Assessment of risky drinking, harmful drinking and alcohol addiction among lawyers

Abstract

Background: Not much is known about alcohol dependence, risky or harmful drinking among Polish lawyers. Studies conducted around the world have so far shown that this professional group is at a greater risk of alcohol addiction than the total population or other professional groups. Aim: The aim of this study was to determine the model of alcohol consumption among lawyers, as well as the factors influencing this phenomenon. Materials and methods: The study was conducted among 206 lawyers, including 102 women and 104 men, aged between 29 and 84 years. The AUDIT test, developed by World Health Organization, was used. Results: In the study group of lawyers, 22.33% drink in a risky and harmful manner, including nearly 3% whose score suggests alcohol addiction. It was shown that the sex criterion differentiated the alcohol consumption model among lawyers, with statistically significant higher average values obtained for men (p = 0.002). The study showed that the drinking model is influenced both by the marital status of respondents and whether they have children or not (p = 0.000033). There was no influence of weekly working hours on the alcohol use pattern (p = 0.169, r = 0.10). An analysis using the Pearson’s r correlation coefficient showed a statistically significant relationship (p = 0.021) between age and AUDIT score. This was a low-strength negative correlation (r = −0.16), i.e. AUDIT scores decreased with the age of respondents. Conclusions: This study is the first medical assessment of the prevalence of alcohol use among Polish lawyers. Lawyers are a professional group reluctant to undergo evaluation, who are at a high risk of problematic alcohol use. The study shows that there is a need for in-depth diagnosis of alcohol addiction and development of educational, preventive and therapeutic programs that take into account the specificity of the work of lawyers.