Examining Psychological Self-Sufficiency Among Low-Income Jobseekers with Mental Health Barriers

Philip Young P. Hong, Rana Hong, Sangmi Choi, David R. Hodge

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    1 Scopus citations

    Abstract

    The study is to investigate psychological self-sufficiency—the force within someone that activates cognitive and non-cognitive process of shifting perceived barriers into hope actions—as it relates to economic self-sufficiency among jobseekers with mental health barriers. Among a sample of 2455 low-income jobseekers in job readiness programs at six community-based agencies in Chicago, a subsample of 424 who self-identified as having mental illness barriers are selected to analyze the relationships between employment hope, employment barriers, and economic self-sufficiency using structural equation modeling. Results indicate that employment hope mediates the path between perceived employment barriers and economic self-sufficiency. The study further highlights the positive effects of employment barriers on employment hope among jobseekers with perceived mental illnesses. The findings support growing evidence that psychological self-sufficiency is positively associated with gaining economic self-sufficiency in workforce development programs.

    Original languageEnglish (US)
    Pages (from-to)178-188
    Number of pages11
    JournalCommunity Mental Health Journal
    Volume57
    Issue number1
    DOIs
    StatePublished - Jan 2021

    Keywords

    • Economic self-sufficiency
    • Employment barriers
    • Employment hope
    • Mental health
    • Psychological self-sufficiency
    • Structural equation modeling

    ASJC Scopus subject areas

    • Health(social science)
    • Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health
    • Psychiatry and Mental health

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