title: An ethnographic study of job seeking among people with severe mental illness.
abstract: An ethnographic study employing intensive participant observation methods identified critical differences in styles of searching for competitive employment among people with severe mental illness and explored the social/cultural correlates of these job-seeking styles. Propensity for active job seeking was strongly associated with younger age, with participants' involvement in interdependent kin networks or households, with ethno-racial minority background, and with capacity for coherent discourse. Active job seekers did particularly well in a supported employment program, but also were able to find employment when assigned to other programs; passive job seekers had little success in any vocational program. The authors discuss several implications of these findings for vocational services.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anthropology, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire 03755-3570, USA. hoyt.alverson@Dartmouth.edu
authors.forename: Hoyt
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Alverson
authors.forename: Elizabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Carpenter
authors.forename: Robert E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Drake
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000884:Anthropology, Cultural; D044383:Black People / Q000523:psychology; D019090:Case Management; D003237:Connecticut; D016832:Employment, Supported / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006630:Hispanic or Latino / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D007586:Job Application; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D008875:Middle Aged; D008913:Minority Groups / Q000523:psychology; D009042:Motivation; D010560:Personnel Selection; D012050:Rehabilitation, Vocational / Q000523:psychology; D012944:Social Support; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D044465:White People / Q000523:psychology; D001741:Black or African American