Predictors of employment outcome of Black persons with disabilities.

Abstract

There have been few empirical investigations of employment outcomes of Black persons who are disabled. Yet a significant percentage of working-age Blacks are disabled (14%) and an overwhelming majority of these individuals are not employed. The purpose of this study is to identify psychological and demographic factors related to employment outcome of Black Americans with disabilities. Seven variables, social support, self-esteem, health locus of control, perception of disability severity, acceptance of disability, transportation source and education were used to predict employment status. The sample consisted of 75 Black persons with disabilities. A discriminate analysis indicated that 26% of the variance in explaining employment status could be accounted for by the variables used in the present study. Transportation source was the strongest predictor followed by social support. Self-esteem and health locus of control were marginally significant.A number of studies have been done on vocational outcomes of persons with disabilities. However, there is a scarcity of research on vocational outcomes of Black persons who are disabled. This is particularly problematic, given that one in seven (14%) working-age Black Americans have disabilities (Bowe, 1983). According to Bowe, census data indicate that only 16% of working-age Blacks with disabilities are employed (compared to 26% for Whites) and only 22% are in the labor force, i.e., working or looking for work. Despite these unfavorable statistics, there have been few investigations of this problem. In the few studies that have been conducted, race has been an independent variable. The results of these studies have generally shown vocational outcomes to be less favorable for Blacks than for Whites (Atkins & Wright, 1980;Johnson, 1983). The purpose of this study is to identify psychological and demographic factors related to the employment status of Black Americans who are disabled.In a study of psychosocial factors affecting the employment of former vocational rehabilitation clients, Bolton (1983) identified four factors needed for

Exploration of Poverty, Employment, Earnings, Job Search, and Commuting Behavior of Persons with Disabilities and African-Americans in New Jersey

“…Second, because African-Americans with disabilities are likely to use public transportation more often than non-African-Americans with disabilities, provision of service in communities with large African-American populations will serve more persons with disabilities than service provided in other areas. On the basis of past studies (25) and the findings in this study, a strong case can be made for a greater level of disability service in areas with a high concentration of African-American persons. Third, although public transit use among African-American persons with disabilities is more common when transit modes are grouped together, for an unexplained reason, the use of Access Link, NJ Transit's ADA-complementary service, is less common, even though more African-Americans indicated they feel they have this service available near home.…”

“…Access to jobs is a serious concern for all persons with disabilities, but it is even a greater concern for African-Americans with disabilities because of higher unemployment (25). Past studies (20,23) have questioned whether race and disability have an independent or reinforcing effect on economic well-being on minority persons with disabilities.…”

Social and Behavioral Factors in Sickle Cell Disease: Employment Predicts Decreased Health Care Utilization

“…33 Other studies have credited personality factors such as low self-esteem or lack of assertiveness, lack of job skills due to irregular school attendance and cognitive deficits, and external locus of control to high unemployment in SCD. 34–37 Since employment appears be a protective factor against high numbers of health care encounters, future research should explore physical, behavioral, and social predictors of employment so we can begin to generate new ways of intervening with SCD patients who are unemployed.…”

Factors affecting employment among people with mobility disabilities in South Korea

“…In the research literature on disability acceptance, positive psychosocial adaptation has been identified as an important predictor of employment (Lee et al, 1985;Belgrave and Walker, 1991;Asbury et al, 1996;Park, 1999). Prior studies have also highlighted that, in conjunction with such processes, the level of social support also plays a crucial role in predicting employment status (Turner and Ten Hoor, 1978;Jacobs, 1988;Choi, 1999).…”