Journal Article Details
Citation:
Reif, S., Horgan, C., Ritter, G., & Tompkins, C. (2004). The impact of employment counseling on substance user treatment participation and outcomes.
Substance Use & Misuse, 39
(13),
2391-2424.
Title:
The impact of employment counseling on substance user treatment participation and outcomes
Authors:
Reif, S., Horgan, C., Ritter, G., & Tompkins, C.
Year:
2004
Journal/Publication:
Substance Use & Misuse
Publisher:
Marcel Dekker
Full text:
Peer-reviewed?
Yes
NIDILRR-funded?
Not reported
Research design:
Cross-sectional
Structured abstract:
Background:
Employment Counseling (EC) is one of the more frequently received ancillary services in substance user treatment. Examining the impact of EC on treatment participation, post discharge abstinence and employment helps determine need for services and future study.
Purpose:
This article provides an analysis of the impact employment counseling has on individual’s participation in treatment, post discharge abstinence and employment.
Setting:
The setting included various community mental health centers providing substance abuse counseling.
Study sample:
A sub-sample of 988 adult clients discharged from 143 outpatient non- methadone substance abuser treatment facilities from the Alcohol and Drug Services Study was used.
Intervention:
The intervention was substance abuse treatment with employment counseling as an ancillary service.
Control or comparison condition:
Clients were in two groups for comparison. One group had met-need for employment counseling. The second group had unmet need and did not participate in employment counseling.
Data collection & analysis:
Data obtained from the treatment record abstracts and from interviews with the same clients were used in multivariate regressions that controlled for client demographic and background characteristics, facility characteristics, and characteristics of the sampled treatment episode. (pg. 2397)
Five dependent variables were examined: treatment participation, treatment duration, treatment completion, abstinence since discharge, and employment since discharge.
Findings:
Clients with met need for employment counseling had longer treatment duration than those with unmet need (did not participate in employment counseling). There was no significant difference for treatment completion between the met-need and the unmet-need groups.
Receipt of employment counseling has no impact on post discharge abstinence.
Clients with met need for employment counseling were more than three times more likely to be employed at any time after discharge than clients with unmet needs. (p 2407)
Conclusions:
This study showed that clients who needed and received employment counseling have both better treatment participation and greater likelihood of employment after discharge than clients with unmet need. (p 2413)
Disabilities served:
Alcohol and drug abuse
Populations served:
Gender: Female and Male
Interventions:
Career counseling
Other
Other
Outcomes:
Employment acquisition