Clinical orientation and sociodemographic characteristics of chemical dependency practitioners in ohio

A mail survey was used to assess the clinical orientation and sociodemographic characteristics of chemical dependency practitioners (N = 406) in Ohio. Discriminant analysis identified a number of characteristics that distinguished among five types of practitioners (i.e., clinician, clinical supervisor, program administrator, case manager, and education/outreach/prevention specialist). The most important discriminating variables were (1) annual salary, (2) confidence in DSM-IV knowledge, (3) years of experience in the field, (4) race/ethnicity status, (5) education, and (6) computer access at work. Characteristics that did not distinguish among the practitioner groups included (1) clinical orientation, (2) recovery status, (3) age, (4) gender, and a number of other variables. Implications of these findings are discussed in light of the complexity of and changes taking place in the chemical dependency practitioner workforce today.