Lydia Aletraris

Pursuing Preferences: The Creation and Resolution of Work Hour Mismatches

Mismatches between the number of hours people actually work and the hours they prefer to work are common, but few studies have examined such hour mismatches from a longitudinal perspective. Using two waves of panel data from Australia, the authors offer a new, dynamic picture of hour mismatches. Their analysis shows a fluid labor market in which many mismatches are created and resolved. Nevertheless, their findings also highlight market imperfections. Many mismatches (especially the desire for fewer hours) appear to persist for more than a year, and although a change of employers can resolve mismatches, it can also create them. Moreover, as seen in the findings, processes that create and resolve mismatches are more closely tied to changes in preferred hours than to changes in actual hours.

How satisfied are they and why? A study of job satisfaction, job rewards, gender and temporary agency workers in Australia

The temporary agency industry has experienced substantial growth in the past two decades. Although there is research on the quality of Australian agency work, most studies have emphasized economic disparities in outcomes for workers. Representative quantitative research using large-scale Australian data on non-economic outcomes, such as job satisfaction, has been scant. Using a nationally representative sample of Australian workers, I examine the extent to which temporary agency workers are satisfied with their jobs and the differences in the satisfaction of agency and permanent workers. I find that agency workers report lower levels of job satisfaction and that job security, control over the duration of work and autonomy are important mediating mechanisms. They are also less satisfied with the work itself, hours worked and their job security. I also find that women are more satisfied with temporary work than men and explore why. I end with implications for organizations and future research.

Work–Family Conflict, Children, and Hour Mismatches in Australia

This article helps integrate research on work hours and work—family issues by examining how work—family conflict is related to the desire for more and fewer hours of work. Using the first wave of the Household Income and Labor Dynamics in Australia survey, we find that work-to-family conflict is associated with a desire for fewer hours of work. Family-to-work conflict, however, is only weakly associated with desired work hour changes, and we find some evidence that it makes women want to increase the number of hours they work. We also find evidence of moderating effects: Work-to-family conflict is more likely to make women want fewer hours when they have preschool children. We conclude that many working parents see work hour reductions as a way to cope with work—family conflict but that people prefer different coping strategies depending on their gender and family situation.

Mostly Mismatched With a Chance of Settling: Tracking Work Hour Mismatches in the United States

Mismatches between Americans’ actual and preferred hours of paid work are common, but the understanding of such mismatches is still limited. In this article, the authors provide the first large-scale, longitudinal study of hour mismatches in the United States. They found that the population of workers with hour mismatches is in constant flux. Nevertheless, hour mismatches seem to persist for long periods of time: The vast majority of respondents who wanted fewer hours when first interviewed still wanted fewer hours 5 years later. The authors also found inequalities in the methods through which people develop and resolve mismatches. Women who want fewer hours were less likely than men to resolve their mismatches by working less. Also, they found evidence suggesting that non-Whites who want fewer hours may be settling for the hours they can get rather than getting the hours they want.

The use of art and music therapy in substance abuse treatment programs.

AbstractAlthough the implementation of evidence-based practices in the treatment of substance use disorders has attracted substantial research attention, little consideration has been given to parallel implementation of complementary and alternative medical (CAM) practices. Using data from a nationally representative sample (N = 299) of U.S. substance abuse treatment programs, this study modeled organizational factors falling in the domains of patient characteristics, treatment ideologies, and structural characteristics, associated with the use of art therapy and music therapy. We found that 36.8% of treatment programs offered art therapy and 14.7% of programs offered music therapy. Programs with a greater proportion of women were more likely to use both therapies, and programs with larger proportions of adolescents were more likely to offer music therapy. In terms of other treatment ideologies, programs’ use of Motivational Enhancement Therapy was positively related to offering art therapy, whereas use of contingency management was positively associated with offering music therapy. Finally, our findings showed a significant relationship between requiring 12-step meetings and the use of both art therapy and music therapy. With increasing use of CAM in a diverse range of medical settings and recent federal legislation likely to reduce barriers in accessing CAM, the inclusion of CAM in addiction treatment is growing in importance. Our findings suggest treatment programs may be utilizing art and music therapies to address unique patient needs of women and adolescents.

Provision of onsite HIV Services in Substance Use Disorder Treatment Programs: A Longitudinal Analysis

The provision of HIV education and testing in substance use disorder (SUD) treatment programs is an important public health strategy for reducing HIV incidence. For many at-risk individuals, SUD treatment represents the primary point of access for testing and receiving HIV-related services. This study uses two waves of nationally representative data of 265 privately-funded SUD treatment programs in the U.S. to examine organizational and patient characteristics associated with offering a dedicated HIV/AIDS treatment track, onsite HIV/AIDS support groups, and onsite HIV testing. Our longitudinal analysis indicated that the majority of treatment programs reported providing education and prevention services, but there was a small, yet significant, decline in the number of programs providing these services. Programs placed more of an emphasis on providing information on the transmission of HIV rather than on acquiring risk-reduction skills. There was a notable and significant increase (from 26.0% to 31.7%) in programs that offered onsite HIV testing, including rapid HIV testing, and an increase in the percentage of patients who received testing in the programs. Larger programs were more likely to offer a dedicated HIV/AIDS treatment track and to offer onsite HIV/AIDS support groups, while accredited programs and programs with a medical infrastructure were more likely to provide HIV testing. The percentage of injection drug users was positively linked to the availability of specialized HIV/AIDS tracks and HIV/AIDS support groups, and the percentage of female clients was associated with the availability of onsite support groups. The odds of offering HIV/AIDS support groups were also greater in programs that had a dedicated LGBT track. The findings suggest that access to hospitals and medical care services is an effective way to facilitate adoption of HIV services and that programs are providing a needed service among a group of patients who have a heightened risk of HIV transmission. Nonetheless, the fact that fewer than one third of programs offered onsite testing, and, of the ones that did, fewer than one third of their patients received testing, raises concern in light of federal guidelines.

For Love or Money? Extrinsic Rewards, Intrinsic Rewards, Work–Life Issues, and Hour Mismatches

Using classic and contemporary perspectives on work, this paper examines how and why extrinsic and intrinsic job rewards, work–life conflict, and flexible hours are related to mismatches between actual and preferred hours of work. We find that making raises, bonuses, and promotions contingent on job performance has little effect on actual or preferred work hours. Discretionary effort, as signaled by higher actual and preferred hours, is more common when people find their work meaningful. Work-to-life conflict, in contrast, generates a desire for fewer hours because people who report it prefer average hours but work many. Offering men flexible hours can partially offset that problem by increasing their appetite for work.

Rural substance use treatment centers in the United States: an assessment of treatment quality by location.

Abstract Background: While previous research has added to the understanding of rural residents’ unique health challenges, much remains to be learned about the provision of substance use disorder (SUD) treatment in rural areas. A key question is difference in structural resources and quality of care between rural and urban treatment centers. Objective: To examine differences in treatment quality in rural and urban centers and to determine if differences in treatment quality are contextualized by centers’ structural resources. Methods: Utilizing combined data from two representative samples of SUD treatment centers (n = 591), we used a series of multivariate regressions to analyze the association between center rurality and various indicators of structural characteristics and treatment quality. Interaction effects were further examined between structural characteristics and treatment quality indicators. Results: We found that structural and quality differences between rural and urban treatment centers were present. Rural centers had reduced access to highly educated counselors, were more likely to be non-profit and dependent on public funding, offered fewer wraparound services, and had less diverse specialized treatment options. Our results also indicated that rural centers were less likely to prescribe buprenorphine as part of their treatment but were more likely to employ nursing staff and offer specialized treatment for adolescents. Rural center access to a physician contextualized the association between center rurality and the more limited provision of wraparound services. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that treatment quality differs between urban and rural centers in complex ways that are subject to resource availability.

Treatment strategy profiles in substance use disorder treatment programs: A latent class analysis

BACKGROUND Modern treatment options for substance use disorder are diverse. While studies have analyzed the adoption of individual evidence-based practices in treatment centers, little is known about the specific make-up of treatment strategy profiles in treatment centers throughout the United States. The current study used latent class analysis to profile underlying treatment strategies and to evaluate philosophical and structural supports associated with each profile. METHODS Utilizing three aggregated and secondary datasets of nationally representative samples of substance use disorder treatment centers (N=775), we employed latent class analysis to determine treatment strategy profiles. Using multinomial logistic regression, we then examined organizational characteristics associated with each profile. RESULTS We found three distinct treatment strategy profiles: centers that primarily relied on motivational interviewing and motivational enhancement therapy, centers that utilized psychosocial and alternative therapies, and centers that employed comprehensive treatments including pharmacotherapy. The multinomial logistic regression revealed that philosophical and structural center characteristics were associated with membership in the comprehensive class. Centers with philosophical orientations conducive to holistic care and pharmacotherapy-acceptance, resource-rich infrastructures, and an entrepreneurial reliance on insured clients were more likely to offer diverse interventions. All associations were significant at the .05 level. PRINCIPLE CONCLUSION The findings from this study help us understand the general strategies of treatment centers. From a practical perspective, practitioners and clients should be aware of the variation in treatment center practices where they may offer or receive treatment.

Counselor training and attitudes toward pharmacotherapies for opioid use disorder.

BACKGROUND Methadone and buprenorphine have been demonstrated to be effective in the treatment of opioid use disorder (OUD), especially when combined with psychosocial treatment. Despite buprenorphines association with fewer withdrawal symptoms and lessened risk of abuse, compared with methadone, its adoption remains limited. Given the vital role that counselors may play in its successful implementation, their knowledge and perceptions of opioid agonist therapy may be facilitators or barriers to its acceptance. METHODS Informed by diffusion theory, the current study examined perceptions of buprenorphines and methadones acceptability among 725 counselors employed in a nationally representative sample of substance use disorder treatment centers. First, we provided descriptive statistics about medication diffusion, extent of training received about the medications, and perceptions of acceptability of each medication. Then, we compared acceptability of opioid agonists with other treatment approaches for OUD. Finally, we conducted 2 ordinary least squares regressions to examine counselor acceptability of buprenorphine and of methadone. RESULTS Descriptive statistics suggested that diffusion of information about buprenorphine and methadone was not complete, and training was not extensive for either medication. Counselors reported greater acceptability and training of buprenorphine compared with methadone. Methadone was rated as the least acceptable among all other treatment approaches. Multivariate analyses indicated regional differences, and that medication-specific training, adaptability, and educational attainment were positively related with perceptions of acceptability of either medication, even after controlling for organizational characteristics. Adherence to a 12-step orientation was negatively associated with acceptability. CONCLUSIONS Dissemination of information about opioid agonist therapy is occurring. Nevertheless, the fact that 20% of counselors admitted not knowing enough about either buprenorphines or methadones effectiveness is surprising in light of the extensive literature documenting their effectiveness. Future research should focus upon different types of training that can inform physicians, counselors, and patients about the use of opioid agonist therapy.