS_33_NewDiff JAWS_33_NewDiff 0.92
JAWS_34_NewDiff JAWS_34_NewDiff 0.92
JAWS_35_NewDiff JAWS_35_NewDiff 0.96
JAWS_36_NewDiff JAWS_36_NewDiff 0.95
JAWS_37_NewDiff JAWS_37_NewDiff 0.91
JAWS_38_NewDiff JAWS_38_NewDiff 0.91
JAWS_39_NewDiff JAWS_39_NewDiff 0.93
JAWS_40_NewDiff JAWS_40_NewDiff 0.92
JAWS_41_NewDiff JAWS_41_NewDiff 0.93
JAWS_42_NewDiff JAWS_42_NewDiff 0.96
JAWS_43_NewDiff JAWS_43_NewDiff 0.95
JAWS_44_NewDiff JAWS_44_NewDiff 0.94
JAWS_45_NewDiff JAWS_45_NewDiff 0.81
JAWS_46_NewDiff JAWS_46_NewDiff 0.79
JAWS_47_NewDiff JAWS_47_NewDiff 0.90
JAWS_48_NewDiff JAWS_48_NewDiff 0.91

Individual item MSAs ranged from 0.79 to 0.97

Field suggested that a .5 is bare minimum and value above > .9 is superb.

Step 5: Determining the Number of Factors

Parallel analysis and scree plot were used to determine the number of factors.

Parallel analysis suggests that the number of factors = 10 and the number of components = NA Parallel analysis suggested 10 factors and typically considered more rigorous than scree plot, but running both 9 and 10 factors show that 9-factor has better BIC (model fit).Field mentioned that scree plot can underextract when the item set is larger and a 2 to 3 factor might be hard to interpre them meaningfully

Tried 8-factor fit. Better BIC but merged factors in incoherent ways e.g., safety and security (37, 38) with employment perks (31, 33), and physical workplace conditions (1, 2, & 6). Field did say that factors should make conceptual sense, not just fit best

Model Fit Comparison: 8 to 11 Factor Solutions
Number of Factors RMSEA TLI BIC
8 0.053 0.856 -2893.285
9 0.051 0.866 -2827.793
10 0.049 0.877 -2762.498
11 0.047 0.886 -2681.155

Step 7: Factor Loadings

Loadings below .30 are suppressed. Items are sorted by factor.

Note: JAWS46 living away from home might be a heywood case - theoretically impossible & items 2, 3, 7, 18, 20, 28, 30, 35, 39, 42 have no loading above .3, so they are not explained well by any factors. Ask richard to report 46 as limitation or remove? Removing it made BIC worse and weakened the circuit travel factor + ML8

Factor Loadings: JAWS NewDiff EFA (9-Factor Solution, Loadings < .30 Suppressed)
Item Vicarious Trauma Cognitive Demands Court Staff Relationships Collegial Inclusion Workload & Pace Court Leadership Employment Conditions Safety & Security Circuit & Travel
JAWS_1_NewDiff
  1. Adequacy of staffing
NA NA 0.327 NA NA NA NA NA NA
JAWS_2_NewDiff
  1. Physical court environment
NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA
JAWS_3_NewDiff
  1. IT resources
NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA
JAWS_4_NewDiff
  1. Workload
NA NA NA NA 0.758 NA NA NA NA
JAWS_5_NewDiff
  1. Control over working day
NA NA NA NA 0.424 NA 0.311 NA NA
JAWS_6_NewDiff
  1. Adequacy of breaks
NA NA NA NA 0.419 NA NA NA NA
JAWS_7_NewDiff
  1. Frequency of interruptions
NA NA NA NA 0.312 NA NA NA NA
JAWS_8_NewDiff
  1. Pace of work
NA NA NA NA 0.738 NA NA NA NA
JAWS_9_NewDiff
  1. Fairness of work distribution
NA NA NA NA 0.302 0.310 NA NA NA
JAWS_10_NewDiff
  1. Pace of colleagues
NA NA NA 0.391 NA NA NA NA NA
JAWS_11_NewDiff
  1. Complex decisions
NA 0.741 NA NA NA NA NA NA NA
JAWS_12_NewDiff
  1. Writing judgments
NA 0.689 NA NA NA NA NA NA NA
JAWS_13_NewDiff
  1. Assessing credibility
NA 0.397 NA NA NA NA NA NA NA
JAWS_14_NewDiff
  1. Assessing legal argument
NA 0.649 NA NA NA NA NA NA NA
JAWS_15_NewDiff
  1. Emotional case content
0.652 NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA
JAWS_16_NewDiff
  1. Quality of legal representation
NA NA NA NA NA NA 0.306 NA NA
JAWS_17_NewDiff
  1. Self-represented litigants
0.404 NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA
JAWS_18_NewDiff
  1. Managing juries
NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA
JAWS_19_NewDiff
  1. Emotions of parties/witnesses
0.494 NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA
JAWS_20_NewDiff
  1. Isolation of judicial role
NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA
JAWS_21_NewDiff
  1. Working with colleagues
NA NA NA 0.813 NA NA NA NA NA
JAWS_22_NewDiff
  1. Working with court staff
NA NA 0.811 NA NA NA NA NA NA
JAWS_23_NewDiff
  1. Leadership role
NA NA NA 0.327 NA NA NA NA NA
JAWS_24_NewDiff
  1. Dealing with other staff
NA NA 0.835 NA NA NA NA NA NA
JAWS_25_NewDiff
  1. Privilege and status
0.402 NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA
JAWS_26_NewDiff
  1. Impact of decisions
0.570 NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA
JAWS_27_NewDiff
  1. Judiciary & administration
NA NA 0.644 NA NA NA NA NA NA
JAWS_28_NewDiff
  1. Appellate review
NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA
JAWS_29_NewDiff
  1. Judicial leadership
NA NA NA NA NA 0.755 NA NA NA
JAWS_30_NewDiff
  1. Professional activities outside court
NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA
JAWS_31_NewDiff
  1. Leave entitlements
NA NA NA NA NA NA 0.450 NA NA
JAWS_32_NewDiff
  1. Remuneration
NA NA NA NA NA NA 0.413 NA NA
JAWS_33_NewDiff
  1. Financial benefits
NA NA NA NA NA NA 0.625 NA NA
JAWS_34_NewDiff
  1. Media commentary
0.472 NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA
JAWS_35_NewDiff
  1. Working with values
NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA
JAWS_36_NewDiff
  1. Positive contribution to society
0.331 0.304 NA NA NA NA NA NA NA
JAWS_37_NewDiff
  1. Safety in court
NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 0.838 NA
JAWS_38_NewDiff
  1. Safety beyond court
NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 0.673 NA
JAWS_39_NewDiff
  1. AG public support
NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA
JAWS_40_NewDiff
  1. Rehabilitation programs
0.358 NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA
JAWS_41_NewDiff
  1. Work valued by leadership
NA NA NA NA NA 0.690 NA NA NA
JAWS_42_NewDiff
  1. Professional development
NA NA NA NA NA 0.300 NA NA NA
JAWS_43_NewDiff
  1. Formal judicial education
NA NA NA 0.333 NA NA NA NA NA
JAWS_44_NewDiff
  1. Sentencing
0.460 NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA
JAWS_45_NewDiff
  1. Going on circuit
NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 0.657
JAWS_46_NewDiff
  1. Living away from home
NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 1.013
JAWS_47_NewDiff
  1. Graphic audiovisual evidence
0.550 NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA
JAWS_48_NewDiff
  1. Camaraderie
NA NA NA 0.716 NA NA NA NA NA

Items were included in the factor summary based on two requirements in Field’s textbook: a) primary loading > .5 & no secondary loading of > .30. I’ll still show the cross-loading in the heat map, but not here.

Table. Exploratory Factor Analysis: JAWS NewDiff Scores (9-Factor Solution)
Factor Placeholder Names Items Variance Explained
ML9 Vicarious Trauma & Case Content Emotional content of cases; Impact of decisions on people’s lives; Graphic audiovisual evidence 16.3%
ML3 Cognitive Demands Making complex decisions; Formulating reasons/writing judgments; Assessing legal argument 12.3%
ML1 Court Staff Relationships Working with other court staff; Dealing with other staff in the court; Relationship between judiciary and court administration 12.3%
ML4 Collegial Community Working with judicial colleagues; Camaraderie and inclusion by colleagues 11.6%
ML6 Workload & Pace Workload; Pace at which I am required to work 11.3%
ML7 Court Leadership & Recognition Judicial leadership within my court; Degree to which my work is valued by court leadership 9.8%
ML2 Employment perks Adequacy of remuneration/financial benefits; Leave entitlements 9.4%
ML8 Safety & Security Safety in court; Safety beyond court precinct 9.1%
ML5 Travel Going on circuit or travelling in regional and remote communities; Living away from home for court work 7.8%

Step 8: Model Fit

RMSEA = 0.051 TLI = 0.866 BIC = -2827.793

RMSEA of 0.051 is just above the .05 threshold but within acceptable range. TLI of 0.866 is below the ideal .95 but acceptable for a large item set.

Step 9: Rotation Check — Oblimin vs Varimax

To confirm oblimin was the appropriate rotation, a varimax solution was also run for comparison.

Loadings: ML3 ML9 ML2 ML7 ML5 ML4 ML1 ML6 ML8
JAWS_15_NewDiff 0.697
JAWS_19_NewDiff 0.584
JAWS_26_NewDiff 0.649
JAWS_34_NewDiff 0.514
JAWS_44_NewDiff 0.556 0.312
JAWS_47_NewDiff 0.542
JAWS_31_NewDiff 0.604
JAWS_33_NewDiff 0.687
JAWS_21_NewDiff 0.793
JAWS_48_NewDiff 0.737
JAWS_11_NewDiff 0.715
JAWS_12_NewDiff 0.653
JAWS_14_NewDiff 0.623
JAWS_22_NewDiff 0.318 0.756
JAWS_24_NewDiff 0.754
JAWS_27_NewDiff 0.605
JAWS_4_NewDiff 0.707
JAWS_8_NewDiff 0.345 0.677
JAWS_45_NewDiff 0.635
JAWS_46_NewDiff 0.953
JAWS_37_NewDiff 0.736
JAWS_38_NewDiff 0.606
JAWS_29_NewDiff 0.332 0.319 0.645 JAWS_41_NewDiff 0.352 0.363 0.602 JAWS_1_NewDiff 0.470 0.353
JAWS_2_NewDiff 0.394
JAWS_3_NewDiff
JAWS_5_NewDiff 0.459 0.427
JAWS_6_NewDiff 0.415 0.413
JAWS_7_NewDiff 0.353 0.303
JAWS_9_NewDiff 0.357 0.335 0.307 JAWS_10_NewDiff 0.406
JAWS_13_NewDiff 0.402 0.410
JAWS_16_NewDiff 0.317 0.380
JAWS_17_NewDiff 0.458
JAWS_18_NewDiff
JAWS_20_NewDiff 0.402
JAWS_23_NewDiff 0.449
JAWS_25_NewDiff 0.430
JAWS_28_NewDiff 0.337
JAWS_30_NewDiff
JAWS_32_NewDiff 0.464
JAWS_35_NewDiff 0.323 0.394
JAWS_36_NewDiff 0.417 0.352 0.347
JAWS_39_NewDiff 0.304
JAWS_40_NewDiff 0.378
JAWS_42_NewDiff 0.360 0.395
JAWS_43_NewDiff 0.412

             ML3   ML9   ML2   ML7   ML5   ML4   ML1   ML6   ML8

SS loadings 4.987 3.547 3.510 2.730 2.525 2.103 1.644 1.537 1.383 Proportion Var 0.104 0.074 0.073 0.057 0.053 0.044 0.034 0.032 0.029 Cumulative Var 0.104 0.178 0.251 0.308 0.360 0.404 0.438 0.470 0.499

There are more cross-loading, which can make interpreation harder. ML8 is weaker in this model, so the Oblimin solution might be a better rotation choice given its clearer, more interpretable factors.

Step 10: Factor Correlations

Factor Correlation Matrix (Phi)
Vicarious Trauma Cognitive Demands Court Staff Relationships Collegial community Workload & Pace Court Leadership Employment perks Safety & Security Travel
Vicarious Trauma 1.00 0.46 0.36 0.23 0.39 0.19 0.19 0.30 0.29
Cognitive Demands 0.46 1.00 0.33 0.39 0.41 0.23 0.23 0.27 0.20
Court Staff Relationships 0.36 0.33 1.00 0.50 0.32 0.38 0.25 0.40 0.17
Collegial community 0.23 0.39 0.50 1.00 0.21 0.46 0.29 0.34 0.18
Workload & Pace 0.39 0.41 0.32 0.21 1.00 0.35 0.35 0.34 0.34
Court Leadership 0.19 0.23 0.38 0.46 0.35 1.00 0.41 0.37 0.22
Employment perks 0.19 0.23 0.25 0.29 0.35 0.41 1.00 0.45 0.22
Safety & Security 0.30 0.27 0.40 0.34 0.34 0.37 0.45 1.00 0.29
Travel 0.29 0.20 0.17 0.18 0.34 0.22 0.22 0.29 1.00

Field suggested oblimin rotation is the best choice for factor correlations >.30.

Step 11: Residual Analysis

Total residuals: 1128 Residuals > .05: 95 Percentage > .05: 8.4 %

Only 8.4 Reproduced correlation matrix shows how well the factor solution matches the actual correlations in the data. Field suggested that less than 50% of the residuals should be above .05 for it to be considered good fit. Only 8.4% of the residuals were over .05, lower than the 50% threshold. This shows that 9-factor soultion is reproducing in the original correlation matrix well. The smmetrical distribution centred at Zero suggests the difference between what the factor solution predicts and what’s actually in the data are small, no systematic over or under-predicting correlations.

Exploratory Factor Analysis: JAWS Difference by Distress (v2)

expand

Step 1: Sample Size

Respondents with ≥50% of JAWS NewDiff items completed: N = 576 ( 0 excluded for >50% missing).

Cases per item = 12

Field suggests 200+ for a reliable scree plot and notes that sampling adequacy is better judged by KMO (see Step 4) than by N alone.

Step 2: Correlation Matrix

No item pairs correlated above .90.

Determinant of the correlation matrix = 1.68e-11

Below Field’s threshold, but this is expected with 48 items; no correlations exceeded .90 and KMO is strong, so no items were removed.

43.4 % of item correlations exceeded .30 (mean |r| = 0.29 ), indicating the items share enough common variance to factor analyse.

Step 3: Bartlett’s Test of Sphericity

Chi-square = 13,847.49 , df = 1128 , p < .001

A significant result indicates the correlation matrix differs from an identity matrix (i.e., items do correlate), so factor analysis is appropriate. Note this test is almost always significant in large samples, so it is a minimum requirement rather than strong evidence of factorability — the KMO (Step 4) and the proportion of correlations above .30 (Step 2) carry more weight.

Step 4: Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) Measure of Sampling Adequacy

KMO Measure of Sampling Adequacy (Overall MSA = 0.93), sorted lowest to highest
Item MSA
JAWS_46_NewDiff 0.79
JAWS_18_NewDiff 0.81
JAWS_45_NewDiff 0.81
JAWS_32_NewDiff 0.86
JAWS_22_NewDiff 0.90
JAWS_30_NewDiff 0.90
JAWS_47_NewDiff 0.90
JAWS_17_NewDiff 0.91
JAWS_21_NewDiff 0.91
JAWS_37_NewDiff 0.91
JAWS_38_NewDiff 0.91
JAWS_48_NewDiff 0.91
JAWS_24_NewDiff 0.92
JAWS_29_NewDiff 0.92
JAWS_33_NewDiff 0.92
JAWS_34_NewDiff 0.92
JAWS_40_NewDiff 0.92
JAWS_4_NewDiff 0.93
JAWS_28_NewDiff 0.93
JAWS_39_NewDiff 0.93
JAWS_41_NewDiff 0.93
JAWS_3_NewDiff 0.94
JAWS_6_NewDiff 0.94
JAWS_7_NewDiff 0.94
JAWS_8_NewDiff 0.94
JAWS_11_NewDiff 0.94
JAWS_12_NewDiff 0.94
JAWS_13_NewDiff 0.94
JAWS_14_NewDiff 0.94
JAWS_15_NewDiff 0.94
JAWS_19_NewDiff 0.94
JAWS_23_NewDiff 0.94
JAWS_26_NewDiff 0.94
JAWS_44_NewDiff 0.94
JAWS_1_NewDiff 0.95
JAWS_5_NewDiff 0.95
JAWS_9_NewDiff 0.95
JAWS_10_NewDiff 0.95
JAWS_20_NewDiff 0.95
JAWS_27_NewDiff 0.95
JAWS_31_NewDiff 0.95
JAWS_36_NewDiff 0.95
JAWS_43_NewDiff 0.95
JAWS_16_NewDiff 0.96
JAWS_25_NewDiff 0.96
JAWS_35_NewDiff 0.96
JAWS_42_NewDiff 0.96
JAWS_2_NewDiff 0.97

Overall MSA = 0.93 ; individual item MSAs ranged from 0.79 to 0.97

No items fell below Field’s .50 minimum, so all 48 items were retained for extraction. Field’s benchmarks: .50 bare minimum; .70–.80 good; .80–.90 great; above .90 superb.

Step 5: Determining the Number of Factors

Parallel analysis and the scree plot were used to determine the number of factors, with candidate solutions compared on model fit and interpretability.

Parallel analysis suggests that the number of factors = 10 and the number of components = NA
Model Fit Comparison: 8 to 11 Factor Solutions (lower BIC = better)
Number of Factors RMSEA TLI BIC
8 0.053 0.856 -2893.3
9 0.051 0.866 -2827.8
10 0.049 0.877 -2762.5
11 0.047 0.886 -2681.2

The scree plot showed one dominant factor followed by an inflexion at around 3–4 factors; however, scree and eigenvalue rules are known to underextract with large item sets, and solutions this small produced broad, uninterpretable factors. Parallel analysis, generally the more rigorous criterion, suggested 10 factors, though the actual and resampled eigenvalues were nearly indistinguishable from around the 7th factor onward, indicating diminishing returns across the 8–11 region. Candidate solutions from 8 to 11 factors were therefore compared on fit and interpretability. BIC favoured fewer factors (8 lowest), and 9 fit better than 10. However, the 8-factor solution merged conceptually distinct content e.g., safety and security (items 37, 38) with employment perks (31, 33) and physical workplace conditions (1, 2, 6). Following Field’s principle that factors must make conceptual sense rather than only optimise fit, the 9-factor solution was retained as the better balance (maybe? not sure about still. Check after running the other FAs) of parsimony, fit, and interpretability.

Step 6: Solution Diagnostics

Highest communality = 0.995 ( JAWS_46_NewDiff )

All communalities were below 1, indicating a proper (admissible) solution. Note: in oblique rotations, pattern loadings are regression weights and may legitimately exceed 1 when factors are correlated; this does not indicate a Heywood case provided communalities remain below 1.

Step 7: Factor Loadings

Items were assigned to factors using two criteria: (a) primary loading ≥ .40 (Stevens’ criterion, cited in Field) and (b) no secondary loading ≥ .30. Cross-loading items are shown in the heatmap but excluded from factor membership.

Factor Loadings: JAWS NewDiff EFA (9-Factor Solution, Loadings < .30 Suppressed)
Item Emotional Weight & Public Exposure of the Role Cognitive Demands Court Staff Relationships Collegial Community Workload & Pace Court Leadership & Recognition Employment Perks Safety & Security Circuit & Travel
  1. Adequacy of staffing
NA NA 0.327 NA NA NA NA NA NA
  1. Physical court environment
NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA
  1. IT resources
NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA
  1. Workload
NA NA NA NA 0.758 NA NA NA NA
  1. Control over working day
NA NA NA NA 0.424 NA 0.311 NA NA
  1. Adequacy of breaks
NA NA NA NA 0.419 NA NA NA NA
  1. Frequency of interruptions
NA NA NA NA 0.312 NA NA NA NA
  1. Pace of work
NA NA NA NA 0.738 NA NA NA NA
  1. Fairness of work distribution
NA NA NA NA 0.302 0.310 NA NA NA
  1. Pace of colleagues
NA NA NA 0.391 NA NA NA NA NA
  1. Complex decisions
NA 0.741 NA NA NA NA NA NA NA
  1. Writing judgments
NA 0.689 NA NA NA NA NA NA NA
  1. Assessing credibility
NA 0.397 NA NA NA NA NA NA NA
  1. Assessing legal argument
NA 0.649 NA NA NA NA NA NA NA
  1. Emotional case content
0.652 NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA
  1. Quality of legal representation
NA NA NA NA NA NA 0.306 NA NA
  1. Self-represented litigants
0.404 NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA
  1. Managing juries
NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA
  1. Emotions of parties/witnesses
0.494 NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA
  1. Isolation of judicial role
NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA
  1. Working with colleagues
NA NA NA 0.813 NA NA NA NA NA
  1. Working with court staff
NA NA 0.811 NA NA NA NA NA NA
  1. Leadership role
NA NA NA 0.327 NA NA NA NA NA
  1. Dealing with other staff
NA NA 0.835 NA NA NA NA NA NA
  1. Privilege and status
0.402 NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA
  1. Impact of decisions
0.570 NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA
  1. Judiciary & administration
NA NA 0.644 NA NA NA NA NA NA
  1. Appellate review
NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA
  1. Judicial leadership
NA NA NA NA NA 0.755 NA NA NA
  1. Professional activities outside court
NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA
  1. Leave entitlements
NA NA NA NA NA NA 0.450 NA NA
  1. Remuneration
NA NA NA NA NA NA 0.413 NA NA
  1. Financial benefits
NA NA NA NA NA NA 0.625 NA NA
  1. Media commentary
0.472 NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA
  1. Working with values
NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA
  1. Positive contribution to society
0.331 0.304 NA NA NA NA NA NA NA
  1. Safety in court
NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 0.838 NA
  1. Safety beyond court
NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 0.673 NA
  1. AG public support
NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA
  1. Rehabilitation programs
0.358 NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA
  1. Work valued by leadership
NA NA NA NA NA 0.690 NA NA NA
  1. Professional development
NA NA NA NA NA 0.300 NA NA NA
  1. Formal judicial education
NA NA NA 0.333 NA NA NA NA NA
  1. Sentencing
0.460 NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA
  1. Going on circuit
NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 0.657
  1. Living away from home
NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 1.013
  1. Graphic audiovisual evidence
0.550 NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA
  1. Camaraderie
NA NA NA 0.716 NA NA NA NA NA
Item Classification (membership: primary ≥ .40, secondary < .30)
Item Factor Primary Secondary Status
  1. Living away from home
Circuit & Travel 1.01 0.03 Assigned
  1. Going on circuit
Circuit & Travel 0.66 0.08 Assigned
  1. Complex decisions
Cognitive Demands 0.74 0.11 Assigned
  1. Writing judgments
Cognitive Demands 0.69 0.16 Assigned
  1. Assessing legal argument
Cognitive Demands 0.65 0.12 Assigned
  1. Assessing credibility
Cognitive Demands 0.40 0.25 Assigned
  1. Appellate review
Cognitive Demands 0.27 0.24 Orphan — no salient loading
  1. Working with colleagues
Collegial Community 0.81 0.07 Assigned
  1. Camaraderie
Collegial Community 0.72 0.12 Assigned
  1. Pace of colleagues
Collegial Community 0.39 0.17 Below .40 membership threshold
  1. Leadership role
Collegial Community 0.33 0.21 Below .40 membership threshold
  1. Formal judicial education
Collegial Community 0.33 0.18 Below .40 membership threshold
  1. Professional activities outside court
Collegial Community 0.28 0.21 Orphan — no salient loading
  1. Working with values
Collegial Community 0.28 0.21 Orphan — no salient loading
  1. Judicial leadership
Court Leadership & Recognition 0.76 0.07 Assigned
  1. Work valued by leadership
Court Leadership & Recognition 0.69 0.09 Assigned
  1. Fairness of work distribution
Court Leadership & Recognition 0.31 0.30 Cross-loader — excluded
  1. Professional development
Court Leadership & Recognition 0.30 0.22 Below .40 membership threshold
  1. Managing juries
Court Leadership & Recognition 0.19 0.18 Orphan — no salient loading
  1. Dealing with other staff
Court Staff Relationships 0.83 0.05 Assigned
  1. Working with court staff
Court Staff Relationships 0.81 0.13 Assigned
  1. Judiciary & administration
Court Staff Relationships 0.64 0.17 Assigned
  1. Adequacy of staffing
Court Staff Relationships 0.33 0.29 Below .40 membership threshold
  1. IT resources
Court Staff Relationships 0.23 0.18 Orphan — no salient loading
  1. Emotional case content
Emotional Weight & Public Exposure of the Role 0.65 0.16 Assigned
  1. Impact of decisions
Emotional Weight & Public Exposure of the Role 0.57 0.22 Assigned
  1. Graphic audiovisual evidence
Emotional Weight & Public Exposure of the Role 0.55 0.13 Assigned
  1. Emotions of parties/witnesses
Emotional Weight & Public Exposure of the Role 0.49 0.15 Assigned
  1. Media commentary
Emotional Weight & Public Exposure of the Role 0.47 0.12 Assigned
  1. Sentencing
Emotional Weight & Public Exposure of the Role 0.46 0.26 Assigned
  1. Self-represented litigants
Emotional Weight & Public Exposure of the Role 0.40 0.10 Assigned
  1. Privilege and status
Emotional Weight & Public Exposure of the Role 0.40 0.18 Assigned
  1. Rehabilitation programs
Emotional Weight & Public Exposure of the Role 0.36 0.15 Below .40 membership threshold
  1. Positive contribution to society
Emotional Weight & Public Exposure of the Role 0.33 0.30 Cross-loader — excluded
  1. Isolation of judicial role
Emotional Weight & Public Exposure of the Role 0.27 0.15 Orphan — no salient loading
  1. AG public support
Emotional Weight & Public Exposure of the Role 0.23 0.22 Orphan — no salient loading
  1. Financial benefits
Employment Perks 0.62 0.12 Assigned
  1. Leave entitlements
Employment Perks 0.45 0.19 Assigned
  1. Remuneration
Employment Perks 0.41 0.14 Assigned
  1. Quality of legal representation
Employment Perks 0.31 0.24 Below .40 membership threshold
  1. Physical court environment
Employment Perks 0.26 0.19 Orphan — no salient loading
  1. Safety in court
Safety & Security 0.84 0.05 Assigned
  1. Safety beyond court
Safety & Security 0.67 0.08 Assigned
  1. Workload
Workload & Pace 0.76 0.13 Assigned
  1. Pace of work
Workload & Pace 0.74 0.10 Assigned
  1. Control over working day
Workload & Pace 0.42 0.31 Cross-loader — excluded
  1. Adequacy of breaks
Workload & Pace 0.42 0.26 Assigned
  1. Frequency of interruptions
Workload & Pace 0.31 0.24 Below .40 membership threshold

Items not assigned to any factor:

  • No salient loading (< .30): 2. Physical court environment; 3. IT resources; 18. Managing juries; 20. Isolation of judicial role; 28. Appellate review; 30. Professional activities outside court; 35. Working with values; 39. AG public support
  • Cross-loaders (secondary ≥ .30): 5. Control over working day; 9. Fairness of work distribution; 36. Positive contribution to society
  • Primary in .30–.39 range: 1. Adequacy of staffing; 7. Frequency of interruptions; 10. Pace of colleagues; 16. Quality of legal representation; 23. Leadership role; 40. Rehabilitation programs; 42. Professional development; 43. Formal judicial education
Table. EFA Factor Summary: JAWS NewDiff (9-Factor Solution). Membership: primary ≥ .40, no secondary ≥ .30.
Factor N Items Items % of Explained Variance
Court Leadership & Recognition 2
  1. Judicial leadership; 41. Work valued by leadership
9.8%
Employment Perks 3
  1. Leave entitlements; 32. Remuneration; 33. Financial benefits
9.4%
Safety & Security 2
  1. Safety in court; 38. Safety beyond court
9.1%
Circuit & Travel 2
  1. Going on circuit; 46. Living away from home
7.8%
Emotional Weight & Public Exposure of the Role 8
  1. Emotional case content; 17. Self-represented litigants; 19. Emotions of parties/witnesses; 25. Privilege and status; 26. Impact of decisions; 34. Media commentary; 44. Sentencing; 47. Graphic audiovisual evidence
16.3%
Cognitive Demands 4
  1. Complex decisions; 12. Writing judgments; 13. Assessing credibility; 14. Assessing legal argument
12.3%
Court Staff Relationships 3
  1. Working with court staff; 24. Dealing with other staff; 27. Judiciary & administration
12.3%
Collegial Community 2
  1. Working with colleagues; 48. Camaraderie
11.6%
Workload & Pace 3
  1. Workload; 6. Adequacy of breaks; 8. Pace of work
11.3%

#### Step 8: Model Fit

RMSEA = 0.051 (90% CI [ 0.048 , 0.054 ]) TLI = 0.866 BIC = -2827.8 (used for model comparison in Step 5; no absolute benchmark)

RMSEA was within the .05–.08 range conventionally considered acceptable . TLI was below the conventional .90 benchmark,common for long multi-factor instruments. .

Step 9: Rotation Check — Oblimin vs Varimax

Oblique (oblimin) rotation was chosen a priori because facets of judicial work stress were expected to correlate — an expectation confirmed by the factor correlations in Step 10. As a sensitivity check, an orthogonal (varimax) solution was also examined.

Varimax (Orthogonal) Loadings for Comparison (< .30 Suppressed)
Item ML3 ML9 ML2 ML7 ML5 ML4 ML1 ML6 ML8
  1. Adequacy of staffing
NA 0.470 NA NA 0.353 NA NA NA NA
  1. Physical court environment
NA 0.394 NA NA NA NA NA NA NA
  1. IT resources
NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA
  1. Workload
NA NA NA NA NA 0.707 NA NA NA
  1. Control over working day
NA 0.459 NA NA NA 0.427 NA NA NA
  1. Adequacy of breaks
NA 0.415 NA NA NA 0.413 NA NA NA
  1. Frequency of interruptions
0.353 NA NA NA NA 0.303 NA NA NA
  1. Pace of work
0.345 NA NA NA NA 0.677 NA NA NA
  1. Fairness of work distribution
NA NA 0.357 NA NA 0.335 NA NA 0.307
  1. Pace of colleagues
NA NA 0.406 NA NA NA NA NA NA
  1. Complex decisions
NA NA NA 0.715 NA NA NA NA NA
  1. Writing judgments
NA NA NA 0.653 NA NA NA NA NA
  1. Assessing credibility
0.402 NA NA 0.410 NA NA NA NA NA
  1. Assessing legal argument
NA NA NA 0.623 NA NA NA NA NA
  1. Emotional case content
0.697 NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA
  1. Quality of legal representation
0.317 0.380 NA NA NA NA NA NA NA
  1. Self-represented litigants
0.458 NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA
  1. Managing juries
NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA
  1. Emotions of parties/witnesses
0.584 NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA
  1. Isolation of judicial role
0.402 NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA
  1. Working with colleagues
NA NA 0.793 NA NA NA NA NA NA
  1. Working with court staff
NA NA 0.318 NA 0.756 NA NA NA NA
  1. Leadership role
NA NA 0.449 NA NA NA NA NA NA
  1. Dealing with other staff
NA NA NA NA 0.754 NA NA NA NA
  1. Privilege and status
0.430 NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA
  1. Impact of decisions
0.649 NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA
  1. Judiciary & administration
NA NA NA NA 0.605 NA NA NA NA
  1. Appellate review
0.337 NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA
  1. Judicial leadership
NA 0.332 0.319 NA NA NA NA NA 0.645
  1. Professional activities outside court
NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA
  1. Leave entitlements
NA 0.604 NA NA NA NA NA NA NA
  1. Remuneration
NA 0.464 NA NA NA NA NA NA NA
  1. Financial benefits
NA 0.687 NA NA NA NA NA NA NA
  1. Media commentary
0.514 NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA
  1. Working with values
0.323 NA 0.394 NA NA NA NA NA NA
  1. Positive contribution to society
0.417 NA 0.352 0.347 NA NA NA NA NA
  1. Safety in court
NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 0.736 NA
  1. Safety beyond court
NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 0.606 NA
  1. AG public support
0.304 NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA
  1. Rehabilitation programs
0.378 NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA
  1. Work valued by leadership
NA 0.352 0.363 NA NA NA NA NA 0.602
  1. Professional development
NA 0.360 0.395 NA NA NA NA NA NA
  1. Formal judicial education
NA NA 0.412 NA NA NA NA NA NA
  1. Sentencing
0.556 NA NA 0.312 NA NA NA NA NA
  1. Going on circuit
NA NA NA NA NA NA 0.635 NA NA
  1. Living away from home
NA NA NA NA NA NA 0.953 NA NA
  1. Graphic audiovisual evidence
0.542 NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA
  1. Camaraderie
NA NA 0.737 NA NA NA NA NA NA

Cross-loading items (secondary ≥ .30): oblimin = 3, varimax = 15. The same nine factors were identifiable in both solutions, but the varimax solution produced more cross-loadings — the expected consequence of forcing correlated factors to be orthogonal. The a priori choice of oblimin was retained.