Rehabilitation readiness: A construct validity study of the University of Rhode Island Change Assessment for Vocational Counseling (URICA-VC) scale for persons with mental illness

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Gervey, Robert

Affiliations: University of Wisconsin-Madison, 432 East Campus Mall, Room 424, Madison, WI 53706, USA. E-mail: [email protected]

Abstract: Purpose/objectives: The study aims to confirm the factorial structure of the URICA-Vocational Counseling (URICA-VC), a scale that has been specifically designed for use in vocational rehabilitation programs. Furthermore, the study explores the clinical utility of the URICA-VC readiness construct within a sample of individuals with psychiatric disabilities seeking competitive employment. Research method/design: Using a sample of 296 individuals with psychiatric disabilities pooled from three separate programs, the author examined the construct validity of the scale using factorial structural analysis, discriminative validity and predictive validity tests. Results: The results confirm the URICA-VC three-factor solution. These three factors discriminate between individuals with varying levels of interest and involvement in vocational rehabilitation services. However, predictive validity is mixed. Conclusion/implications: The use of the URICA-VC for clinical decision-making and research purposes should be carefully considered given the degree of false negatives and positives generated by stage of change categories.

Keywords: Vocational rehabilitation readiness, stages of change, persons with psychiatric disabilities, construct factorial validation

DOI: 10.3233/JVR-2010-0522

Journal: Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation, vol. 33, no. 2, pp. 133-142, 2010