Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Substance abuse prevention in the workplace: Recent findings and an expanded conceptual model

  • Articles
  • Published:
Journal of Primary Prevention Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The majority of heavy drinkers and users of illicit drugs are employed adults, yet there is a dearth of sophisticated substance abuse prevention efforts in the workplace. This article reviews the approaches to worksite-based substance abuse prevention and presents the results of a field test of a prevention program aimed at the individual worker. Based on these findings and other theoretical perspectives from the literature, an expanded conceptual model for workplace substance abuse prevention is presented.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Abrams, D. B., Elder, J. P., Carleton, R. A., Lasater, T. M., & Artz, L. M. (1986). Social learning principles for organizational health promotion: An integrated approach. In Cataldo, M. F. & Coates, T. J. (Eds.),Health and industry: A behavioral medicine perspective. New York: John Wiley & Sons.

    Google Scholar 

  • Alleyne, B. C., Stuart, P., & Copes, R. (1991). Alcohol and other drug use in occupational facilities.Journal of Occupational Medicine, 3, 496–500.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ames, G. (1993). Research and strategies for the primary prevention of workplace alcohol problems.Alcohol, Health & Research World, 17(1), 19–27.

    Google Scholar 

  • Barber, J., Bradshaw, R. and Walsh, C. (1989). Reducing alcohol consumption through television advertising.Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 57(5), 613–618.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (CSAP) (1994).National evaluation of the Community Partnership Demonstration Program: Third annual report, 1993. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service.

    Google Scholar 

  • CONSAD Corporation (1989).Analysis of occupational substance use and workplace safety: Final report. Pittsburgh, PA: CONSAD Research Corporation.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cook, R. F. (October, 1986).Drug and alcohol abuse in the workplace. Invited Presentation at Symposium on Health Promotion in the Workplace, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cook, R. F. (1989). Drug use among working adults: Prevalence rates and estimation methods. In S. W. Gust & J. M. Walsh (Eds.),Drugs in the workplace: Research and evaluation data (NIDA Research Monograph No. 91, pp. 17–32). Rockville, MD: National Institute on Drug Abuse.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cook, R. F. (1985). The alternatives approach revisited: A bio-psychological model and guidelines for application.The International Journal of the Addictions, 20(a), 1399–1419.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Cook, R. F. (1988).The Client Assessment Form: A screening instrument for EAPs. Presented at the Annual ALMACA Conference, Los Angeles, CA.

  • Cook, R. F. & Back, A. (1990).SAY YES! Healthy choices for feeling good. Alexandria, VA: ISA Associates, Inc.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cook, R. F. & Back, A. (Executive Producers) (1993). Working people: Decisions about drinking. Alexandria, VA: ISA Associates, Inc.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cook, R. F., Back, A. & Trudeau, J. (in press). Preventing alcohol use problems among blue-collar workers: A field test of the “Working People” program.The International Journal of the Addictions.

  • Cook, R. F., Bernstein, A D., Arrington, T. L., Andrews, C. M. & Marshall, G. A. (1995). Methods for assessing drug use prevalence in the workplace: A comparison of self-report, urinalysis and hair analysis.The International Journal of the Addictions, 30(4), 403–426.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Cook, R. F. & Bernstein, A. (1994). Assessing drug use prevalence in the workplace: A comparison of self-report methods and urinalysis.The International Journal of the Addictions, 29(8), 1057–1068.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Cook, R., Roehl, J., Oros, C., & Trudeau, J. (1994). Conceptual and methodological issues in the evaluation of community-based substance abuse prevention coalitions: Lessons learned from the National Evaluation of the Community Partnership Program.Journal of Community Psychology, Special CSAP Issue.

  • Cook, R. F. & Youngblood, A. (1990). Preventing substance abuse as an integral part of worksite health promotion.Occupational Medicine: State of the Art Reviews, 5(4), 725–738.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Cornell/Smithers (1992).Report on workplace substance abuse policy. Ithaca, NY: Smithers Institute, Cornell University.

    Google Scholar 

  • Erfurt, J. C., Foote, A., & Heirich, M. A. (1992). Integrating employee assistance and wellness: Current and future core technologies of a megabrush program.Journal of Employee Assistance Research, 1(1), 1–31.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fishbein, M. (1983). Factors influencing health behaviours: An analysis based on a theory of reasoned action. In Landry, R. (Ed.)Health risk estimation, risk reduction and health promotion. Presented at 18th Annual Meeting of the Society of Prospective Medicine, Quebec City, Oct. 20–23, 1982. Ottawa: Canadian Public Health Association.

    Google Scholar 

  • Heather, N. (1989). Brief intervention strategies. In R. Hester and W. Miller (Eds.),Handbook of Alcoholism Treatment Approaches: Effective Alternatives. New York: Pergamon Press, 93–116.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kandel, D. B., Yamaguchi, K (1985). Developmental patterns of the use of legal, illegal, and medically prescribed psychotropic drugs from adolescence to young adulthood. In Jones C., Battjes, R., (Eds.).Etiology of Drug Abuse: Implications for Prevention. Rockville, MD, National Institute on Drug Abuse, 193–235.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kishuk, N., Peters, C., Towers, A., Sylvester, M., Bourgault, C. and Richard, L. (1994). Formative and effectiveness evaluation of a worksite program promoting healthy alcohol consumption.American Journal of Health Promotion, 8(5), 353–362.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lehman, W. E. K., Holcom, M. L. & Simpson, D. D. (1990).Employee health and performance in the workplace: A survey of municipal employees of a large southwest city. Unpublished manuscript, Institute of Behavioral Research, Texas Christian University, Fort Worth.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lehman, W. & Simpson, D. (1992). Employee substance use and on-the-job behaviors.Journal of Applied Psychology, 77, 309–321.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lewis, R. J. (1990). Day-night patterns in workplace accidental deaths: Role of alcohol abuse as a contributing factor. In:Chronobiology: Its Role in Clinical Medicine, General Biology and Agriculture. Part B. Progress in Clinical and Biological Research. New York: Liss, 327–335.

    Google Scholar 

  • MacDonald, S., Wells, S., & Fry, R. (1993). The limitations of drug screening in the workplace.International Labour Review, 132(1), 95–113.

    Google Scholar 

  • Miller, W. (1985). Motivation for treatment: A review with special emphasis on alcoholism.Psychological Bulletin, 98, 649–674.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Miller, W., Pechacek, T. and Hamburg, S. (1981). Group behavior therapy for problem drinkers.International Journal of the Addictions, 16, 827–837.

    Google Scholar 

  • Moody, D. E., Crouch, D. J., Andrenyak, D. M., Smith, R. P., Wilkins, D. G., Hoffman, A. M. & Rollins, D. E. (1990). Mandatory post accident drug and alcohol testing for the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA). In Gust, S. W. and Walsh, J. M. (Eds.)Drugs in the workplace: Research and evaluation Data Vol. II (NIDA Research Monograph No. 100, pp. 79–96). Rockville, MD: National Institute on Drug Abuse.

    Google Scholar 

  • National Institute on Drug Abuse (1991).National household survey on drug abuse: Main findings 1990. Rockville, MD: National Institute on Drug Abuse.

    Google Scholar 

  • Normand, J., Lempert, R. O., O'Brien, C. P. (Eds.) (1994).Under the influence? Drugs and the American work force. National Research Council/Institute of Medicine. Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Normand, J., Salyards, S., and Mahoney, J. J. (1990). An evaluation of pre-employment drug testing.Journal of Applied Psychology, 75, 629–639.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Prochaska, J. O., DiClemente, C. C., and Norcross, J. C. (1992). In search of how people change: Applications to addictive behaviors.American Psychologist, 47(9), 1102–1114.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Rice, D. P., Kelman, S., Miller, L. S. & Dunmeyer, S. (1990).The economic costs of alcohol and drug abuse and mental illness: 1985. San Francisco: University of California, Institute for Health and Aging.

    Google Scholar 

  • Roman, P. M. (1990). The salience of alcohol problems in the work setting: Introduction and overview. In Roman, P. M. (Ed.),Alcohol problem intervention in the workplace: Employee assistance programs and strategic alternatives, New York: Quorum Books, 1–16.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rosenbaum, A. L., Lehman, W. E. K., Olson, K. E., and Holcom, M. L. (1992).Prevalence of substance use and its association with performance among municipal workers in a southwestern city. Unpublished manuscript. Institute of Behavioral research, Texas Christian University, Fort Worth.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rosenstock, I. M., Strecher, V. J., & Becker, M. H. (Summer, 1988). Social learning theory and the health belief model.Health Education Quarterly, 15(2).

  • Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Agency (1993).National household survey on drug abuse: Main findings, 1991 (DHHS Publication No. SMA 93-1980). Rockville, MD: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shain, M., Suurvali, H., and Boutilier, M. (1986).Healthier workers: Health promotion and employee assistance programs. Lexington, MA: Lexington Books, D. C. Heath.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shehadeh, V., Shain, M. (1990)Influences on Wellness in the Workplace: A Multivariate Approach. Toronto: Addiction Research Foundation.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sonnenstuhl, W. & Trice, H. (1987). The social construction of alcohol problems in a union's peer counseling program.Journal of Drug Issues, 17(3), 223–254.

    Google Scholar 

  • Trice, H. M. & Beyer, J. M. (1982). Social control in worksettings: Using the constructive confrontation strategy with problem drinking employees.Journal of Drug Issues, 12, 21–49.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vicary, J. R. (May, 1994).Primary prevention and the workplace. Presented at Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drug Problems in the Workplace: Incentives for Prevention, San Diego, CA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Walsh, D. C., Rudd, R., Biener, L., & Mangione, T. (1993). Researching and preventing alcohol problems at work: Toward an integrative model.American Journal of Health Promotion, 7(4), 289–295.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Winkler, H., and Sheridan, J. (1989).An Examination of Behavior Related to Drug Use at Georgia Power Company. Presented at the National Institute on Drug Abuse Conference on Drugs in the Workplace: Research and Evaluation Data, Bethesda, MD.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. ISA Associates, Inc., 201 N. Union St., Suite 360, 22314, Alexandria, VA

    Royer F. Cook Ph.D. (President), Anita Back M.S. & James Trudeau Ph.D.

Authors
  1. Royer F. Cook Ph.D.
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Anita Back M.S.
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. James Trudeau Ph.D.
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Cook, R.F., Back, A. & Trudeau, J. Substance abuse prevention in the workplace: Recent findings and an expanded conceptual model. J Primary Prevent 16, 319–339 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02407428

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02407428

Key words

Search

Navigation