Factors for employment: a case-control study of fully employed and unemployed heroin users.
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.
Department of Criminal Justice, California State University, Fullerton, USA.
Dixie J
DJ
Koo
Dale D
DD
Chitwood
Jesús
J
Sánchez
D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003710:Demography; D004651:Employment / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006556:Heroin Dependence / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000208:ethnology; D006630:Hispanic or Latino / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D044465:White People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data