This study was aimed at investigating important factors influencing employment needs among elderly persons with disabilities. In our society, the number of elderly people has remarkably been increasing due to the extension of life-expectancy and the i...
This study was aimed at investigating important factors influencing employment needs among elderly persons with disabilities. In our society, the number of elderly people has remarkably been increasing due to the extension of life-expectancy and the improvement of health services. Now, Korea is entering in the aging society. Therefore, elderly people will be continuously increasing as well as the elderly people with disabilities.
It is necessary to examine the status and characteristics of these elderly people with disabilities for preparing rehabilitation and welfare policies.
This study especially focuses on the effect of employment needs among the elderly with disabilities to predict a path model established through the literature review. The questionnaire was composed of the following five scales: ① 6 items for the health scale, ② 13 items for the labor desire scale, ③ 15 items for the psychosocial support scale, ④ 13 items for the vocational preparation, ⑤ 20 items for the employment need scale. After examining the differences among the factor scores of each employment need, a comparison was made between the non-disabled elderly people and the elderly with disabilities under the age 50. Hypothetical path models established by current researcher were examined using linear multiple regression methods and the LISREL. For the data analysis purpose, the frequency analyses, factor analyses, correlation analysis, ANOVA, and the structural equation models were examined. The results of this study can be summarized as follows.
First, the results of factor analyses showed important categories of conceptual themes of employment need. A five-factorial model revealed the categories of ① health, ② labor desire, ③ psychosocial support, ④ vocational preparation, and ⑤ employment need respectively. The health factor was composed of the perceived condition of healthy and employment need. The labor desire was consisted of the passion and the intention of working. The psychosocial support was composed of the following five component; ① occupational support, ② reasonable adjust, ③ emotional support, ④ societal support, ⑤ non traditional thought pattern.
Second, the results of one-way ANOVA showed significant differences of employment need by age, education, marriage status, and the disability status. Also, the results of factorial ANOVA showed interactions based on the group and the educational level, as being statistically significant.
Third, verifying the hypothetical path model, it showed that the model was appropriate and statistically sound and could predict the employment need. Furthermore, the model was best fitted to and could predict the employment need more highly because the goodness of fit index in the whole model was within the allowed range.
In conclusion, the following research implications can be suggested.
First, due to the number of increasing elderly people with disabilities, it is required that the rehabilitation counselors focus on the magnification, the construction and the provision of social supports as an instrumental infra for vocational functioning among the elderly people with disabilities.
Second, further studies should focus on the relationship patterns between the personal characters and the environmental factors. Therefore, the labor market and studies concerning rehabilitation of the elderly people with disabilities should be continued.