[Capability to work in vocational rehabilitation of the severe mentally ill: initial predictors and change after six months].

OBJECTIVE

Persons with severe mental illnesses often need additional vocational rehabilitation in order to gain or regain an adequate capability to work. The objective of this paper is the assessment of work capability and its development throughout the rehabilitation process, as well as clarification of its correlating variables, and predictors.

METHOD

We present data obtained at two different points in time (at rehabilitation program intake and at the six month mark of being in the program) from a sample of 117 rehabilitants. Capability to work was assessed by using the adapted German version of the Work Personality Profile (WPP), called the Arbeitsfähigkeitenprofil (AFP). Additionally, sociodemographic, intellectual, psychopathological, and subjective quality of life measures were examined.

RESULTS

The AFP sum score revealed a significant change after six months' participation in the rehabilitation program. More precisely, for the subscales "capability to learn" and "communication skills", a significant increase was obtained, whereas "social adaptation" showed a non-significant improvement.

CONCLUSION

Our results show that the rehabilitants' "capability to work" had improved at the six month mark of the rehabilitation program. It appears that baseline variables of the AFP subscales at program intake were largely related to psychopathology and subjective quality of life measures. Sociodemographic parameters, educational level, and attention measures were associated with work capability improvement after six months.