Occupational stress factors and alcohol-related behavior in urban transit operators

Background: If alcohol consumption mitigates psychological and physiologica l aspects of the response to stressors, then alcohol consumption might be e levated for individuals exposed to high occupational stressors. Frequency o f work stressors and reaction to those stressors were studied in relation t o several alcohol-related outcomes. Methods: During the period 1993-1995, 1979 transit operators underwent medi cal examinations for commercial driver's license renewal. Questionnaire and interview data concerning occupational stress factors and alcohol-related outcomes were available for 1386 (70.2%) of the operators. Results: A positive association was found between the two job stresser-rela ted measures and each of six alcohol-related outcomes. Of these 12 associat ions, ten were statistically significant. Individuals experiencing high sel f-reported frequency of job stressors and a higher perceived severity of th ose job stressors were more likely to drink and more likely to be heavy dri nkers. They reported more consequences of alcohol consumption reported incr eased consumption since beginning work as transit drivers, and were more li kely to report drinking to deal with work stress. They also drank more, but this effect was not significant for either job stress measure. There was v irtually no association between either stresser-related measure and alcohol dependency (CAGE). Conclusions: Together with other published findings, these results suggest increased alcohol-related outcomes in the presence of work stressors. This conclusion has potential implications for worksite health promotion and job design. Because our findings are cross-sectional, further research is need ed to clarify the causal nature of the work stressor-alcohol association. F urther research also is needed to clarify the role of individual difference s and context.