Employment expectations as a differential indicator of attitudes toward people with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus

Issue title: Vocational Rehabilitation and Chronic Illness

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Rumrill, Phillip D.^; | Millington, Michael J. | Webb, James M. | Cook, Bryan G.

Affiliations: Kent State University, Department of Educational Foundations and Special Services, 405P White Hall, P.O. Box 5190, Kent, OH 44242-0001, USA | Louisiana State University Medical Center, Dept. Of Rehabilitation Counseling, 1900 Gravier St., #8A2, New Orleans, LA 70112, USA

Note: [] Corresponding author. Tel.: + 1 330 6722294; Fax: + 1 330 6722512; E-mail: prumrill@emerald.educ.kent.edu.

Abstract: The article describes an empirical investigation of prospective rehabilitation counselors' (n=46) employment-relevant attitudes toward people with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. Participants were matched into pairs based on similarities in age, gender, familiarity with diabetes mellitus and whether they had taken graduate coursework in medical information. They were then randomly assigned to two groups. One group was asked to read a profile of a fictitious job applicant whose disability status was not mentioned and evaluate the applicant's credentials using the Employment Expectations Questionnaire (EEQ). The other group read and evaluated the packet in the same fashion, but the applicant was described as having insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. Results indicated that the diabetes label had no significant effect on participants' ratings of the job applicant, indicating that ratings were formulated without respect to the illness.

Keywords: Diabetes mellitus, Employment expectations, Attitudes toward people with disabilities

DOI: 10.3233/JVR-1998-10310

Journal: Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation, vol. 10, no. 3, pp. 271-280, 1998