Examining the Role of Peer Support on Work Experiences for Young Women With Disabilities

This study examined the protective effect of perceived peer support on involvement in work experiences in a sample of 366 young women receiving special education services in 26 high schools. Career self-efficacy and career outcome expectations are well-established predictors of behaviors aimed at achieving career goals, such as obtaining work experiences. Hence, we also evaluated their role as mediators of the hypothesized effect of perceived peer support on work experiences. Regression analyses (accounting for clustering within schools) revealed that perceived peer support had an indirect effect on work experiences, with the effect being channeled through career self-efficacy, but not through career outcome expectations. Although perceived peer support was significantly associated with career self-efficacy and career outcome expectations, only career self-efficacy predicted work experiences at follow-up. Our findings suggest that perceived peer support, a relatively malleable factor, can promote career self-efficacy and career outcomes for this population.

Relationships between individual characteristics and occupational possibilities for young adults with visual impairments

Individuals with disabilities highlight the importance of having career options, as these people are more likely to have narrowed occupational possibilities and to be employed in part-time and contingent jobs. This study explores (a) the range of occupational possibilities that according to Holland’s Self- Directed Search (SDS) Questionnaire most closely resemble the personality types of 55 young adults with visual impairments, b) the impact of individual characteristics on occupational possibilities, and c) the differences between sighted adults and adults with visual impairments regarding the SDS Questionnaire scores for the six personality types (Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, Conventional). The research instrument was the SDS Questionnaire of Holland. The study results showed that the occupational possibilities for young adults with visual impairments relate mostly to social occupations. Individual characteristics also were found to be significant predictors of individual types according to the SDS Questionnaire. In addition, differences emerged from the comparison between adults with visual impairments and sighted adults in regard to the six personality types identified by Holland, based on the normative data. The study revealed that individual characteristics of young adults with visual impairments play an important role in their occupational possibilities.

State and Local Determinants of Employment Outcomes Among Individuals With Disabilities

In the United States, employment rates among individuals with disabilities are persistently low but vary substantially. In this study, we examined the relationship between employment outcomes and features of the state and county physical, economic, and policy environment among a national sample of individuals with disabilities. To do so, we merged a set of state- and county-level environmental variables with data from the 2009–2011 American Community Survey accessed in a U.S. Census Research Data Center. We estimated regression models of employment, work hours, and earnings as a function of disability, personal characteristics, and these environmental features. We found that economic conditions and physical environmental variables had stronger associations than policy variables with employment outcomes. Although the estimated importance of environmental variables was small relative to individual disability and personal characteristics, our results suggest that these variables may present barriers or facilitators to employment that can explain some geographic variation in employment outcomes across the United States.

Individual Characteristics and the Disability Employment Gap

Although people with disabilities have poorer employment outcomes, on average, than do people without disabilities, some of them fare relatively well in the labor market. To learn more about the individual characteristics associated with positive employment outcomes among people with disabilities, we use data from the 2009–2011 American Community Survey to examine differences in employment outcomes by demographic and other individual characteristics in a multivariable framework. Controlling for all other individual characteristics, we find the employment gap between individuals with and without disabilities is smaller among those in their 20s and 60s relative to the middle aged, Asians relative to Whites, Hispanics relative to non-Hispanics, married individuals, individuals with higher levels of educational attainment, and women. Overall, results suggest that policies and practices designed to improve employment outcomes among people with disabilities should consider how individual characteristics interact with disability as challenges to or facilitators of employment success.

Rehabilitation-Related Research on Disability and Employer Practices Using Individual-Based National and Administrative Data Sets

Objective:It is useful to examine workplace factors influencing employment outcomes of individuals with disabilities and the interplay of disability, employment-related, and employer characteristics to inform rehabilitation practice.

Design:A number of large national survey and administrative data sets provide information on employers and can inform this inquiry.

Results:Provides an overview of 9 national survey and administrative data sets that can be used to investigate the impact of employer practices on employment outcomes for individuals with disabilities.

Conclusions:Provides specific examples of disability and employment research, which can be performed with these data sets and implications for rehabilitation policy, practice, and research.

Predictors of Employment Outcomes for Vocational Rehabilitation Consumers With HIV/AIDS: 2002–2007

This study examined the predictability of two employment outcomes—employment status and weekly earnings at closure— from consumer demographic, medical, and service variables for multiple groups of vocational rehabilitation (VR) consumers with HIV/AIDS retrieved from the RSA-911 data for fiscal years 2002 through 2007. A logistic regression analysis was used to determine predictors of employment status at closure across years, and a multiple regression analysis was conducted to identify predictors of weekly wage at closure. Consistently significant predictors of employment status at closure across the 6 years of data included job placement assistance, service expenditures, and length of time in rehabilitation. Consumer demographic variables, including receipt of Supplemental Security Income/Social Security Disability Income at referral, Medicare/Medicaid at referral, and level of education along with receipt of training services (i.e., college, vocational, or on-the-job training), were found to be the most reliable, significant predictors of weekly earnings at closure across the 6 years. Implications of the findings for practice and research are provided.