Background: Addiction to narcotics can cause serious problems and monetary losses. Therapeutic success can be predicted through identifying lapse risk factors.
Objective: Determining Job Risk Factor of Lapse.
Methods: This was a cross sectional study on 351 addicts visiting five methadone clinics. A Data collection sheet consisting of questions on demographic and job information was filled up through direct interviews. Information relating to lapse in the first month was analyzed.
Results: The mean (SD) age of the participants was 40(12) years; of them, 74% were employed, of whom 34% had lapsed. A relationship was noticed between education qualification (secondary school compared with higher and lower education) and lapse (p = .04), and also between type of drug abuse (amphetamine) and lapse (p = .001).
Conclusion: Lapse was more dependent on type of drug abused, and employment had a protective role, with no correlation with the type of job and other job conditions. Non-work factors mediated/suppressed the role of occupational conditions.