Ben Pyle

n/n Conclusion: NSDUH data supports concerns about lawyer mental illness & alcohol misuse relative to peers/public more strongly than NHIS. Discrepancies highlight measurement challenges. Need more research on causes & additional surveys to resolve differences. Paper: papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

10/n What about suicide? NSDUH finds higher suicidal ideation among lawyers, although results are imprecisely measured. However, CDC data shows lawyer suicide rates are actually lower than the average across all industries.

9/n Who has the highest rates? NSDUH data suggests:
Younger lawyers (26-34) report higher psych. distress & alcohol abuse than older (50+)
Female lawyers report higher psych. distress than male lawyers
Male lawyers report higher alcohol abuse than female lawyers

8/n Are lawyers reluctant to seek help? Data says maybe not. Both surveys show lawyers access mental health treatment at higher rates than other groups. Key barriers cited aren't cost/stigma, but lack of time & belief treatment won't help / they can handle it.

7/n The NSDUH includes more mental health measures. Using a clinically validated model, it finds 21% of lawyers had any mental illness in the past year & 6.3% had serious mental illness.

6/n Why the difference? We can’t say for certain. Harmonizing definitions doesn’t resolve it. It might be survey methods (NSDUH offers more privacy). We aren’t the first to notice the divergence in the two surveys, but we do note that the differences are correlated w/ occupation .

5/n What about mental distress? Here the surveys diverge. NHIS: lawyers have lower/similar distress than peers/public. BUT, in the NSDUH over 40% of lawyers report moderate/serious psychological distress in the past year! Significantly higher than peers & public.

4/n First, what both surveys agree on: alcohol misuse. Both NHIS & NSDUH show lawyers have elevated rates compared to the public & similarly educated peers. NSDUH finds 9.3% alcohol abuse/dependence.

3/n We look at high-quality national surveys—National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) & National Survey on Drug Use & Health (NSDUH)—to measure mental illness & alcohol misuse. Surprisingly, we find conflicting results, but both surveys use nearly identical questions, high response rates, and weights

2/n In 2016, the ABA surveyed 12,825 lawyers from 19 states and found that 28.3% experienced depression, 19.2% experienced anxiety, and 20.6% experienced alcohol misuse. Later work notes that the survey was unlikely to be representative due to survey nonresponse bias.

1/n May 6-10 is well-being week in law. How are lawyers doing? Clifford Rosky and I dig into the question in our new paper accepted at the Journal of Empirical Legal Studies. papers.ssrn.com/abstract=524...

Justice Outcomes Explorer The CJARS Justice Outcomes Explorer aims to help answer fundamental questions about law enforcement, criminal courts, and correctional supervision and their impact on society.

joe.cjars.org has a lot of great linked data!