Causal analysis of employer attitude formation toward employing individuals with psychiatric disabilities

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

Several studies have shown that the structure of employer attitudes toward employing individuals with psychiatric disabilities was multidimensional, but none has clarified the causal relationships within the employer attitude structure.

OBJECTIVE:

The purpose of this study was to formulate causal models based on data from two previously published studies of employer attitudes toward employing individuals with psychiatric disabilities, and to examine and verify the models. The models were either for all types of industry or specifically the transport sector.

METHODS:

The sample was selected to infer the influence factors for employment of individuals with psychiatric disabilities (for all types of industry) and specifically promotional factors (for the transport sector). An analysis of covariance structure was used.

RESULTS:

For all types of industry, prejudice and fear were shown to be indicators of activity limitation, attention distribution, and employer disincentive for hiring. In the transport sector, recruitment standards based on capacity were shown to be an indicator toward employer motivation for hiring and for making preparations to hire, self-efficacy for managing employment, and prejudice and fear.

CONCLUSIONS:

The results suggest that having recruitment standards based on capacity might reduce prejudice and fear and increase employer motivation for hiring individuals with psychiatric disabilities.