An ethnographic study of job seeking among people with severe mental illness.
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.
Alverson
Hoyt
H
Department of Anthropology, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire 03755-3570, USA. hoyt.alverson@Dartmouth.edu
Carpenter
Elizabeth
E
Drake
Robert E
RE
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