Cunningham K, Wolbert R, Brockmeier M B
Department of Anthropology, Kalamazoo College, Michigan 49006, USA.
Am J Community Psychol. 2000 Aug;28(4):481-94. doi: 10.1023/a:1005136531079.
The work presented here, exploratory in nature, uses a comparative and qualitative approach to understand the factors associated with the ability of individuals with severe and persistent mental illness to successfully gain and maintain employment. Based on open-ended interviews with individuals in an Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) program, we compare the experiences of those who have been successful gaining and maintaining employment, with those who have been successful gaining but not maintaining work, and those who have been unsuccessful gaining employment. The three groups seemed to differ in three significant ways: (1) in the ways the individuals talked about their illness, (2) in the ways the individuals talked about work, and (3) in the strategies they described for coping with bad days. In each of these areas individuals' awareness of and attitude toward their illness was significant. The findings have clear implications for agencies working to help people with severe and persistent mental illness obtain and maintain employment.
本文所呈现的工作本质上具有探索性，采用比较和定性的方法来理解与严重持续性精神疾病患者成功获得并维持就业能力相关的因素。基于对积极社区治疗（ACT）项目中的个体进行的开放式访谈，我们将成功获得并维持就业的个体的经历，与成功获得但未能维持工作的个体以及未能成功获得就业的个体的经历进行比较。这三组在三个重要方面似乎存在差异：（1）个体谈论自身疾病的方式；（2）个体谈论工作的方式；（3）他们描述的应对糟糕日子的策略。在这些领域中的每一个，个体对自身疾病的认知和态度都很重要。这些发现对于致力于帮助严重持续性精神疾病患者获得并维持就业的机构具有明确的启示。
