Stack Steven, Bowman Barbara A
Emeritus Academy, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, USA.
Center for Suicide Research, Troy, MI, USA.
Suicide Life Threat Behav. 2023 Apr;53(2):312-319. doi: 10.1111/sltb.12945. Epub 2023 Jan 30.
Suicide research has neglected the legal profession. The present investigation determines what risk factors distinguish lawyers' suicides from those of the general population. Given the substantial investment in their careers, client dependency, and ongoing stress of work, job problems are seen as key potential drivers of lawyers' suicides.
Data are from the National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS). They refer to 30,570 suicides. Fifteen predictors, including social strains, psychiatric morbidity, and demographics, are assessed as possible drivers of lawyers' suicides. The dependent variable is a dichotomy where lawyers' suicides = 1 and other suicides = 0.
The results of a multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that after adjusting for the other 14 risk factors, lawyers' suicides were 91% more apt (Odds ratio = 1.91, CI: 1.17, 3.14) than other suicides to have job problems that contributed to their suicide. Other constructs differentiating lawyers' suicides from other suicides included presence of a known mental health problem, age, presence of a known substance abuse problem, and marital status. The full model correctly classified 99.57% of the suicides.
Job problems can serve as a key warning sign for lawyers' suicides. This is the first investigation of the drivers of lawyers' suicides.
自杀研究一直忽视了法律行业。本调查旨在确定哪些风险因素能将律师自杀与普通人群自杀区分开来。鉴于律师在职业生涯中的大量投入、对客户的依赖以及持续的工作压力，工作问题被视为律师自杀的关键潜在驱动因素。
数据来自国家暴力死亡报告系统（NVDRS）。该数据涉及30570起自杀事件。评估了包括社会压力、精神疾病发病率和人口统计学等15个预测因素，作为律师自杀的可能驱动因素。因变量是一个二分变量，其中律师自杀赋值为1，其他自杀赋值为0。
多变量逻辑回归分析结果显示，在对其他14个风险因素进行调整后，律师自杀因工作问题导致自杀的可能性比其他自杀高出91%（优势比=1.91，置信区间：1.17，3.14）。将律师自杀与其他自杀区分开来的其他因素包括存在已知的心理健康问题、年龄、存在已知的药物滥用问题和婚姻状况。完整模型正确分类了99.57%的自杀事件。
工作问题可能是律师自杀的关键警示信号。这是对律师自杀驱动因素的首次调查。
