Work Attitudes Among Israeli Heroin Addicts

Abstract

This study is an attempt to test a status model of heroin addiction. It is hypothesized that the level of service/treatment (i.e., prison or community-based treatment) will be associated with the work attitudes of heroin addicts obtained from self-report data. For analysis purposes, 312 heroin and non-heroin addicts were studied. The findings show that the work-related attitudes of prisoners are more basic (in terms of Maslow's hierarchy of needs) than those in a community-based treatment program or those of a non-drug using control group. Also, community-based addicts were found to have a more “basic” work orientation when compared to the control group. From a conceptual perspective, the status model used in this study presents a promising approach for explaining differences among heroin and non-heroin addicts as well as providing a framework for vocational habilitation/rehabilitation training.