NCJ Number
128735
Journal
Journal of Health and Social Behavior Volume: 29 Issue: 2 Dated: (June 1988) Pages: 169-184
Date Published
1988
Length
15 pages
Annotation
The relationship between job characteristics and substance abuse by young adults both on and off the job is investigated in the Youth Cohort of the National Longitudinal Survey (NLYS) of Labor Market Experience in 1984.
Abstract
Young adults 19 through 27 years, including blacks and Hispanics, economically disadvantaged white youths, and a subsample of youth in the military, were interviewed through personal household interviews. Information was obtained on differential use of alcohol, cigarettes, marijuana, and cocaine for occupation and industry categories as well as on education and family background, pregnancy, and children born. Measures of job characteristics consisted of workers self-reports and indirect assessments based on Karasek census-based occupational categories and the Dictionary of Occupational Titles (DOT). The data revealed a relationship between job conditions, particular occupation, and substance abuse. Individual factors such as dropping out of school, delinquent behavior, and single status played a greater role in predicting drug use. It is concluded that substance use by workers results from attributes of the work force rather than conditions of the workplace. 7 tables and 25 references