The survey of just under 13,000 practising attorneys across the US found that nearly one in three are problem drinkers, while just over one in four are living with depression. An even larger number of attorneys (46 per cent) report having experienced depression at some point during their careers. Meanwhile, junior lawyers with fewer than 15 years’ experience were overwhelmingly more likely to report problems with alcohol and substance abuse than their more senior counterparts. The study was funded by the American Bar Association's Commission on Lawyer Assistance Programs and the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation, and has been published in the Journal of Addiction Medicine.
'Unstable professional culture'
According to the study's co-author, attorney Patrick Krill, the survey results lend hard evidence to the 'widely held but empirically under-supported view' that lawyers are at a higher risk of developing hazardous or harmful drinking behaviours than their contemporaries in other professions. The 36.4 per cent of lawyers who reported consumption patterns consistent with alcohol abuse (in regards to how much and how often they drink) was more than double the 15 per cent of physicians and surgeons who report the same behaviours. 'Any way you look at it, this data is very alarming, and paints the picture of an unstable professional culture that's harming too many people,' commented Mr Krill. Sources: The National Law Journal; Journal of Addiction Medicine
Email your news and story ideas to: [email protected]
