Personality characteristics and vocational outcomes of men with spinal cord injuries.

Abstract

The relationships between personality characteristics and employment, occupational handicap, job satisfaction, and life satisfaction were investigated in a sample of men with spinal cord injuries (n = 77) and men with other physical disabilities (n = 155). The purpose of the study was to combine two lines of rehabilitation research: (1) research on personality and spinal cord injury and (2) research on multivariate models of post-disability productivity. As a group, men with disabilities expressed a much greater tendency to experience negative emotions than the adult male norm group. As predicted, men with spinal cord injuries expressed greater Excitement-Seeking than either the norm group or the group of men with other physical disabilities. They also expressed more Impulsiveness and less Compliance than the norm group. Among men with spinal cord injuries, 50% of the variance in post-disability paid employment was accounted for by severity of disability, education, time since injury, and personality characteristics of Openness to Ideas and Openness to Fantasy. The probability of having an occupational handicap was estimated from age, marital status, Perceived Competence, and personality characteristics of Assertiveness and Openness. Use of this model resulted in a 40% improvement over chance classification. Fifty-six percent of the variance in Life Satisfaction among men with spinal cord injuries was accounted for by Neuroticism, Perceived Barriers to Employment, Perceived Competence, Transportation, and Openness to Values. Multivariate models of employment, occupational handicap, and life satisfaction were also constructed for the group of men with other physical disabilities. For the entire sample of employed men (n = 123), 19% of the variance in job satisfaction was accounted for by Neuroticism, Openness, and Importance of Work. This study provides good evidence that personality traits of Excitement-Seeking, Impulsiveness, and non-Compliance, while elevated among men with spinal cord injuries, are not a significant factor in determining post-disability employment, job satisfaction, occupational handicap, or life satisfaction among men with spinal cord injuries. This study also demonstrates that inclusion of personality variables in multivariate models of outcomes is necessary for a more adequate understanding of the complex process of rehabilitation. Further implications for rehabilitation practice and research were discussed.