Alcohol-Tolerant Workplace Environments Are a Risk Factor for Young Adult Alcohol Misuse on and off the Job in Australia and the United States

Sabrina Oesterle (), Jennifer A. Bailey, Richard F. Catalano, Marina Epstein, Tracy J. Evans-Whipp and John W. Toumbourou
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Sabrina Oesterle: Southwest Interdisciplinary Research Center, School of Social Work, Arizona State University, 400 E. Van Buren St., Suite 801, Phoenix, AZ 85004, USA
Jennifer A. Bailey: Social Development Research Group, School of Social Work, University of Washington, 9725 Third Ave NE, Suite #401, Seattle, WA 98115, USA
Richard F. Catalano: Social Development Research Group, School of Social Work, University of Washington, 9725 Third Ave NE, Suite #401, Seattle, WA 98115, USA
Marina Epstein: Social Development Research Group, School of Social Work, University of Washington, 9725 Third Ave NE, Suite #401, Seattle, WA 98115, USA
Tracy J. Evans-Whipp: School of Psychology, Deakin University, 1 Gheringhap Street, Geelong, VIC 3220, Australia
John W. Toumbourou: School of Psychology, Deakin University, 1 Gheringhap Street, Geelong, VIC 3220, Australia

IJERPH, 2023, vol. 20, issue 18, 1-13

Abstract: The workplace has been understudied as a setting for the prevention of young adult alcohol misuse. This study examined if alcohol-tolerant workplace environments are associated with greater risk for alcohol use and misuse on and off the job among young adults. Data were collected in 2014 from state-representative, sex-balanced samples (51% female) of 25-year-olds in Washington, U.S. (n = 751) and Victoria, Australia (n = 777). Logistic regressions indicated that availability of alcohol at work, absence of a written alcohol policy, and alcohol-tolerant workplace norms and attitudes were independently associated with a 1.5 to 3 times greater odds of on-the-job alcohol use or impairment. Alcohol-tolerant workplace norms were associated also with greater odds of high-risk drinking generally, independent of on-the-job alcohol use or impairment. Associations were mostly similar in Washington and Victoria, although young adults in Victoria perceived their workplaces to be more alcohol-tolerant and were more likely to use alcohol or be impaired at work and to misuse alcohol generally than young adults in Washington. Cross-nationally, workplace interventions that restrict the availability of alcohol, ban alcohol at work, and reduce alcohol-tolerant norms have the potential to prevent and reduce young adults’ alcohol use and misuse on and off the job.

Keywords: young adult; alcohol; workplace; cross-national; prevention (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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