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Objective: The purpose of this study was to provide an overview of the current literature regarding the vocational rehabilitation services found effective in promoting employment among transition-age youth with disabilities as well as identifying factors affecting the effectiveness of those services. Methods: This study utilized the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses Extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) guidelines to theoretically and methodologically ground the systematic review. Through a three-stage filtering process, 35 studies were identified that helped identify common and effective vocational rehabilitation services for transition-aged youth. Findings: Three major themes were observed in the review of literature: validated vocational rehabilitation services, vocational rehabilitation counselor factors, and demographic variables. Conclusions: Additional research is needed in the role of disability severity as a variable of successful service provision. Further identifying successful vocational services for varying levels of disability severity will provide vocational rehabilitation consumers with more individualized options and has the potential to increase positive case closure rates. Lastly, research indicated a need for continued training of VR counselors to ensure they are meeting the needs of their consumers.

Background: To improve employment outcome, systematic research that is based on demandside needs is needed to clarify how employer practice factors can affect customized training efforts. Objective: The purpose of this study is to report the results of a scoping review to identify the best employer practices that are used to improve customized training efforts and results for people with disabilities in the workplace. Method: A scoping review of demand-side employment literature was conducted. Five databases were searched for articles published between 1985 and 2017. After filtering articles based on the search criteria, the final number of articles included in the analysis was 27. Findings: We identified three key themes related to customized training efforts. These include: (a) employment support, (b) work values, and (c) employment temperature. Conclusion: The findings of this scoping review provide valuable information for disability employment professionals and rehabilitation counselors to engage and assist employers in relation to customized training efforts.

Transition from regimented military life to a less structured college life can pose considerable challenges for student veterans. However, student veterans may be reluctant to seek psychological help because of the help-seeking stigma in the military culture. The present study investigated the measurement structure, reliability, and validity of the Self-Stigma of Seeking Help Scale in a sample of student veterans in the United States. Exploratory factor analysis revealed a two-factor measurement structure: (a) feeling of inadequacy, and (b) threat to self-confidence with relevant internal consistency reliability and construct validity. In the present study, feeling of inadequacy was found to be associated with interpersonal relationship problems, alcohol, and drug use problems, and depression, while threat to self-confidence was found to be associated with alcohol and drug use problems only. Implications for outreach services and the use of positive psychology interventions to lessen the stigma associated with seeking help are discussed.

Despite recent growth in the number of college students majoring in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM), there is a disparity in participation for students from racial and ethnic minority backgrounds with disabilities. This issue has received little attention in the research literature. We sought to gain a better understanding of the experiences of minority students with disabilities in their pursuits of a degree and career in STEM and their experiences with a program designed to support the accomplishment of this goal--the Minority-Disability Alliance in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (MIND Alliance). We used the Consensual Qualitative Research (CQR) approach to address the research questions with six former or current STEM students who received MIND Alliance services and supports. Results provide insights into the experiences of STEM students from racial and ethnic minority backgrounds with disabilities, and the influence of the MIND Alliance program on their academic success. Findings emphasize the importance of social supports from peers, family, and the university, as well as the proper handling of accommodations. Participants were generally satisfied with MIND Alliance services and reported positive influences on academic and career goals and on social aspects of college success.

We conducted a scoping review of the demand-side employment literature to identify promising practices that increase employers' motivation and efforts to recruit and hire people with disabilities (PWD). This scoping review was reported in accordance with the Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Anal-yses (PRISMA) guidelines. Five databases were utilized in our effort to search for demand-side employment articles related to recruiting and hiring of people with disabilities published between 1985 and 2017. After filtering articles based on our search criteria, the final number of articles included in the analysis was 96. An analysis of these articles revealed seven central themes related to employers' motivation and efforts to include people with disabilities in their workforces. These themes include: 1) Employer Attitudes; 2) Disability Employment Legislation; 3) Reasonable Accommodations; 4) Diversity and Inclusion Policies, Procedures and Practices; 5) Past Experiences with Hiring PWD; 6) Company Characteristics; and 7) Recruitment Strategies. Findings of this scoping review provide practical and useful information for rehabilitation counselors, transition specialists, and other disability service providers to engage and assist employers in their efforts to recruit and retain qualified employees with disabilities. Keywords: demand-side employment, recruitment, retention, people with disabilities, disability inclusion, and employer practices, According to the U.S. Census Bureau, approximately 56.7 million people (18.7%) of the civilian non-institutionalized population had a disability in 2010 (Brault, 2012). However, less than half of people with [...]

BACKGROUND: Employing qualified individuals with disabilities can improve organizational competitiveness and promote diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies. However, research on disability inclusion policy and practices among employers committed to hiring people with disabilities is limited. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to investigate efforts of Fortune 500 companies to include disability in their DEI policy and examine the effect of disability inclusion policy and practices on employment of people with disabilities METHODS: Four hundred sixty-six human resource and project managers with hiring authority participated in the present study. The Disability Inclusion Profiler-23 (DIP-23) was used to assess the perceived importance and implementation level of disability inclusion policy and practices in Fortune 500 and non-Fortune 500 companies. Two-sample independent t-tests were used to compare disability-employment rates and disability inclusion scores between Fortune 500 and non-Fortune 500 groups. Parallel mediation analysis was conducted to examine the extent to which executive level and mid-manager level DIP scores mediated the relationship between Fortune 500 companies and disability employment rates. RESULTS: Fortune 500 companies demonstrated higher disability employment rates and better disability inclusion policies and practices compared to non-Fortune 500 companies. CONCLUSION: State vocational rehabilitation agencies and other disability service providers should engage Fortune 500 executives to bolster disability inclusion efforts. Collaboration between vocational rehabilitation professionals and mid-level managers can enhance DIP policy implementation, thereby improving employment opportunities for people with disabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social distancing currently in place to reduce community spread of the COVID-19 pandemic has also resulted in negative structural, social, psychological, and financial consequences. Loneliness is linked to adverse mental health and health outcomes, and facing COVID-19 can increase feelings of stress and loneliness. In this study, we aimed to gain a better understanding of how COVID-19 affects mental health in vulnerable populations. Data from 269 individuals with disabilities and chronic conditions (mean age 39.37; 56.1% male; 84.0% white) were collected to understand whether loneliness mediates the relationship between perceived COVID-19 stress and maladaptive COVID-19 coping strategies among people with disabilities and chronic health conditions. The findings suggest that loneliness serves as a partial mediator between perceived COVID-19 stress and maladaptive COVID-19 coping. Implications of the findings for public health and rehabilitation intervention for individuals with disabilities are discussed., There are a number of individual and environmental influences that contribute to college persistence and graduation of students with disabilities (SWD). On an individual level, they include a student's ability [...]

This study examined the extent to which physical and emotional functioning mediated the relationship between psychological well-being (PERMA) and the career domains of the Illinois Work and Well-Being Model (IW2M) in a group of young adult central nervous system (CNS) cancer survivors. The participants consisted of 81 young adult survivors of childhood CNS cancer aged between 18 and 24 years old (M = 18.90, SD = .97). Participants were asked to fill out the research packet containing demographic information and research instruments. The PROCESS macro written by Hayes was used to estimate the total, direct, and indirect effects of psychological well-being on job awareness, job acquisition and job maintenance through emotional and physical functioning. Study finding suggest that physical and emotional functioning have a differential impact on specific career development factors and that psychological well-being was also found to have a significant impact on each of the three career development domains. Overall, the study findings are consistent with the IW2M that indicates that an individual's perceived level of functioning impacts career development factors and that positive psychology constructs, such as psychological well-being, may also be implicated in perceived functioning and the career development process of young adult CNS cancer survivors. Career and vocational interventions targeting young adult CNS cancer survivors should focus on increasing psychological well-being as well as increasing physical and emotional functioning. In addition, career interventions should consider the differential impact across the career domain., Researchers are increasingly interested in understanding how treatment-related late effects including psychosocial, physical, and emotional concerns impact childhood cancer survivors' social functioning and quality of life. Engaging in career development [...]

Purpose: To examine demographic, functional, and clinical multiple sclerosis (MS) variables affecting employment status in a national sample of adults with MS in the United States. Method: The sample included 4,142 working-age (20-65 years) Americans with MS (79.1% female) who participated in a national survey. The mean age of participants was 51.93 years (SD = 8.7). The dependent variable was employment status. The predictor variables included a set of demographic, functional, and MS variables. Results: The chi-squared automatic interaction detector (CHAID) analysis indicated that participants who were receiving Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) had significantly lower rates of employment (8.6%) than those who were not receiving SSDI (53.9%). For those not receiving SSDI, the most important factor predicting employment status was MS impact on physical functioning, as measured with the Multiple Sclerosis Impact Scale Physical Impact scale. Conclusion: The data-mining approach (i.e., CHAID analysis) provided detailed information and insight about interactions among demographic, functional, and clinical variables and employment status through the segmentation of the sample into mutually exclusive homogeneous subgroups. Implications for rehabilitation intervention, based on these subgroupings, are discussed.

Objectives: To examine the effect of rehabilitation technology interventions on the employment or job retention outcomes of individuals with multiple sclerosis (MS) served by the state-federal vocational rehabilitation program using a case-control study design. Participants: Data for this study were extracted from the Rehabilitation Services Administration Case Service Report database. The sample included 8,715 individuals with MS aged between 16 and 64 years old whose cases were closed between the fiscal years of 2007 and 2011. Outcome measure: Competitive employment. Results: The classification and regression tree method identified 5 homogeneous subgroups ranging from high to low propensity to receive rehabilitation technology services. Specifically, individuals with MS employed at application were most likely to receive rehabilitation technology intervention. The effect of rehabilitation technology on job retention was especially strong for individuals aged 35 years or older with a college education. Conclusion: These findings suggest that rehabilitation technology is an effective service for enhancing job retention outcomes of middle-aged and older adults with MS and provide valuable information for policymakers, health care providers, rehabilitation counselors, and educators.

The experience of living with multiple sclerosis (MS) can have a profound effect on employment. The impact of MS is a complex interaction of personal, medical, functional, financial, and psychosocial variables that ultimately results in up to 80% of persons with MS leaving their jobs within 10 years of their diagnosis. The aim of this study was to investigate whether the employment status of applicants with MS who were seeking services from state vocational rehabilitation (VR) agencies could be classified based on the type of services provided. A quantitative descriptive research design employing discriminant analysis (DA) was used to determine differential services received by employed and unemployed applicants with MS. Findings indicate that persons with MS who were employed at application were more likely to receive services geared toward career stabilization (i.e., assistive technology/accommodation services, counseling and guidance, and cognitive retraining-type rehabilitative services). Conversely, the unemployed applicant group had a higher propensity to receive services focused on job placement (i.e., job readiness, job seeking, and job placement services). Although a disparity persisted between the average worker in the United States and the outcomes achieved by VR service recipients regarding weekly wages and hours, services provided by the state-federal VR program reduce this disparity. In addition, the return on investment (ROI) associated with providing services to persons with MS was calculated as providing an $8 return for every dollar spent. Persons with MS employed at application had an ROI of more than $10 for every dollar spent. Implications for persons with MS, rehabilitation counselors, health care professionals, and policymakers are provided.

This study investigated the association between perceived stress and life satisfaction of Turkish college students. The "Satisfaction with Life Scale" (Diener, Emmons, Larsen, & Griffin, 1985), the "Perceived Stress Scale" (Cohen & Williamson, 1988), and a brief demographic questionnaire were administered to 235 college students in Turkey. The results indicated the students' scores on satisfaction with life scale were significantly negatively correlated with scores on perceived stress scale suggesting that overall life satisfaction of Turkish college students is adversely affected by college stress. In addition, we found that female students had higher life satisfaction than male students.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had significant adverse effects on the mental health of college students around the world. The purpose of the present study was to examine the constructs of Lazarus and Folkman's stress-appraisal-coping theory as predictors of subjective well-being in Chinese college students during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Participants included 244 Chinese college students. The final hierarchical regression model accounted for 71% of the variance in subjective well-being scores, a large effect size. In the final model, positive stress appraisal, hope, core self-evaluations and resilience remain significant after controlling for other variables. Coping flexibility were significant at the zero-order correlation level and at the step, it was entered into the equation. The effect of perceived stress dissipated in the presence of the positive person-environment contextual variables. Findings provide strong empirical support for the use of positive person-environment contextual variables as a stress management and subjective well-being model for college students during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Findings can be used to guide counselors, psychologists, and psychiatrists in college health services in the selection of brief screening psychological instruments and empirically supported psychosocial and counseling interventions to help college students develop character strengths, positive attitudes, and coping skills to effectively cope with COVID-related challenges and stressors and possible future outbreaks of novel contagious diseases and crisis situations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Diagnosis and treatment of childhood brain tumor have detrimental effects on physical, neurocognitive, psychological, and social functioning that lasts into adulthood and effects quality of life (QOL). To address diminished QOL, an Internet-based behavioral activation (BA) intervention was developed. Behavioral activation aims to increase activities and behaviors likely to improve thoughts, mood, and QOL. Participants included 127 young adult survivors of childhood brain tumor (SCBT) randomized into the experimental group (n= 64) or the waitlist control group (n= 63). The dependent variables included: life satisfaction, stress, and activation and were assessed with a two-way mixed analysis of variance (ANOVA). Results revealed a significant interaction between the intervention and time on life satisfaction, F(1, 125)=4.793, p = 0.03. There were no significant main effects over time for perceived stress and activation. Findings offer initial evidence that BA can be delivered over the internet and that Internet-delivered BA can have a positive effect on the QOL of young adult SCBT. Internet-based BA interventions can serve as a resource for young adult SCBT who desire to boost their mood and QOL. Behavioral activation (BA) is aimed at increasing positively reinforcing overt behaviors that are likely to promote improved thoughts, mood, and quality of life (QOL). Results indicated study participants in the experimental group demonstrated a significant gain in life satisfaction compared to the control group after receiving the Internet-based BA intervention; and provides support that the intervention was associated with positive changes across time. Findings offer initial evidence that BA can be delivered over the internet and that Internet-delivered BA can have a positive effect on the QOL of young adult survivors of childhood brain tumor (SCBT). Internet-based BA interventions can serve as a resource for young adult SCBT who desire to boost their mood and QOL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article continues the tradition of reviews documenting doctoral rehabilitation research. Doctoral dissertations completed during calendar years 2008-2010 from recognized doctoral rehabilitation programs were identified and reviewed using the same approach used by Tansey, Zanskas, and Phillips. Analysis of 88 dissertations resulted in a topical index of research topic, methodology, model, and type of statistical analysis that were considered independently and in relation to previous reviews. Among findings, the increase in predictive outcome studies observed in Tansey et al. was also observed in this review. An increase in research on specific clinical populations was also observed. Implications for the practice of rehabilitation counseling, rehabilitation education, and future research are discussed. (Contains 2 tables.)

The use of technology-enhanced coursework by rehabilitation counselor educators has increased dramatically over the last decade. In many cases, educators are using new technologies to support traditional modes of teaching and learning. Research conducted in technology-enhanced coursework has primarily focused on the cognitive and psychomotor domains of learning. However, little research exists regarding the development of students' affective knowledge (i.e., feelings, values, attitudes). In this paper, Bloom's (1956) taxonomy of learning domains is used as a paradigm to examine the strengths, limitations, and unknowns of technology-enhanced training as compared to traditional education settings. A review of empirical evidence and future research directions are discussed to facilitate greater discussion among rehabilitation counselor educators. (Contains 1 table.)

Assessment represents a foundational component of rehabilitation counseling services. The revised Council on Rehabilitation Education (CORE) standards implemented in 2004 resulted in the redesign of the knowledge and outcomes under the Assessment standard. The author reviews the current CORE standard for training in assessment within the context of rehabilitation counselors' roles as informed consumers of assessment. Further, the author reviews current educational practices and evaluation methods intended to develop competency in assessment. An alternative framework for providing training in assessment is provided. (Contains 2 tables and 1 figure.)

Since the establishment of the Council on Rehabilitation Education (CORE) in 1972, this regulatory organization has implemented a unique and highly innovative accreditation process that has had a profound effect on the standardization of curricula across this country and internationally. For the past 36 years, these standards have provided specific guidelines and expectations for the pre-service preparation of rehabilitation counselors. CORE standards have also acted as an applied influence on personnel preparation of related disciplines, at all levels of the rehabilitation educational continuum. The purpose of this article is to describe and discuss the direct and applied application of CORE standards across the educational continuum, including undergraduate studies in rehabilitation services, master's degree programs in rehabilitation counseling, doctoral programs in rehabilitation counselor education and rehabilitation psychology, and professional development and continuing educational programs.

For a number of conceptually and practically important reasons, reporting of effect size estimates, confidence intervals, and power in parameter estimation is increasingly being recognized as the preferred approach in social science research. Unfortunately, this practice has not yet been widely adopted in the rehabilitation or general counseling literature. One reason for this may be a lack of familiarity with the somewhat advanced statistical concepts involved (Bangert & Baumberger, 2005), and another, a lack of experience with the processes of calculating these statistics. This article addresses both conceptual and practical issues. The importance and benefits of reporting effect size estimates, confidence intervals, and power is discussed in relation to practical significance, and, through the use of a rehabilitation counseling-based example, the processes involved in the calculations are presented. (Contains 2 tables.)

The purpose of this study was to examine the outcomes of customized employment via an analysis using the U.S. Rehabilitation Services Administration Case Service Report (RSA-911) from Federal Fiscal Years of 2017 through 2020. The independent variables were demographics, barriers to employment, and types of state vocational rehabilitation agency (SVRA) services, and the dependent variables were competitive integrated employment status and weekly earnings at exit. Descriptive analyses, multiple logistic regression, and hierarchical multiple regression comprised data analysis. The study sample (N = 2,280) was 57.9% male and 42.1% female and had a mean age of 32.69 years (SD = 12.83). Seventy-seven percent identified themselves as White and 46.7% had a cognitive disability. The results of this study indicated that consumers who have cognitive disability and cultural barriers; are migrant farmworkers and/or dependents; and receive job placement assistance, short-term job supports, maintenance services, benefits counseling, and supported employment are more likely to get competitive integrated employment at exit (R 2 =.34). Multiple variables were found to be significantly related to weekly earnings at exit and explained 24% of the variance. Rehabilitation counselors should take into consideration the findings of this study to determine from which supports consumers may benefit to attain successful employment goals, particularly for customized employment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]