The Divergent Mental Health Effects of Dashed Expectations and Unfulfilled Aspirations: Evidence from American Lawyers’ Careers

Abstract

Considerable work has shown that optimistic future orientations can be a resource for resilience across individuals’ lives. At the same time, research has shown little downside to “shooting for the stars” and failing. Here, we bring these competing insights to the study of lawyers’ careers, investigating the relationship between mental health and failure in achieving desired career advancement. To do this, we differentiate between expectations and aspirations for the future, a conceptual distinction that has been much theorized but little tested. Using longitudinal data, we show that dashed expectations of making partner are associated with depreciated mental health outcomes, whereas a similar relationship does not exist for unfulfilled aspirations. We conclude that inasmuch as expectations are more deeply rooted in an individual’s realistic sense of their future self, failing to achieve what is expected is more psychologically damaging than failing to achieve what is simply aspired. Our findings contrast with studies of younger people that demonstrate fewer consequences for unfulfilled future orientations, and so we highlight the importance of specifying how particular future-oriented beliefs fit into distinct career and life course trajectories, for better or for worse. In the process, we contribute to the academic literatures on future orientations, work, and mental health.

Suicide among lawyers: Role of job problems

“…Job problems emerged as a principal driver of lawyer suicide. This is consistent with some of the work on job strains in the legal workplace, a location often marked by crisis management, stress, and burnout (e.g., Bergin & Jimmiesom, 2013;Hagan & Kay, 2007;Koltai et al, 2018;Krill et al, 2016;Sendroiu et al, 2021;Sugarman, 2015). It is also consistent with work positing a connection between client dependent occupations, law being one, and suicide (Labovitz & Hagedorn, 1971;Stack, 2001).…”

“…Research on the mental health of lawyers generally falls short of including measures of suicidality, but offers some leads on well-being that may be relevant to predicting suicidality (Benjamin et al, 1990;Cokley et al, 2022;Eaton et al, 1990;Hagan & Kay, 2007;Kay & Wallace, 2009;Koenig, 2019;Koltai et al, 2018;Krill et al, 2016;Nelson et al, 2019;Nielson & Minda, 2021;Organ et al, 2016;Scott, 2018;Sendroiu et al, 2021). The results are mixed, but tend to suggest evidence of lower than average mental well-being among attorneys.…”

Pro-integration policies and the occupational expectations of immigrant youth

“…Finally, educators, researchers, and policymakers should consider carefully the fact that not all immigrants will achieve their ambitious goals. In an age when career outcomes are closely linked to one's sense of identity, not realizing high occupational expectations may lead to deleterious outcomes, such as a diminished sense of self-worth and higher levels of depression (Cherlin, 2019;Lamont, 2019;Sendroiu et al, 2021). This presents a challenge as to how educators should balance the positive effects of higher occupational expectations, such as choosing higher tracks and more advanced coursework in high school (Buchmann and Park, 2009;Feliciano and Rumbaut, 2005;Pasztor, 2010) and increased resistance to temptations that can lead students' high school careers astray (Frye, 2012), against the potential psychological costs of not achieving these ambitions.…”

Psychosocial Coping Resources and the Toll of COVID-19 Bereavement

“…Although further research is required to parse the precise mechanisms responsible for the damaging effects of higher levels of support on the mental health of the bereaved, one potential explanation can be found in the sociological literature on unmet expectations. A variety of studies on topics ranging from unattained markers of adulthood (Culatta and Clay-Warner 2021), to thwarted career ambitions (Sendroiu, Upenieks, and Schafer 2021), to earlier than expected labor force exit (Abrams, Clarke, and Mehta 2022) indicate that unmet expectations are linked to psychological distress. In this instance, we suspect that unmet expectations of coping assistance from friends and family in the wake of bereavement—most likely greater among those who generally perceive more support availability—amplify the sorrow and distress experienced by the bereaved, to the detriment of their mental health.…”