Affiliations: Rehabilitation Psychology Program, Institute of
Psychology, Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, IL, USA | Neurobehavioral Associates, P.C. | Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, Hong Kong
Polytechnic University, Hong Kong | Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, IL,
USA
Note: [] Address for correspondence: Chow S. Lam, Ph.D., Distinguished
Professor/Director Rehabilitation Psychology Program, Institute of Psychology,
Illinois Institute of Technology, 3105 S. Dearborn St., Chicago, IL 60616, USA.
Tel.: +1 312 567 3515; Fax: +1 312 567 3493; E-mail: [email protected]
Abstract: The Lam Assessment on Stages of Employment Readiness (LASER) was
developed to assess welfare recipients' employment readiness. The LASER
consists of 14 items corresponding to Prochaska's stages of change model
(Prochaska, DiClemente and Norcross, 1992). A sample of 149 welfare recipients
from a work training program participated in the study. The Confirmatory Factor
Analysis (CFA) supported the three factors structure corresponding to
Prochaska's Pre-Contemplation, Contemplation, and Action stages. A cluster
analysis classified the sample into three groups according to their LASER
scores. A six months follow-up on employment outcomes showed that those who
were in Pre-contemplation stage had the poorest employment outcome (25%), those
who were in the Action stage had the best outcome (56%) and those in the
Contemplation stage were in between (38%). Implications for work rehabilitation
and treatment matching were discussed.
Keywords: Assessment of Work Readiness, Stages of Change
