According to professors Todd David Peterson and Elizabeth Waters Peterson in a 2009 article, lawyers suffer from the highest rate of depression of all professionals after adjusting for socio-demographic factors and are 3.6 times more likely to suffer from a major depressive disorder than the rest of the employed population. They are also more likely to develop heart disease, alcoholism and drug use than the general population. As Professor Susan Daicoff noted in a 2008 study, approximately 20 percent of the entire profession suffers from clinically significant levels of substance abuse, depression, anxiety or some other form of psychopathology. Moreover, researchers have found that mental illness and distress are responsible for the majority of attorney malpractice and disciplinary proceedings.
It comes as no surprise that the legal profession's high levels of dissatisfaction and mental health-related problems begin in law school. For example, a 2001 study performed by professors Kennon Sheldon and Lawrence Krieger tracked law students at two law schools during a three-year period, monitoring levels of law student distress and dissatisfaction. At the beginning of the study, students were generally happy and healthy. Within six months, however, the law students experienced significant decreases in well-being and life satisfaction, and substantial increases in depression, negative affect and physical symptoms.
http://www.law.com/jsp/law/careercenter/lawArticleCareerCenter.jsp?id=1202463773573&src=EMC-Email&et=editorial&bu=Law.com&pt=LAWCOM%20Newswire&cn=NW_20090722&kw=Commentary%3A%20Educate%20Law%20Students%20About%20Job%20Satisfaction
Posts
