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Abstract

It is reported that performances in the workplace are affected by alcohol, drugs or other stresses. Experimental studies largely confirm these reports but translation of laboratory findings to job outcomes is difficult. If tasks indexed such a loss to a standard substance or holistic task, this index could provide the context to assist management decisions regarding standards and shift schedules. This paper reports changes with graduated dosages of alcohol on a standardized set of performance tests and refers to the approach as “dose equivalency.” Subjects (N=20) were tested to stability on 10 tests from the Automated Performance Test System (APTS). After administration of sufficient alcohol to achieve .15 blood alcohol level (BAL), using breath as the independent variable, the descending branch of the BAL curve was followed by measuring performance at set levels of alcohol. A dose-response relationship was confirmed for all performance tests (P < .01), and multiple regression was used to select subtests that maximally predicted alcohol level. Four subtests were combined into a linear composite that related well to alcohol levels above 0.05 BAL. The performance decrements on APTS were indexed to performance decrements on the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB). Performance equivalency and dose equivalency relationships were successfully demonstrated so that: (1) a regression equation can be created that translates reductions in APTS performance, due to any other treatment, into ASVAB-equivalent performances; and (2) a regression equation can be created which translates reductions in performance due to such agents or treatments into units of percent blood alcohol.

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An Individual Differences Approach to Fitness-for-Duty Assessment

Abstract

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