A Comparison of Employee Assistance Programs Providing Internal versus External Treatment Services

Abstract

This paper examines the differences between Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) providing treatment services internally versus those that limit activity to assessment and referral. Though much research has been done comparing internal versus external EAPs in terms of success, types of programs and cost/benefit, little research has compared internal versus external treatment services. As with the internal/ external EAP dichotomy, it is likely that internal treatment occurs mostly in large EAPs with large budgets serving large organizations. Beyond this more obvious difference, though, there are likely to be more subtle variations between internal and external treatment oriented EAPs. The goal of this paper is to help clarify some of those differences. The paper first states the hypothesis to be tested. Next, the sample and data collection techniques are outlined. Then, the variables used in the study are described. Next, techniques for dealing with missing data are discussed. Then, results are displayed and discussed. Finally, some conclusions and recommendations are made.