Abstract
The purpose of this study was to evaluate a questionnaire assessment of the perceived stigma of problem drinking that was designed for use in workplace substance abuse prevention research. Municipal employees from a mid-sized city (n = 315) and a large-sized city (n = 535) completed questionnaire measures of perceived coworker stigmatization of problem drinking, drinking levels, substance-use policy attitudes, workgroup stress and interdependence, alcohol-tolerance norms, and demographic variables. Inter-item correlation coefficients showed that the measure of the stigma of problem drinking had good internal consistency reliability (.76) in both samples. Hierarchical regression analyses showed that higher education, abstinence from alcohol, stress, and perceived temperance norms were all uniquely correlated with perceived stigma. Women and men perceived the same level of stigma from coworkers. Editors’ Strategic Implications: This brief, validated measure provides organizations with a way to assess the level of stigma attached to alcohol abuse in their workplace culture, thereby enabling the organization to target and promote effective strategies to decrease the stigma attached to seeking help with the goal of reducing alcohol abuse.
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Acknowledgments
Research and preparation of this study was supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) Grant DA04390 to Wayne E. K. Lehman. The interpretations and conclusions, however, do not necessarily represent the position of NIDA or the US Department of Human Services.
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Reynolds, G.S., Lehman, W.E.K. & Bennett, J.B. Psychosocial Correlates of the Perceived Stigma of Problem Drinking in the Workplace. J Primary Prevent 29, 341–356 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10935-008-0140-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10935-008-0140-1