Rehabilitation counseling for industrially injured workers should consider career decision first before initiating a vocational rehabilitation plan and providing related services. The purpose of this study was to predict a path model by multivariate ...
Rehabilitation counseling for industrially injured workers should consider career decision first before initiating a vocational rehabilitation plan and providing related services. The purpose of this study was to predict a path model by multivariate analyses of casual relationships among demographical variables, career decision-making self-efficacy, decision-making style, and perceived social support which influence industrially injured workers career decision level both directly and indirectly.
The participants of this study are composed of 256 persons who have determined as having a permanent disability from the 1st grade to the 14st grade industrial disability in the year of 2005. Frequency and factor analyses, t-tests, ANOVA, correlation analyses, structural equation models were carried out for the data analysis purpose.
The results of this study can be summarized as follows.
First, there was a significant difference in social support, dependent decision-making style and intuitive decision-making style according to demographical variables such as sex, marriage, family's monthly income levels, period of work experience, number of injury, and the duration after the discharge from medical facilities.
Second, career decision levels were moderately correlated with dependent decision-making style and factors related to problem solving. The dependent decision-making style was highly correlated with factors of problem-solving and self-appraisal.
Third, as a result of verifying the first hypothetical path model, the decision-making style, social support, and career decision-making self-efficacy showed a direct effect affecting career decision. Especially, the decision-making style was more influenced by career decision level. When added important demographic variables to this model such as sex, number of dependent families, family's monthly income levels, number of injury, the decision-making style and social support, the path model showed a high correlation with career decision level as a final, modified model. Career decision-making self-efficacy had an indirect effect for career decision level. These two path models were statistically significant within the appropriate range.
The following conclusions and implications are based on the results of this study.
For the provision of services of industrially injured workers, family support is necessary. Magnification of social resources among industrially injured workers in the low-income and the diverse services should be developed for effective programs to the aged industrially injured workers. For concentrating on the concerns of accident proneness during the medical treatment period and providing individualized rehabilitation services, rehabilitation counselors deal with disability aspects initially.
Second, career decision levels were strongly influenced by personal, social and environmental variables rather than medical treatment, disability aspects and the degree of industrial disability. The number of injury occurrence was also an important variable. 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 industrially injured workers. It is needed that a systematical approach to decision-making situation, training to prevent chronical indecisiveness, and motivating clients continually is necessary.
Finally, further study should focus on the relationship between career decision level and job placement, development of career decision scales and career decision level of patient at the initial hospitalization stage for first hand medical treatment.