The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of program type and selected predictor variables on the vocational placement and feelings of self-esteem of disabled male workers. It was predicted that: (1) a physical capacity assessment program (PCA), designed by the investigator, would result in a higher rate of successful vocational placement than conventional placement techniques, in a shorter period of time and with a better vocational match; (2) increased measures of self-esteem would be experienced by the PCA group and at a more significant level than conventional vocational programs; (3) there would not be a significant interaction between the vocational placement variables and the independent variables of age, degree of disability and injury type; and (4) there would not be a significant effect of selected moderator variables between groups on the vocational placement variables.
Fifty disabled workers were randomly selected from the active caseloads of the Vocational Rehabilitation Department of the Workers' Compensation Board of British Columbia for participation in the study. Their average age was 33.32 years, and their average length of time on wage loss was 245 days. All subjects were injured as the result of an industrial accident, were no longer undergoing medical
treatment, had been cleared for a return to work but were suffering from a residual disability that prevented them from returning to the work force. Subjects were randomly assigned to one of two treatment conditions involving vocational counselling with job search training (JS) and vocational counselling with physical capacity assessment (PCA). Following completion of the program, subjects began job search activities and were monitored for a period of 6 months or until successful vocational placement was achieved.
Data analyses showed that: there was a significant main effect between groups for success in vocational placement with PCA placing more subjects than job search; there were no significant differences between groups on measures of self-esteem following completion of the programs; there was a significant interaction effect of age, degree of disability and type of injury with success in vocational placement and; there was a significant interaction effect of several moderator variables including marital status and length of time on wage loss with success in vocational placement and time to vocational placement.
The results tend to support the use of physical capacity assessment for the guantification of individual capacity to perform work. Further, the results suggest that the use of PCA information in the identification and
selection of appropriate vocational alternatives can significantly enhance the success of vocational placement disabled workers. Recommendations were made for future research. / Education, Faculty of / Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education (ECPS), Department of / Graduate
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UBC/oai:circle.library.ubc.ca:2429/31111 |
| Date | January 1990 |
| Creators | Cooke, Christopher |
| Publisher | University of British Columbia |
| Source Sets | University of British Columbia |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, Thesis/Dissertation |
| Rights | For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use. |
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