TY - JOUR
T1 - Barriers to employment among unemployed drug users
T2 - Age predicts severity
AU - Sigurdsson, Sigurdur Oli
AU - Ring, Brandon M.
AU - O'Reilly, Kristen
AU - Silverman, Kenneth
N1 - Funding Information:
This research was supported by grants R01DA019497, R01DA023864, and R01DA019386 from the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
PY - 2012/11
Y1 - 2012/11
N2 - Background: Drug users in treatment or exiting treatment face many barriers to employment when entering the job market, such as low levels of education and technical skills, and low levels of interpersonal skills. As a result of these and other barriers, employment rates in these groups are generally low. Objective: This article examines the existence and possible predictors of specific barriers to employment related to interpersonal and technical skills in a sample of participants enrolled in a therapeutic workplace intervention for substance abuse. Methods: In Study I (N 77), we characterized and examined predictors of participant scores on a staff-rated scale of interpersonal skills (Work Behavior Inventory). In Study II (N 29), we examined whether participants had lower levels of computer knowledge than job seekers in the general population, and investigated possible predictors of computer knowledge in the sample. Results: In general, participants in Study I displayed low levels of interpersonal skills, and participants in Study II scored lower on the computer knowledge test than job seekers in the general population. Older participants tended to have lower levels of interpersonal skills and lower levels of computer knowledge. Conclusions and Scientific Significance: These results suggest that providers of workforce development services for drug users in treatment or exiting treatment should attend to these specific barriers to employment, which may also be more pronounced among older clients.
AB - Background: Drug users in treatment or exiting treatment face many barriers to employment when entering the job market, such as low levels of education and technical skills, and low levels of interpersonal skills. As a result of these and other barriers, employment rates in these groups are generally low. Objective: This article examines the existence and possible predictors of specific barriers to employment related to interpersonal and technical skills in a sample of participants enrolled in a therapeutic workplace intervention for substance abuse. Methods: In Study I (N 77), we characterized and examined predictors of participant scores on a staff-rated scale of interpersonal skills (Work Behavior Inventory). In Study II (N 29), we examined whether participants had lower levels of computer knowledge than job seekers in the general population, and investigated possible predictors of computer knowledge in the sample. Results: In general, participants in Study I displayed low levels of interpersonal skills, and participants in Study II scored lower on the computer knowledge test than job seekers in the general population. Older participants tended to have lower levels of interpersonal skills and lower levels of computer knowledge. Conclusions and Scientific Significance: These results suggest that providers of workforce development services for drug users in treatment or exiting treatment should attend to these specific barriers to employment, which may also be more pronounced among older clients.
KW - Computer skills
KW - Employment
KW - Employment barriers
KW - Social skills
KW - Substance abuse
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U2 - 10.3109/00952990.2011.643976
DO - 10.3109/00952990.2011.643976
M3 - Article
C2 - 22242680
AN - SCOPUS:84867380451
SN - 0095-2990
VL - 38
SP - 580
EP - 587
JO - American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse
JF - American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse
IS - 6
ER -