Deirdre O'Sullivan

Operationalizing Self-Efficacy, Related Social Cognitive Variables, and Moderating Effects: Implications for Rehabilitation Research and Practice

Self-efficacy, a core construct of Banduras social cognitive theory, has wide appeal and usefulness in the health and social sciences. Self-efficacy is frequently used across disciplines to assess an individuals beliefs about her likelihood to engage in a certain behavior. Because of the behavioral-change approaches common in rehabilitation counseling interventions, self-efficacy is an important construct to operationalize, measure, and apply for best research and clinical outcomes. Several factors contribute to inaccurate or inappropriate assessment, measurement, interpretation, and application of this important construct; numerous scales used to measure efficacy, various contexts, related constructs, and moderating effects of efficacy make best use of efficacy measurement and application difficult. This article outlines the theory of self-efficacy, distinguishes its closely related constructs, summarizes common moderating effects, and provides important considerations for clinical practice and research.

Use of recreation activities as positive coping with chronic stress and mental health outcomes associated with unemployment of people with disabilities.

OBJECTIVE This paper provides an outline of the complex relationship among stress, unemployment, mental health, and participation in recreation activities as a possible adaptive coping strategy for people with disabilities. METHODS This paper is a result of a two-phase review of the literature. Phase one included review of articles that examined the relationship among unemployment, stress, and mental health outcomes for people with disabilities. Phase two included articles that examined the efficacy of recreation activities as a means of buffering stress. RESULTS Research indicates a cyclical process that occurs when people with disabilities experience unemployment; this unemployment often leads to chronic stress which in turn leads to negative mental health, symptoms that create further barriers to unemployment. Recreation activities that are physically active, culturally relevant, and conducive to relaxation were found to be effective at reducing the types of stressors experienced with unemployment. CONCLUSIONS A complex relationship among unemployment, stress, mental health, and participation in recreation activities as a possible adaptive coping strategy exists for people with disabilities. An understanding of the types of recreation activities that are likely to reduce specific stressors associated with unemployment may be beneficial to consider as part of a comprehensive treatment plan when working with individuals with disabilities as they engage in the job seeking process.

Validation of the Developmental Work Personality Model and Scale

The construct of work personality has been linked to the development of effective work behaviors and overall vocational adjustment for individuals with disabilities. One conceptualization of work personality that has received consideration in the rehabilitation research literature is the construct of developmental work personality (DWP). The primary strengths of the DWP model are that it is grounded in developmental, learning, and work theories that have been widely validated with multiple populations in a variety of contexts and that the model is designed to explain components of the work personality, described by Neff as being “semi-autonomous.” The purpose of this study is to provide evidence of the psychometric properties of the DWP scale in samples of persons eligible to receive vocational rehabilitation services. The results of this three-phase study reveal empirically defined factors of the scale that correspond to the DWP model, adequate convergent validity measures, and adequate to good internal and temporal reliability coefficients in a sample of students. Recommendations for best use of the model and scale are included.

The relationship between contextual work behaviours self-efficacy and work personality: an exploratory analysis

Background. Work personality and contextual work behaviours have been identified as constructs that play critical roles in developing the foundation for effective vocational and career behaviour for persons with disabilities. Method. For this study, we used a sample of 84 individuals with disabilities who were eligible to receive vocational rehabilitation services. Demographic variables and questions concerning work personality, contextual work behaviours self-efficacy, employment status and longest time employed were obtained and analysed to determine the relationship between contextual work behaviours self-efficacy, work personality and employment outcomes. Results. The results indicate that work personality explained 24% (F = 2.73; p = 0.013) of the variance of contextual work behaviours self-efficacy with the subscale of Personal Presentation (β = 0.466) making a significant and unique contribution to CWB total score. Results of a correlation between the work personality profile scale and the contextual work behaviours self-efficacy scale revealed a significant and positive relationship. Levels of work personality and contextual work behaviours self-efficacy were unable to discriminate between employed and unemployed individuals. However, a post-hoc regression analysis did find that work personality and contextual work behaviours self-efficacy accounted for approximately 24% of the variance of longest time employed. Conclusions. The results of this study provide initial support for the relationship between work personality and contextual work behaviours self-efficacy. Overall, work personality appears to be an important construct related to individuals confidence to meet the contextual demand of the work environment and length of employment tenure.

Examining differences in developmental work personality across disability category: Implications for individuals with psychiatric disabilities.

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this exploratory study was to examine the differences in levels of work personality for persons with psychiatric disabilities compared to persons with other types of disabilities. PARTICIPANTS Seventy one adults eligible to receive Vocational Rehabilitation services participated; 30 reported a physical disability, 26 reported a psychiatric disability, and 15 reported a learning disability. METHODS Eligible participants were recruited through VR offices and volunteered to participate. RESULTS Results indicate that persons with psychiatric disabilities scored significantly lower on the Work Task and Social Skills subscales of the Developmental Work Personality Scale (DWPS) when compared to individuals with physical disabilities, but scored higher than individuals with physical and learning disabilities on the Role Model subscale. CONCLUSIONS The results of this study provide some initial clarity regarding developmental work personality differences among three broad categories of disability. Recommendations for future research are provided.

Working alliance and vocational outcomes for cancer survivors: an initial analysis.

This study examines the sex differences in the perception of working alliance and the perceptions of optimism regarding future employment and job satisfaction with adult cancer survivors receiving vocational rehabilitation services. No significant differences were found between males and females in terms of the three components of the working alliance. However, examination of effect sizes indicated that the females reported higher levels of tasks (d=0.40) and goals (d=0.55) than their male counterparts. The three components of working alliance explained 60% of the variance with bonds (&bgr;=0.865) making a significant and unique contribution to employment prospects. Working alliance was not associated with current job satisfaction in the employed group. Overall results of this study suggest that working alliance seems to be an important variable in the vocational outcomes for cancer survivors receiving vocational services.

The role of developmental work personality in the employment of individuals with psychiatric disabilities

Due to the current demands of todays competitive and team-oriented workplaces, organizations are becoming increasingly dependent on assessing potential and current employee traits that go beyond skills and education. Contextual work behaviors, such as getting along with others, accepting supervision, and ability to adapt to changes, are proving to be salient factors in predicting overall successful employment outcomes. These contextual behaviors are often learned in childhood during the school years and by watching parents and role models demonstrate behaviors related to work. Individuals with psychiatric disabilities often have a harder time than individuals who do not experience symptoms of psychiatric disabilities demonstrating positive contextual work behaviors. This paper will outline the importance of evaluating work personality using the Developmental Work Personality Scale for individuals with psychiatric disabilities.

Child maltreatment severity, chronic substance abuse, and disability status.

Purpose: Biological theories explain how exposure to child maltreatment and chronic substance abuse result in significant health reductions, often years or decades after the maltreatment and substance abuse end. Relationships among these variables are known to exist; however, the relative impact of each risk factor on disability status is not clear. Method: Adults receiving inpatient treatment for a substance use disorder (SUD) were assessed for chronic illness and disability (CID), years abusing substances, and child maltreatment severity using the Child Trauma Questionnaire (n = 112). A logistic regression model classified participants by CID status based on criterion variables; using transformed data and model parameters, the odds and probabilities were calculated for each criterion variable to determine the clinical impact of each risk factor on CID. Results: The majority (52.7%) of participants reported CID; the majority screened positively for child maltreatment (87.4%). Our model was significant and demonstrates that the odds for CID increase as a function of maltreatment severity; years abusing substances did not significantly increase the odds. For those reporting the most severe levels of maltreatment, the odds of experiencing CID translates to odds ratio (OR) = 1.92, with an associated probability of 66%. Implications: Child maltreatment severity is an important predictor of CID status, and was more likely to explain CID than years abusing drugs and alcohol in our clinical sample. Trauma-informed concurrent treatment for 3 clinical conditions of CID, childhood maltreatment, and SUD is needed for the majority of individuals seeking treatment for SUD.

Making the Case for Specialized Caseloads among Vocational Rehabilitation Counselors Working with Ex-Offenders: A Pilot Study.

Purpose: This article outlines findings from a sample of 137 vocational rehabilitation counselors regarding their stigmatizing attitudes, burnout levels, work experience, caseload composition, and working alliance with clients who have a range of disabilities and a criminal history. Method: Electronic surveys were sent to vocational rehabilitation counselors in 3 states who met the following criteria: counselors with a master’s degree, counselors with diverse and active caseloads, and counselors from geographically diverse states. Data were analyzed using 2-tailed correlation analysis and subsequent regression analysis. Results: VR counselors with more ex-offenders on their caseloads did not have higher stigma or burnout but, surprisingly, did have stronger working alliance. Conclusion: Findings support further research to confirm if specialized caseloads comprised of clients with criminal histories enhance working alliances among VR counselors.