Affiliations: University of Memphis, Memphis, TN, USA
Note: [] Address for correspondence: Erin Martz, Ph.D., Rehabilitation
Counseling Program, 119D Patterson Hall, University of Memphis, Memphis, TN
38152, USA. Tel.: +1 901 678 4820; Fax: +1 901 678 3215; E-mail:
emartz@memphis.edu
Abstract: This exploratory study investigated the best predictors of
employment among 13,751 individuals with disabilities who have exited from a
state-federal VR services program in a US state in the south. Logistic
regression analyses, which were conducted separately for nine categories of
disabilities, indicated that only models of three disability categories
(visual, hearing, and "other" disabilities) were significantly different from
the corresponding constant-only models and improved the prediction accuracy of
employment outcome over the null model. The findings suggested that males were
more likely to be employed than females among individuals with visual and
"other" disabilities; and ethnic minorities were more likely to be employed
than those who were part of the majority ethnicity (Caucasian) among
individuals with hearing and "other" disability types. Further, services
directly targeting employment-related variables (training for and obtaining a
job) and having a positive, forward-oriented perspective during the vocational
rehabilitation process were significantly more likely to increase the
likelihood of employment after the rehabilitation process among individuals
with certain types of disabilities.
Keywords: Employment, disability, vocational rehabilitation, future time perspective
