Factors for Employment: A Case-Control Study of Fully Employed and Unemployed Heroin Users

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to characterize fully employed users of heroin, compare them with their unemployed counterparts, and identify demographic, human, and social capital and drug misuse factors that are differentially associated with full employment. A nested case-control research design was used to identify 122 fully employed users (cases) and 466 unemployed users (controls) from a larger study of African American, Hispanic, and non-Hispanic White men and women who were active heroin injectors and sniffers and recruited from the streets of Miami-Dade County, Florida, between July 1997 and February 2000. Multivariate logistic regression techniques were used to analyze data from the Modified AIDS Risk Behavior Questionnaire. Findings indicated that employed users were more likely to possess human capital and social capital and less likely to use crack cocaine than unemployed users. Intervention to increase and sustain the employability of persons who misuse heroin is essential. Protocols that enhance human capital and social capital and reduce the misuse of drugs will benefit programs that seek to improve the employment status of persons who misuse heroin. The study's limitations are noted.

The Impact of Substance User Treatment Participation on Legal Employment and Income Among Probationers and Parolees

“…Effective interventions emphasize the enhancement of human capital (e.g., basic quantitative and literacy competency and concrete work skills) and social capital (i.e., interpersonal networks that encourage the flow of job-related information) to directly address deficits resulted from addiction-induced chronic unemployment (Koo, Chitwood, & Sánchez, 2007;Sung, 2001;Wong & Silverman, 2007).…”

Exploratory Study on Domain-Specific Determinants of Opiate-Dependent Individuals’ Quality of Life

“…This finding once again illustrates the importance of vocational support in treatment; a structured daily activity may have a positive impact on current use by creating a more structured lifestyle, with limited opportunities for relapsing into destructive patterns of drug use. Conversely, cessation of drug use may result in an improved employment status [11,76] .…”

Income Generation in Recovering Heroin Users: A Comparative Analysis of Legal and Illegal Earnings

“…A critical route to the marginalization of substance abusers is unemployment, as unemployed heroin users indicate that their primary source of income is from illegal means (Koo, Chitwood, & Sanchez, 2007). In their study, Koo, Chitwood, and Sanchez (2007) recruited 488 street heroin users to determine their employment characteristics.…”

“…In their study, Koo, Chitwood, and Sanchez (2007) recruited 488 street heroin users to determine their employment characteristics. Among their sample, 122 were employed in low-level occupations or unskilled jobs, while 366 participants were unemployed.…”

“…However, the rate of unemployment amongst heroin users is high in comparison to their employment rates (Koo, Chitwood, & Sanchez, 2007). It is estimated that 34.1% of heroin users are unemployed due to their heroin use, with an approximate 81,000 people incarcerated as a result of heroin possession (Mark, Woody, Juday, & Kleber, 2001).…”