NCJ Number
163935
Journal
Journal of Drug Issues Volume: 25 Issue: 4 Dated: (Fall 1995) Pages: 703- 722
Date Published
1995
Length
20 pages
Annotation
The role of drugs and alcohol in causing workplace injuries was studied using data collected from 882 employees in Ontario, Canada in a household survey.
Abstract
Results revealed that many variables were significantly related to job injuries. Alcohol problems, the use of legal drugs, and the use of illegal drugs ranked 7th, 11th, and 12th in importance among a group of 12 significant variables. The relationship between job injuries and alcohol problems, licit drug use, and illicit drug use was also examined across categories of third variables to determine the likelihood that drug use was a cause of job injuries. For age, the relationship between drug use and injuries remained strong for the youngest age group, but disappeared for the oldest age group. Logistic regression analysis confirmed the plausibility of noncausal explanations of job injuries for illicit drug use, but not for alcohol problems or licit drug use. Overall, the findings indicated that illicit drug use does not appear to be a major cause of job injuries. Dangerous working conditions, noise and dirt on the job, and conflicts at work appear to be the greatest predictors of job injuries, while sleeping problems, which may be exacerbated by shift work, also seems likely to be another direct cause of job injuries. Findings did not support employee drug testing. Tables and 41 references