Perfectionism and Psychological Distress among Chinese Judges: Do Age and Gender Make a Difference?

BACKGROUND: Judges may experience mental health problems, which reduces their performance in juridical cases, and constitutes a great threat to both the authority of law and social justice. This study aimed to assess the prevalence of psychological distress among judges and examine the effect of perfectionism on psychological distress with age and gender as the moderators. METHODS: This survey was carried out in person with 565 Chinese judges in 2016, using the Almost Perfect Scale-Revised and the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale. The effects of perfectionism on psychological distress was explored by Structural Equation Model (SEM), and the moderating effects of age and gender were tested by Multi-group analysis. RESULTS: Psychological distress was reported by 89.20% of the judges surveyed. Discrepancy had a significant positive effect on psychological distress, but order had a significant negative effect on psychological distress, with high standards exerting no significant effect. Age had a significant moderating effect, whereas the moderating effect of gender was not significant. CONCLUSION: The three dimensions of perfectionism exerted different effects on psychological distress of Chinese judges, and the relationships were moderated by age.