Income Generation in Recovering Heroin Users: A Comparative Analysis of Legal and Illegal Earnings

Research has shown employment to be a central mediator to sustained recovery and community reentry for substance abusers; however, heroin users have lower employment rates and report lower mean incomes than other drug users. The authors of the present study assessed income generating behaviors of substance users recruited from substance abuse treatment facilities (N=247). Heroin users had higher mean incomes from illegal sources. Further, logistic regression analysis found heroin use to increase the likelihood of engagement in illegal income generating behaviors. As these results increase the likelihood of involvement in the criminal justice system, the implications for heroin specific treatment and rehabilitation are discussed.