Assessing readiness for employment in vocational rehabilitation: An abbreviated measure

The purpose of this study was to examine the measurement structure and construct validity of a brief measure of employment readiness that was based on the Stages of Change (SOC) theory. The study sample consisted of 277 state Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) clients from several states. Results of an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) revealed that the employment readiness scale comprised four distinct factors contained in the SOC theory: pre-contemplation, contemplation, preparation, and action. Correlational analyses revealed that participants' levels of employment readiness were associated with other important indices of VR success (i.e., job-seeking self-efficacy, job performance self-efficacy, positive outcome expectations, VR engagement). Implications for future research and practice are presented.