First Advisor

Donald Truxillo

Term of Graduation

Fall 1997

Date of Publication

1997

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (M.S.) in Psychology

Department

Psychology

Language

English

Subjects

Employees -- Drug testing -- Oregon, Employees -- Oregon -- Attitudes, Drugs and employment -- Oregon, Fairness

DOI

10.15760/etd.3625

Physical Description

1 online resource (73 pages)

Abstract

This study proposed that two predictors of perceived fairness of organizational drug testing would be moderated by drug use. These two predictors, outcome of a positive drug test and whether respondents were ever previously tested for drug use, had been found to be predictors of perceived fairness of drug testing. It was expected that the theories of organizational justice and cognitive dissonance would explain these relationships. Additionally, it was proposed that drug users would perceive drug testing as less fair than would non-drug users.

Participants were 191 adults randomly selected throughout the state of Oregon. The survey items measuring the perceived fairness of drug testing were added to an existing drug prevalence study funded through the Oregon Department of Human Resources.

The study supported the notion that workers who use drugs will perceive drug testing as less fair than those who do not use drugs. This dissatisfaction with drug testing programs among drug users may be due to issues of cognitive dissonance. The findings supported the proposed model in which drug use moderated the relationship between outcome of a positive drug test and perceived fairness of drug testing. However, contrary to results of earlier studies, no differences were found on the fairness measures between workers who had been previously tested for drugs and those who had not. This may indicate a change in attitudes toward drug testing in general and that this process is becoming more accepted.

Results of this study suggest that other previous predictors of drug testing fairness may also be affected by this "extraneous" variable of drug use. In addition, these results support the use of organizational justice theory in studying attitudes toward drug testing and provide similar justification for the use of cognitive dissonance theory in future drug testing research.

Rights

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Comments

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Persistent Identifier

https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/40772

Included in

Psychology Commons

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