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26 Psych., Crime & L. 1 (2020)

handle is hein.journals/pcyceadl26 and id is 1 raw text is: PSYCHOLOGY, CRIME & LAW 2020, VOL. 26, NO. 1, 1-21 https://doi.org/1 0.1080/1068316X.2019.1611830 Routledge Taylor & Francis Group The unseen cost of justice: post-traumatic stress symptoms in Canadian lawyers Marie-Eve Leclerc''', Jo-Anne Wemmersb'c and Alain Bruneta,b,c 'Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, McGill University, Montreal, Canada; bResearch Center, Douglas Mental Health University Institute, Montreal, Canada; cInternational Center for Comparative Criminology, Universite de Montreal, Montreal, Canada AEBs TRA CT ARTICLE HISTORY Limited research has been conducted on the Diagnostic and Received 20 July 2018 Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-5 (DSM-5; 2013) exposure Accepted 20 March 2019 criterion: 'work-related exposure to aversive details of traumatic events'. This study investigated the presence and severity of post- KEYWORDS traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptomatology among a disorder; PTSD;lawyers;law national cross-sectional sample of practicing Canadian lawyers (N =476). Participants were categorized into three groups: no, moderate, and high work-related exposure to potentially traumatic material. As hypothesized, lawyers in the moderate and high work-related trauma exposure groups obtained more elevated (severe) mean scores of PTSD symptoms, psychological distress, and reported a poorer quality of life (p<.05) compared to their unexposed colleagues. An important proportion of lawyers scored above the clinical threshold for probable PTSD (9%), psychological distress (23%), and unsatisfactory quality of life (23%). Trauma-exposed lawyers were 2.62 times (95%C: 1.12-6.12, p-.027) more likely to meet the probable PTSD threshold than the unexposed lawyers. Congruent with the DSM-5 reformulation of trauma exposure, lawyers exposed to aversive details of traumatic events are at increased risk of developing PTSD symptoms requiring an intervention. Future research using random sampling and face-to-face interviews should be conducted to further establish the human cost of this emerging problem. Statement of significance Repeated exposure to aversive details of traumatic event(s) during one's professional duties reflect a common feature of some lawyers' work, yet it has only recently been recog- nized as an official stressor criterion for a PTSD diagnostic in 2013. Lawyers that exposed to trauma in their practice are 2.62 times more likely to meet the probable PTSD diagnostic criteria than their unexposed colleagues, outlining the needs for education and clinical interventions. CONTACT Alain Brunet alain.brunet@mcgill.ca Douglas Institute, 6875 LaSalle boulevard, Montreal, Qc, Canada H4H 1R3 © 2019 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group

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