Prospective relationships between drug problems and work adjustment in a community sample of adults

Altered States or Much to Do About Nothing? A Study of When Cannabis Is Used in Relation to the Impact It Has on Performance

As more local, state, and national governments change laws regarding the legality of cannabis use, it is essential for organizations to understand how the workplace may be influenced by these changes. The current study begins to answer this question by examining the relationship between three temporal-based cannabis measures and five forms of workplace performance. Using data from 281 employees and their direct supervisors, our results indicate that cannabis use before and during work negatively relate to task performance, organization-aimed citizenship behaviors, and two forms of counterproductive work behaviors. At the same time, after-work cannabis use was not related (positively or negatively) to any form of performance as rated by the user’s direct supervisor. We discuss methodological, theoretical, and practical implications for researchers, organizations, and governmental agencies concerned with cannabis use.

Expatriation, alcohol and drugs: antecedents and consequences of substance use in expatriation

Purpose

Expatriation is known to be stressful. The purpose of this paper is to examine stress as an antecedent of substance use (SU) during expatriation and related effects on expatriates’ work adjustment. Moreover, the study sheds light on individual-level moderators (i.e. gender and prior international experience) and organizational-level moderators (i.e. organizational social support) that might condition the stress–SU link.

Design/methodology/approach

This work adopts a quantitative survey approach. It is based on two studies, one of 205 expatriates and one of 96 expatriate–supervisor dyads. The data were collected through personal networks and with the help of multinational companies.

Findings

This research shows that stress at a medium- to high-level increases SU among male expatriates, but not among female expatriates. Expatriates with substantial prior international experience were identified as being more prone to react to stress by resorting to SU. It also provides evidence that SU to aid coping harms professional adjustment. Moreover, some implications relating to professional adjustment are discussed.

Research limitations/implications

SU was self-reported; this may have deterred users from accurately reporting their consumption levels. Moreover, convenience samples have been used. Preventive actions limiting SU, such as well-being programs, could be sponsored by local human resource managers in order to limit this phenomenon.

Originality/value

This work is one of the first to analyze SU among expatriates. It shows that some expatriates are more at risk than others of resorting to such use to cope with the hardships of expatriation.

Controlled release: a cultural analysis of collegiate polydrug use

Social science research on polydrug use among young adult college students is scant, adopts definitions of this practice that are often devoid of sociocultural context, and emphasizes a very narrow range of use patterns. This article, based on ethnographic interviews from a study of collegiate prescription drug misuse, expands this focus by offering a cultural analysis of polydrug use. Two specific types of collegiate polydrug use, simultaneous interaction and sequential management, are examined within a cultural framework that relates these practices to the expression of two complementary values--control and release. The college experience provides young people with a culturally sanctioned "time-out" period that affords freedom from many of the roles, responsibilities, and other constraints that come to structure later adult life. At the same time, college students are expected to meet academic and social demands that require organization, initiative, and direction. Specific types of polydrug use provide young adults with a means to navigate these competing prescriptions that are characteristic of contemporary college life.

Effects of social development intervention in childhood 15 years later

OBJECTIVE

To examine the long-term effects of a universal intervention in elementary schools in promoting positive functioning in school, work, and community, and preventing mental health problems, risky sexual behavior, substance misuse, and crime at ages 24 and 27 years.

DESIGN

Nonrandomized controlled trial.

SETTING

Fifteen public elementary schools serving diverse neighborhoods including high-crime neighborhoods in Seattle, Washington.

PARTICIPANTS

Sex-balanced and multiracial/multiethnic sample of 598 participants at ages 24 and 27 years (93% of the original sample in these conditions).

INTERVENTIONS

Teacher training in classroom instruction and management, child social and emotional skill development, and parent workshops.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Self-reports of functioning in school, work, and community and of mental health, sexual behavior, substance use, and crime, and court records.

RESULTS

A significant multivariate intervention effect across all 16 primary outcome indices was found. Specific effects included significantly better educational and economic attainment, mental health, and sexual health by age 27 years (all P < .05). Hypothesized effects on substance use and crime were not found at ages 24 or 27 years.

CONCLUSIONS

A universal intervention for urban elementary schoolchildren, which focused on classroom management and instruction, children's social competence, and parenting practices, positively affected mental health, sexual health, and educational and economic achievement 15 years after the intervention ended.

Employed men and women substance abusers: Job troubles and treatment outcomes

The majority of U.S. adults with substance abuse or dependence are gainfully employed. However, little is known about outcomes among stably employed people in treatment for substance dependence. Participants (N = 212) entering a residential treatment program completed the Addiction Severity Index (ASI) at intake and 6 and 12 months follow-up. Significant improvements were seen in absenteeism, number of employment problem days, and whether their job was in jeopardy 12 months later. Overall, 65% were retained by their original employer. ASI composite alcohol, drug, legal, family, and psychiatric scores also improved significantly. Continuous abstinence was achieved by 65% and 51% at 6 and 12 months, respectively. Although less likely to be referred to treatment by their employer, women responded to treatment as well as men, reporting similar abstinence rates and overall quality of life during the year following discharge from treatment.

The Marijuana Screening Inventory (MSI‐X): Reliability, Factor Structure, and Scoring Criteria with a Clinical Sample

OBJECTIVE

This study continues the psychometric evaluation of a 31-item Marijuana Screening Inventory (MSI-X) with adults referred to a substance abuse clinic, by determining MSI-X reliability, factor structure, scoring cutoff accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity with a DSM-IV-TR criterion measure.

METHOD

A "marijuana inventory" containing demographic, MSI-X, and DSM IV-TR diagnostic items was administered to 107 adults undergoing substance-use evaluation.

RESULTS

The MSI-X reliability was .90 with factor analysis deriving nine factors explaining 72.2% of the variance. Varimax rotation supports retention of all 31 items on nine factor-based scales. Receiver operating characteristic analysis determined MSI-X accuracy and cutoff points in relation to four DSM IV-TR diagnostic classifications. The MSI-X obtained the highest probability (.91) for accuracy in identifying both cannabis dependence and abuse, with six the optimal cutoff for maximum sensitivity (.83) and specificity (.89). Thus, MSI-X scores of > or = 6 are considered high risk. A cutoff score of 3 was associated with (probability, .90; sensitivity, .85; specificity, .81) identifying cannabis abuse only risk, providing a 3 to 5 score in the moderate risk range.

CONCLUSIONS

Clinical sample data supports the psychometric usefulness of the MSI-X as a screening tool. Marijuana lifetime use was 90% and past-year use 48%. The MSI-X identified 43% of lifetime users and 29% of past year users with moderate to high risk marijuana patterns deserving comprehensive evaluation. More males (15.9%) than females (7.5%) obtained MSI-X high-risk scores. The MSI-X empirically derived cutoff scores are within one point of the theoretical clinical cutoffs previously reported.

A Marijuana Screening Inventory (Experimental Version): Description and Preliminary Psychometric Properties

OBJECTIVE

Marijuana use prevalence, culturally confusing messages about marijuana risks, assessment dilemmas, and current screening inadequacies justify developing a marijuana specific screening inventory for assessment purposes. This article describes the Marijuana Screening Inventory (MSI-X) and its preliminary psychometric reliability, factor analyses, and factor structure.

METHOD

The MSI-X was administered to a community sample of 420 Army reservists participating in substance abuse educational classes. Participants responded anonymously to the 39-item MSI-X. SPSS analyses were performed with 408 returned MSI-Xs from a sample of 49% males and 40% females.

RESULTS

Analyses revealed 61% smoked marijuana during their lifetime. Reliability of the MSI-X was .89. Exploratory factor analyses of 31 scored items by principal components and varimax rotation supported a nine-factor structure, explaining 65.8% of the variance, with all items loading > or = .30. Within the sample, 7.84% scored > or = 7 suggesting "at risk" with marijuana; 6.12% scored 4 to 6 "suggestive of risk"; 20.83% scored 1 to 3 reflecting "normal or experimental" use; and 65.4% scored 0 suggesting "no problem."

CONCLUSIONS

The reliability, variance explained, factor-loading matrix of the nine-factor MSI-X structure and clinically predetermined scoring ranges appear useful for screening marijuana use patterns. Factor-based subscales were derived from the factor-loading matrix and described as a base for future confirmatory factor analysis. Although the MSI-X version needs psychometric strengthening, it shows potential as a marijuana-specific screening inventory for use in general mental health and primary care settings.

Mental health, drug use, and the transition from welfare to work

This study examines the effects of drug use and work requirements on psychological distress and employment among chronic drug-using and non-drug-using welfare recipients. Using a natural history design, 442 female Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) recipients (including 251 with chronic drug use problems) were interviewed every 4 months in order to assess changes in psychological functioning, employment status, and wages. Data from the first year (four waves) indicate that employment and wages increased substantially, though less so for drug users than non-drug users. Psychological distress decreased only slightly over the study period. Growth curve analyses show that drug use had no direct effect on wages; however, drug use did significantly increase psychological distress. Both the work mandate and psychological distress contributed to wages. The authors consider the implications of these trends for the mental health service needs of drug-using TANF recipients.