Effort–Reward Imbalance at Work and Drug Misuse: Evidence from a National Survey in the U.S

Jian Li, Timothy A. Matthews, Liwei Chen, Marissa Seamans, Constanze Leineweber and Johannes Siegrist
Additional contact information
Jian Li: Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Fielding School of Public Health, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
Timothy A. Matthews: Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Fielding School of Public Health, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
Liwei Chen: Department of Epidemiology, Fielding School of Public Health, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
Marissa Seamans: Department of Epidemiology, Fielding School of Public Health, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
Constanze Leineweber: Department of Psychology, Stockholm University, 114 19 Stockholm, Sweden
Johannes Siegrist: Institute of Medical Sociology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Düsseldorf, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 24, 1-12

Abstract: With the rise of drug misuse among workers in recent years, preliminary research on potential risk factors in the workplace of single-type of drug misuse has been reported. This is the first study to examine cross-sectional associations of work stress, in terms of effort–reward imbalance, with multiple drug misuse (including any drug misuse, opioid misuse, sedatives misuse, cannabis misuse, and other drug misuse) during the past 12 months in a national sample of U.S. workers. Data of 2211 workers were derived from the nationally representative and population-based Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) study. Internal consistency reliability and factorial validity of a 17-item effort–reward imbalance measure were robust and satisfactory. After adjustment for relevant covariates, logistic regression analyses showed that workers experiencing effort–reward imbalance at work had significantly higher odds of any drug misuse (OR and 95% CI = 1.18 (1.03, 1.37)), especially opioid misuse (OR and 95% CI = 1.35 (1.07, 1.69)) and other drug misuse (OR and 95% CI = 1.36 (1.01, 1.83)). The findings suggest that a stressful work environment may act as a determinant of drug misuse, and further prospective evidence is needed.

Keywords: effort–reward imbalance; work stress; drug misuse; opioid; cannabis; workers (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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