Predicting vocational rehabilitation outcome among clients with a psychiatric disability.

Abstract

Individuals with a psychiatric disability have had the poorest vocational outcomes of all the disabled populations when comparing rehabilitation success rates. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationships between selected background, social, and service variables and vocational rehabilitation outcome in order to identify potential indicators of success or failure. Data was gathered from records in the Tucson, Arizona offices of the state-federal vocational rehabilitation program. The sample included 210 White and Hispanic subjects with a psychiatric disability. Their records had been closed in the years 1983 through 1987. The independent variables were the background variables of Age, Age of Onset, Ethnicity, and Educational Level, the social variables of Living Situation, Ability To Get Along With Others, and Employment History, and the service variables of Training and Support. The dependent variable was Employment Status as determined by the vocational rehabilitation program: Successful subjects, coded a Status 26, were closed having been employed at least 60 days; unsuccessful subjects, coded a Status 08, 28, or 30, left the program unemployed. The study followed a correlational design using a regression approach. Logistic Regression Analysis with forward selection was the strategy employed to identify the best predictive model. A chi-square test of independence was used to further study variables that showed some predictive potential. An effort was made to control for the presence of one or more additional disabilities. The results indicated that the variables most highly related to Employment Outcome, in the order of their importance, were Training, Employment History, and Ability To Get Along With Others. Ability To Get Along With Others disappeared as a key indicator when the sample was divided into single and multiple disability groups. However, the findings suggest that Ability To Get Along With Others and Support Services may contribute to the effect of the two more powerful variables. It is also cautiously suggested that Training that is job-related and skill-building in nature may be more useful than formal education for this population.