Factors influencing disabled people’s professional activity: the success and risk factors

Abstract

The article is the forth one prepared by our team in the series of research on life quality and occupational activity among people with ability limitations („Nauka” 1/2008, „Nauka” 2/2008, „Nauka” 3/2008). The aim of the presented analysis was to create the complex model of determinants for occupational activities of people with disabilities that takes into account the broadest possible look-out. That is why we used the variables from all the fields analyzed in the previous papers in this series i.e. (1) SES; (2) characteristics of disabilities (the type, the degree, the age of acquiring disability); (3) upbringing characteristics in childhood; (4) social network; (5) personal capacities. In order to discover the significant determinants of occupational activities and quality of life among people with different disabilities – which could be both risk and success factors – we have divided the subjects into four groups according to two variables: (1) occupationally active or inactive patients and (2) patients satisfied/dissatisfied with their own income.The group with the largest observed number of risk factors has consisted of the subjects that have been inactive (non-looking for a job) and unsatisfied with their own income. Gender, city size, education, received support, social relations, disability characteristics, upbringing characteristics and personality traits have turned out to be significant risk/success factors. Moreover the results show that in different groups of people with disabilities we find different settings of risk and success factors.