Attitudes toward urinalysis drug testing within a civilian pilot training program

Abstract

Background: This descriptive-correlational study examined civilian student pilots' attitudes toward urinalysis (UA) drug testing and the pilots' opinions regarding effectiveness, adequacy, and fairness of the method as a deterrent for substance abuse among pilots.

Hypothesis: There will be significant differences among attitudes of professional aviation student pilots in mandatory and nonmandatory UA drug tested sections of a flight program when considering the pilots' flight hours, ages, gender, anxiety produced by UA drug testing, opinions on drug and alcohol abuse by pilots on the flight schedule, and their attitudes toward the testing process.

Methods: A Likert-scaled questionnaire was completed by the student pilots who were enrolled in mandatory and nonmandatory UA drug tested class sections within a large civilian aviation flight program.

Results: Pilots felt mandatory UA testing was less anxiety-producing (t = 2.25, p < 0.05) than the students in nonmandatory tested flight classes. The pilots in nonmandatory tested sections felt more strongly (t = 2.55, p < 0.01) that drug use existed among pilots on the flight schedule than mandatorily tested pilots. Significant intercorrelations (p < 0.05) emerged among the variables age, gender, flying hours, randomization of UA testing, and attitudes toward the UA testing process and its' effectiveness.

Conclusions: Based on the results, mandatory UA drug testing appeared to decrease substance abuse among pilots on the flight schedule.