MEASURING DRUG ABUSE RISK IN EAPS & WORKPLACE SETTINGS

THIS STUDY WILL DEVELOP AND PILOT TEST AN ASSESSMENT SCALE TO MEASURE DRUG ABUSE RISK AMONG AMERICAN WORKERS WITHIN EMPLOYEE ASSISTANCE PROGRAM (EAP) AND WORKPLACE SETTINGS. THE LONG-TERM OBJECTIVE OF THIS RESEARCH IS TO PRODUCE A RELIABLE, VALID, AND USEFUL MEASURE OF DRUG ABUSE RISK FOR WORKPLACE DIAGNOSTIC AND REFERRAL PURPOSES. SEQUENTIALLY, THE STUDY WILL ADDRESS THREE AIMS. THE FIRST AIM IS TO DEVELOP A SCALE FOR EAPS AND WORKPLACE SETTINGS TO ASSESS PHYSICAL, PSYCHOLOGICAL, AND SOCIAL DOMAINS AMONG WORKERS WHO HAVE DRUG PROBLEMS AND TO DIRECT TREATMENT REFERRALS. BY ADAPTING ITEMS AND SUBSCALES FROM OTHER MEASURES AND ENGAGING THE SERVICES OF EXPERT PANELS, THE FIRST AIM WILL YIELD A ROUGH DRAFT OF THE ASSESSMENT SCALE. THE SECOND AIMIS TO PSYCHOMETRICALLY TEST THE SCALE FOR RELIABILITY AMONG A SAMPLE OF WORKERS. IN COLLABORATION WITH WORK SITES THAT PROVIDE STRATIFIED SAMPLES OF EMPLOYEES, PSYCHOMETRIC TESTING WILL INVOLVE TEST-RETEST PROCEDURES. THE THIRD AIM IS TO DETERMINE THE ASSESSMENT SCALE'S ACCEPTABILITY AND RESPONSIVENESS FOR ASSESSING WORKER PROBLEMS WITH DRUGS AND FOR MAKING APPROPRIATE REFERRALS. ALSO IN COLLABORATION WITH EAP AND WORKPLACE SETTINGS, TESTING WITHIN THE STUDY'S THIRD AIM WILL INVOLVE PROCESS EVALUATION FEEDBACK AND COMPARATIVE ANALYSES WITH EXTANT ASSESSMENT MEASURES. THIS STUDY WILL DEVELOP AND PILOT TEST AN ASSESSMENT SCALE TO MEASURE DRUG ABUSE RISK AMONG AMERICAN WORKERS WITHIN EMPLOYEE ASSISTANCE PROGRAM (EAP) AND WORKPLACE SETTINGS. THE LONG-TERM OBJECTIVE OF THIS RESEARCH IS TO PRODUCE A RELIABLE, VALID, AND USEFUL MEASURE OF DRUG ABUSE RISK FOR WORKPLACE DIAGNOSTIC AND REFERRAL PURPOSES. SEQUENTIALLY, THE STUDY WILL ADDRESS THREE AIMS. THE FIRST AIM IS TO DEVELOP A SCALE FOR EAPS AND WORKPLACE SETTINGS TO ASSESS PHYSICAL, PSYCHOLOGICAL, AND SOCIAL DOMAINS AMONG WORKERS WHO HAVE DRUG PROBLEMS AND TO DIRECT TREATMENT REFERRALS. BY ADAPTING ITEMS AND SUBSCALES FROM OTHER MEASURES AND ENGAGING THE SERVICES OF EXPERT PANELS, THE FIRST AIM WILL YIELD A ROUGH DRAFT OF THE ASSESSMENT SCALE. THE SECOND AIMIS TO PSYCHOMETRICALLY TEST THE SCALE FOR RELIABILITY AMONG A SAMPLE OF WORKERS. IN COLLABORATION WITH WORK SITES THAT PROVIDE STRATIFIED SAMPLES OF EMPLOYEES, PSYCHOMETRIC TESTING WILL INVOLVE TEST-RETEST PROCEDURES. THE THIRD AIM IS TO DETERMINE THE ASSESSMENT SCALE'S ACCEPTABILITY AND RESPONSIVENESS FOR ASSESSING WORKER PROBLEMS WITH DRUGS AND FOR MAKING APPROPRIATE REFERRALS. ALSO IN COLLABORATION WITH EAP AND WORKPLACE SETTINGS, TESTING WITHIN THE STUDY'S THIRD AIM WILL INVOLVE PROCESS EVALUATION FEEDBACK AND COMPARATIVE ANALYSES WITH EXTANT ASSESSMENT MEASURES.