Health and wellbeing in the first year: The Law School experience SKU5574

Anthony Lester, Lloyd England and Natalia Antolak-Saper

It is well documented that being a legal practitioner may present a risk to a person’s mental health and wellbeing. Research, conducted predominantly in the US, also suggests that engaging in legal education can pose a risk to a person in terms of depression. Similar results have been found in several Australian studies conducted in the last four years. Nevertheless, information on the mental well-being of law students in the Australian context continues to be lacking. For such reasons, a study was conducted at the Faculty of Law, Monash University during 2009. As part of the study, over 350 first year students were surveyed at the beginning of Semester One, and the end of Semester Two, of their first year of legal studies. Over the year, the study found significant increases in depression, stress and symptoms of ill physical health. It should be noted that although the rates of depression increased, they were lower when compared to similar conducted studies. Monash Law School’s commitment to providing early intervention and support programs may provide some explanation. However, the findings are a reminder that persistent effort is required to improve the quality of the law school experience. Future investigations should consider year levels other than just the first year, and some focus should be had on understanding specific risk elements of the law school experience.

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Anthony Lester, Lloyd England and Natalia Antolak-Saper
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You are here: Home Publications Back Issues 2011 - Vol 36 Health and wellbeing in the first year: The Law School experience

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