Scope of the Problem
Precise statistics on prevalence of chemical dependency and mental
health problems among attorneys are difficult to come by. Attorney
reluctance to admit such problems contributes to the lack of data. One
of the few published studies was reported in the International
Journal of Law and Psychiatry in 1990, in which researchers
surveyed a sample of Washington state lawyers. The findings
included:
- 19 percent of the surveyed lawyers suffered from depression,
compared to 3 to 9 percent among the general population.
- 18 percent were problem drinkers, nearly double the 10 percent rate
for U.S. adults, as determined by the National Clearinghouse for Alcohol
and Drug Information.
- Less than 1 percent were cocaine abusers, below the national average
of 3 percent of the adult population. But 26 percent of the attorneys
said they'd used cocaine at some point in their lives, compared to 12
percent in the general population.
The same research group found similar results on depression, problem
drinking, and cocaine abuse in a previous study they conducted among
Arizona lawyers, indicating the rates may not be dependent upon
jurisdiction within the United States.
Wisconsin Lawyer
