Sample characteristics of participants who completed the AUDIT (n=1410)*
| Characteristic | % (n) | Characteristic | % (n) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sociodemographics† | |||
| Sex‡ | Education | ||
| Male | 86.9 (1225) | Year 10 or less | 20.1 (283) |
| Female | 12.5 (176) | Year 12 or equivalent | 12.1 (170) |
| Not disclosed | 0.6 (9) | Trade/apprenticeship | 36.1 (510) |
| Age, years | Certificate/diploma | 17.1 (241) | |
| <24 | 7.9 (112) | University or higher degree | 14.1 (199) |
| 25–34 | 31.0 (437) | Not disclosed | 0.5 (7) |
| 35–44 | 30.8 (434) | Social Network Index | |
| 45–54 | 22.7 (320) | Low | 12.0 (169) |
| 55+ | 6.9 (97) | Medium | 38.3 (540) |
| Not disclosed | 0.7 (10) | Medium high | 35.7 (540) |
| Dependent children | High | 11.8 (167) | |
| No | 40.8 (575) | Not disclosed | 2.1 (30) |
| Yes | 59.2 (836) | ||
| Health characteristics | |||
| Cannabis use | Depression | ||
| Never used | 64.1 (900) | No | 88.6 (1249) |
| Used, but not in the past month | 33.5 (472) | Yes | 11.4 (161) |
| Used in the past month | 2.3 (33) | Anxiety | |
| Synthetic cannabis use | No | 89.9 (1268) | |
| Never used | 91.0 (1283) | Yes | 10.1 (142) |
| Used, but not in the past month | 8.1 (114) | Chronic physical condition | |
| Used in the past month | 0.5 (7) | No | 58.2 (820) |
| Other illicit drug use | Yes | 36.7 (518) | |
| Never used | 80.1 (1130) | Drug and/or alcohol problems | |
| Used, but not in the past month | 17.5 (247) | No | 97.6 (1376) |
| Used in the past month | 1.8 (26) | Yes | 2.4 (34) |
| Smoking status | Psychological distress | ||
| Never smoked | 55.1 (777) | Low | 60.6 (855) |
| Ex-smoker | 25.7 (363) | Moderate | 26.3 (371) |
| Smoke, but less than daily | 4.7 (66) | High | 9.6 (136) |
| Daily smoker | 14.0 (197) | Very high | 3.0 (43) |
| Workplace factors | |||
| Mine workers | Years working in mining§ | ||
| FIFO/DIDO | 28.4 (401) | 2 years or less | 18.2 (257) |
| Local | 71.3 (1006) | 3–10 years | 43.3 (611) |
| Not disclosed | 0.2 (3) | More than 10 years | 37.8 (533) |
| Mine type | Not disclosed | 0.6 (9) | |
| Underground | 52.8 (745) | Work schedule | |
| Open cut | 47.2 (665) | Regular shift | 47.8 (673) |
| Employment category | Rotating shift | 50.2 (708) | |
| Manager | 4.8 (67) | Other | 1.9 (27) |
| Professional (eg, engineer, OH&S) | 13.5 (190) | Not disclosed | 0.1 (2) |
| Technician or tradesman | 34.4 (485) | Most common shift length | |
| Machinery operator or labourer | 41.3 (583) | 8 hours or less | 13.1 (185) |
| Clerical, admin or other | 6.0 (85) | 9–12 hours | 52.2 (736) |
| More than 12 hours | 34.3 (484) | ||
| Not disclosed | 0.4 (5) | ||
*Forty-seven participants were excluded with incomplete AUDIT scores. However, excluded participants did not significantly differ from respondents who completed the AUDIT on any of the tabled variables.
†Ethnicity was not included as a predictor as 90.4% of the sample was Australian born.
‡Of the 12.5% who were female, there were differential rates among technician/trade (7.2%), professional (30.4%), management (3.3%), machinery operator (38.7%) and administrative (20.4%) roles.
§Union membership increased with years working in mining (25.7%; 40.5%; 48.7%).
AUDIT, Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test; DIDO, drive-in drive-out; FIFO, fly-in fly-out; OH&S, occupational health and safety.