Rate and Predictors of Employment Among Formerly Polysubstance Dependent Urban Individuals in Recovery

Abstract

Employment is a key functioning index in addiction services and consistently emerges as a goal among individuals in recovery. Research on the employment status in the addiction field has focused on treatment populations or welfare recipients; little is known of employment rates or their predictors among individuals in recovery. This study seeks to fill this gap, capitalizing on a sample (N = 311) of urban individuals at various stages of recovery. Fewer than half (44.5%) of participants were employed; in logistic regressions, male gender and Caucasian race enhanced the odds of employment, whereas having a comorbid chronic physical or mental health condition decreased the odds by half. Implications center on the need to identify effective strategies to enhance employability among women and minorities and for integrated care for individuals with multiple chronic conditions.

KEYWORDS:

• Recovery
• employment
• functioning
• substance use disorder
• addiction

Acknowledgments

The project described was supported by Award Number R01DA14409 from the National Institute on Drug Abuse and by a grant from the Peter McManus Charitable Trust. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institute on Drug Abuse or the National Institutes of Health. The author gratefully acknowledges the contribution of the men and women who shared their experiences, strength and hope with our staff for this project.

Notes

a. This study is a naturalistic investigation of the role of psychosocial factors on long-term recovery, we wanted to be able to assess the role of BL community-related factors on subsequent outcome.