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Starting a New Job: The Social and Emotional Experience of People with Intellectual Disabilities

Starting a New Job: The Social and Emotional Experience of People with Intellectual Disabilities Background Employment is viewed by policy makers as both a human right and as a means of changing the marginalized status of people with intellectual disabilities, with important social and emotional benefits. However, there has been little longitudinal research examining the experience of people with intellectual disabilities in the workplace. Methods Thirty‐five individuals with mild to borderline intellectual disabilities participated in this study. They were recruited from supported employment agencies in Scotland. A longitudinal approach was adopted, with the participants being interviewed around the time of starting their jobs, and again 9–12 months later. Results The content analyses of the semi‐structured interviews indicated that the participants perceived continuing benefits from entering mainstream employment, including more purposeful lives and increased social status. However, over the follow‐up period the participants reported few social opportunities that extended beyond the workplace, and an anxiety about their competence to meet employers’ demands remained a concern for some. Conclusions The discussion addresses the importance of understanding work in relation to the participants’ wider lives, along with the longer‐term role for supported employment agencies to help people achieve their social and emotional goals in a vocational context. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities Wiley

Starting a New Job: The Social and Emotional Experience of People with Intellectual Disabilities

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References (4)

Publisher
Wiley
Copyright
© 2009 The Authors. Journal compilation © 2009 Blackwell Publishing Ltd
ISSN
1360-2322
eISSN
1468-3148
DOI
10.1111/j.1468-3148.2009.00497.x
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Background Employment is viewed by policy makers as both a human right and as a means of changing the marginalized status of people with intellectual disabilities, with important social and emotional benefits. However, there has been little longitudinal research examining the experience of people with intellectual disabilities in the workplace. Methods Thirty‐five individuals with mild to borderline intellectual disabilities participated in this study. They were recruited from supported employment agencies in Scotland. A longitudinal approach was adopted, with the participants being interviewed around the time of starting their jobs, and again 9–12 months later. Results The content analyses of the semi‐structured interviews indicated that the participants perceived continuing benefits from entering mainstream employment, including more purposeful lives and increased social status. However, over the follow‐up period the participants reported few social opportunities that extended beyond the workplace, and an anxiety about their competence to meet employers’ demands remained a concern for some. Conclusions The discussion addresses the importance of understanding work in relation to the participants’ wider lives, along with the longer‐term role for supported employment agencies to help people achieve their social and emotional goals in a vocational context.

Journal

Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual DisabilitiesWiley

Published: Sep 1, 2009

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