Exploring the impact of Psychological Assessment for Disabled Job Seekers
Authors: Bonney, Katharine; Stammers, Robert B.
Source: Journal of Occupational Psychology, Employment and Disability, Volume 7, Number 2, Autumn 2005 , pp. 90-95(6)
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Abstract:
This study (Bonney, 2004) explored the impact of psychological assessment for disabled jobseekers through an experimental approach using clients registered under the New Deal for Disabled People (NDDP). The experimental group were offered psychological assessment in addition to general advice under NDDP. Their work status, and associated actions and attitudes, were compared to those of a control group after a 20 week period. Not all the experimental group accepted the offer, but for those who did, a range of tools was used, including work focused vocational interviews, and individually selected vocational interest and psychometric ability tests. Tests were selected after initial interviews, according to the participants' identified needs.Overall, the results supported the proposal that there is value in offering psychological assessment to all disabled job seekers. The benefit from the intervention was seen most clearly through measuring job entry rates in each group. People who declined assessment also had job entry rates higher than the control group, probably because they were already clearer about the type of work they should seek. Some measures of attitudes towards job searching also showed positive trends over time for the experimental group, but mostly below the criterion for significance. Patterns of job seeking activity were not so clear, but this measure was influenced by successful applicants stopping job seeking, reducing the overall amount of activity.Analysis of the results suggest that motivation and capacity to overcome barriers may be the factors that are influenced by identifying vocational strengths and weaknesses through psychometric testing. These, in turn, appear to result in job seeking success. Further study would be needed to confirm these relationships, but they could have great significance for the type of services provided by organisations helping people with disabilities into work.Keywords: DISABILITY; EMPLOYMENT BARRIERS; JOB-SEEKING; NEW DEAL FOR DISABLED PEOPLE; PSYCHOMETRIC ASSESSMENT
Document Type: Research article
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