Employee Assistance Program (EAP) Referral Agents' Conceptions of the Causes and Treatment of Alcohol Dependence

Analyses of general population surveys have suggested that individuals who concur with the view that alcohol dependence is a disease prefer it be treated by physicians, rather than through the techniques advocated by proponents of the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) core technology. This study examined relationships between beliefs regarding the causes of alcohol dependence and its effective treatment among a sample of individuals who make treatment referrals for employees with behavioral-medical problems. Analyses presented here indicate that, among these referral agents, support for the disease model is more consistent with treatment modalities favored by long-time EAP proponents.