Depressive Symptoms and Suicidal Ideation Among Lawyers and Other Law Professionals

Details

• Personal Author:
  Allen JA ; Free K ; Knudson M ; Petersen P ; Thiese MS
• Description:
  Law professionals are an understudied population that is integral to society. Limited research indicates lawyers experience poor mental health, decreased wellbeing, and suicidality. This cross-sectional study recruited 654 law professionals and responses to a depression scale, the Patient Health Questionnaire 9 (PHQ-9) were compared with the general working population. Lawyers were significantly more likely to report suicidal ideation "several days" and "more than half the days" as compared to the general working population, with Odds Ratios (OR) of 6.54 (95% CI 4.16-10.29) and 5.50 (95% CI 2.23-13.53) respectively. Lawyers were more likely reported mild (OR=3.89, 95% CI 3.04-4.96) moderate (OR=5.29, 95% CI 3.61-7.76), moderately severe (OR=9.71, 95% CI 5.50-17.14), and severe (OR=18.34, 95% CI 6.00- 56.11) depressive symptoms. 17.5% of lawyers in this study were experiencing symptoms equivalent to a diagnosis of a major depressive disorder. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Epidemiology Law Enforcement Mental Disorders Mental Health Nervous System Occupational Health Safety Stress, Psychological Suicide Surveys And Questionnaires
• Keywords:
  Attorney Author Keywords: Lawyer Clinical Symptoms Cross Sectional Studies Depression Health Surveys Law Enforcement Law Enforcement Workers Law Professional Legislation Major Depressive Disorder Mental Disorders Mental Health Mental Stress Odds Ratio Patient Health Questionnaire PHQ-9 Prevalence Professional Workers Psychological Factors Psychological Stress Questionnaires Suicidal Ideation Well-being

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• ISSN:
  1076-2752
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  OSHA Region 8 ; Utah
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  381-386
• Volume:
  63
• Issue:
  5
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20061775
• Citation:
  J Occup Environ Med 2021 May; 63(5):381-386
• Contact Point Address:
  Matthew S. Thiese, 391 Chipeta Way, Suite C, Salt Lake City, Utah 84108
• Email:
  Matt.Thiese@hsc.utah.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2021
• Performing Organization:
  Rocky Mountain Center for Occupational and Environmental Health, Department of Family & Preventive Medicine, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  19950701
• Source Full Name:
  Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine
• End Date:
  20020630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:d9216d4d719138294ba579821fbcd2290e37b444f865ce7dd07bf258b24184d0780716adc117bac373b168e51700836773b0c5c658750a5943cbdd7800f990a7
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/225166/cdc_225166_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 145.10 KB ]