Women, work, and drinking patterns

The purpose of this study was to determine if employment influenced the incidence of drinking among Knoxville women. The study examined women's employment status and drinking. The independent variables examined were employment, marital status, age, education, children, religious preference and attendance, and social participation.

The data were obtained from a mailed questionnaire distributed to 500 households in Knoxville. The responses on the independent variables were cross-tabulated with the incidence of drinking.

The major findings of this exploratory study were:

1. A moderately strong statistically significant association exists between employment and drinking when no other variables are introduced.

2. The relationship between employment and drinking is statistically nonsignificant when age is introduced as a control variable.

3. A strong statistically significant relationship exists between employment and drinking in the case of women with a high school education or less. The relationship between employment and drinking is statistically nonsignificant in the case of women with more than a high school education.