Open AccessExploring the work lives of adults with serious mental illness from a vocational psychology perspective.
Author(s) -
Uma Chandrika Millner,
E. Sally Rogers,
Philippe Bloch,
William Costa,
Sharon Pritchett,
Tracy Woods
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
journal of counseling psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.818
H-Index - 133
eISSN - 1939-2168
pISSN - 0022-0167
DOI - 10.1037/cou0000109
Subject(s) - psychology , vocational education , mental illness , workforce , social cognitive theory , perspective (graphical) , qualitative research , applied psychology , social learning theory , social psychology , mental health , clinical psychology , psychotherapist , pedagogy , social science , artificial intelligence , sociology , computer science , economics , economic growth
Current vocational services for adults with serious mental illness remain largely atheoretical and disconnected from mainstream vocational psychology research and practice. This study explored the perspectives on work of adults with serious mental illness, compared perspectives of young and older adults, and assessed these perspectives for the applicability of a well-established theory of vocational psychology. A national sample of 76 individuals with mental illness engaged in the workforce completed a semistructured questionnaire. We applied the principles of a participatory approach to consensual qualitative research methodology in the study design and data analysis. Results yielded a large number of categories, which clustered under domains representative of the primary constructs of social cognitive career theory (SCCT; Lent, 2013). These domains included the antecedents of self-efficacy, namely, personal accomplishments, vicarious learning, social persuasion, and physical or emotional states as well as additional constructs of outcome expectations, personal goals, and contextual barriers. The SCCT model will likely provide a useful framework to bridge the gap between career development theory and vocational services for individuals with mental illness.