Called to Counsel: Examining the Links Among Calling, Life Meaning, Life Satisfaction, and Burnout Among Law Students

Abstract

Adapting the work as calling theory (WCT), the present study used path analysis to examine the relations among calling, person-environment fit (P-E fit), life meaning, living one’s calling, academic burnout, and life satisfaction in a sample of law students (N = 245). Propositions of the WCT model were generally supported by data in which perceiving a calling predicted P-E fit, which in turn predicted life meaning. Life meaning predicted living out one’s calling in law school, which correlated positively with life satisfaction and negatively with academic burnout. Findings highlight the predictive role of calling in law student well-being. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.

Additional information

Funding

The author received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Notes on contributors

Rachel Lauren Abouras

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Rachel Abouras ([email protected]) is a doctoral candidate studying higher education studies and leadership at Baylor University. Her research centers on calling and higher education in prison.