Race and the workforce: Occupational status, aspirations, and stereotyping among African American children.

This study examined whether African American children's perceptions of occupational status and their own vocational interests are affected by racial segregation of the workforce. Children (N = 92) rated familiar occupations with respect to status, desirability, and stereotyping. Children also rated novel jobs that had been depicted with African Americans, European Americans, or both African and European Americans. As predicted, for familiar jobs, children's judgments were linked to their knowledge of racial segregation of these jobs. In addition, novel occupations that had been depicted with African Americans were judged as lower in status than the identical occupations that had been depicted with European Americans, demonstrating a causal influence of workers' race on children's judgments. Children's age and socioeconomic background moderated their occupational judgments. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Knowledge of occupations: Is it important in occupational choice?

Examined the knowledge that 648 high school senior boys had of selected occupations in relation to academic achievement, social status, formulation of future plans, and personal experiences. Ss rated 12 occupations in terms of selected worker trait requirements needed for successful performance of a job and were asked to indicate when they did not know the required worker traits. A summation of "don't know" responses represented the degree to which their knowledge was considered to be constricted. All Ss, regardless of their academic achievement, social status, and formulation or nonformulation of future plans, had a greater knowledge of low-level occupations than of high-level occupations. Personal experiences were positively related to the knowledge students had of occupations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Work and leisure: transcending the dichotomy

The contribution of a balance of work and leisure to health and a sense of well-being is a common sense assumption in everyday knowledge as well as in occupational therapy. The impact of the organization and balance of occupations in daily life on health, adaptation, life satisfaction, and a sense of well-being are central issues in occupational science. One of occupational science's potential contributions to society is the ability to provide understanding and insights that transcend common sense assumptions and everyday knowledge about occupations. This article will address, through a review of the literature, some of the limitations inherent in beliefs about a healthy balance of work and leisure. It will demonstrate how distinctions between work and leisure are culturally bound and perpetuate the assumption that they are dichotomous experiences. This dichotomy is shown to be a false one and must be transcended in order to explore the question of what is a healthy balance within daily life. This article concludes with considerations for occupational therapy research and practice that may arise from transcendence of the dichotomy of work and leisure.     

Status and the judgment of occupational prestige.

"A test was made of the hypothesis that high status subjects would displace their judgments of moderate and low prestige occupations towards the low end of the prestige dimension. A comparison of the judgments of Yale students and previously published judgments of a nationwide sample supported the hypothesis. The results were attributed to the high status (Yale) subjects using their own actual or expected positions on the occupational prestige dimensions as internal anchors. Two explanations [Helson (1948), Volkmann (1951)] of the anchor effect were discussed." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Locus of control and female occupational aspiration.

Investigated the relationship of locus of control to the ideal and real occupational aspirations (innovative, moderate, and traditional) of 139 11th-grade females. All Ss were given Rotter's Internal-External Control Scale and an occupational aspiration questionnaire constructed by the author. Innovative occupations are those in which fewer than 30% of the workers are women; moderate occupations are those in which 30-50% are women; and traditional occupations are those in which more than 50% are women. Innovative choices were made more often as an ideal aspiration than as a real aspiration; and reciprocally, traditional occupations were chosen less often as an ideal aspiration than as a real aspiration. Significant association was found between locus of control and ideal occupational aspiration and between locus of control and the presence or absence of discrepancy between ideal and real occupational aspiration. (18 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

High school students' occupational interest as a function of projected sex ratios in male-dominated occupations.

To demonstrate that the sexual composition of a field influences a woman's career interests and preferences, a study was designed to determine the effects of projected shifts in the sexual composition of 2 occupations presently dominated by males. 144 male and female high school students were led to believe that the proportion of women in one of those occupations would be 10% (token), 30% (minority), or 50% (equal) in 15 yrs. Results indicate that, as predicted, projections of more-balanced sex ratios encouraged greater occupational interest among women; however, a totally balanced sex ratio was shown to reduce the degree of occupational interest expressed by men. (6 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Occupational prestige and its relationship to traditional and nontraditional views of women's roles.

Considers that although the social status of occupations has remained stable over the past 4 decades, much information about occupational prestige has been derived from studies that assume a masculine context. 102 women's caucus members, 107 female secretarial and clerical workers, 110 female undergraduates, and 78 nonworking women (mean ages = 28.4, 30.2, 21.1, and 29.5, respectively; mean yrs of college education = 3, 1.5, 3, and 2, respectively) ranked 25 occupations by prestige and perceived suitability for women. The various groups agreed on the prestige accorded to various occupations. However, the same groups showed clear differences when asked whether the occupations were appropriate for women: women's caucus members were most likely to rate an occupation as appropriate for women, followed by undergraduates, secretarial employees, and nonworking women. (19 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Risk taking and vocational choice: A reevaluation.

Tested whether Ss preferring high levels of risk tend to choose high-risk occupations more often than low-risk occupations when asked to choose between them. Three separate risk-taking measures were used to divide 96 college freshmen and sophomores into high and low risk takers. Degree of occupational risk was defined by having Ss rate occupational titles according to perceived vocational success and probable income. Three Type III analyses of variance, one for each risk-taking measure, were carried out on the number of high-risk occupations chosen. Results show that risk-taking preferences were not significantly related to Ss' vocational choices on the selection tasks. Subsequent analyses compared the risk preferences of vocationally decided and undecided Ss, but no significant differences were found. The relationship of findings to previous research is discussed. (15 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Congruence between self-image and occupational stereotypes in students entering gender-dominated occupations.

Assessed gendered attributes in 6 occupational images and in the self-images of university students, and how the congruence of these attributes between self- and occupational images determines occupational choice. The Revised Interpersonal Adjective Scales (LAS-R) were used by 500 university students to describe 3 female- (nurse, rehabilitation therapist, teacher), and 3 male-dominated occupations (engineer, lawyer, physician). Six distinct occupational stereotypes were found, with male-dominated occupations viewed as less affiliative and more dominant than female-dominated occupations. In a 2nd study, a sample of 567 women and men entering these fields completed the LAS-R as a self-report measure. Analyses compared self-images to the 6 occupational stereotypes, and found the greatest congruence between self-image and intended occupation. Men, and generally Ss entering male-dominated fields, were less affiliative than women or Ss entering female-dominated fields. (French abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Job characteristics and the incidence of myocardial infarction

In Sweden, there are large differences in the incidence of myocardial infarction (MI) among occupational groups. These differences may to some extent be due to work environment factors, including psychosocial job strain. The aim of the present study was to estimate the relative risk (RR) of MI for Swedish men and women in high strain occupations as compared to those in low strain occupations. The association between job strain and MI was studied by case-control methods. The study base comprised the population of four Swedish counties from 1976-1981 and of Stockholm county from 1976-1984. Incident cases of MI were identified through hospital discharges together with deaths. Information about occupation was obtained from the 1970 and the 1975 censuses and individuals were characterized with regard to job strain on the basis of their job title. In all, 9295 cases and 26 101 controls with unchanged type of occupation from 1970 to 1975 were included in the analyses. Men and women aged < 65 in high strain occupations showed an RR of 1.1-1.4, and men age < 55 an RR of 1.2-1.6 compared to those in low strain occupations. Similar results were obtained in analyses of male white and blue collar workers respectively. If the association between job strain and MI is causal this could be of great importance in explaining differences in MI incidence among occupational groups in Sweden.     

Self-monitoring processes and Holland Vocational Preferences among college students.

Examined the association between self-monitoring and occupational preferences. 237 undergraduates completed Snyder and Gangestad's (1986) revised self-monitoring scale and Holland's (1977) Vocational Preference Inventory (VPI). Regression analyses showed that men who valued congruence between their beliefs and behavior (i.e., low self-monitors) preferred social occupations. Men who were inclined to modify their behavior to fit social situations (i.e., high self-monitors) preferred enterprising occupations. In contrast, high self-monitoring women preferred artistic occupations. It is argued that these gender-neutral occupations permit high self-monitoring women to use their social skills but without the constraints found in male dominated enterprising occupations. Results support the assumption that people prefer occupations compatible with their social skills. Implications for career counseling and further research are noted. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Further assessments of a three-component model of occupational commitment: Generalizability and differences across occupations.

The authors assessed the factor structure of J. P. Meyer, N. J. Allen, and C. A. Smith's (1993) measure of occupational commitment based on responses from 232 employees (166 men and 66 women) in a variety of occupations within a single organization. Confirmatory factor analysis suggested that 3 forms of occupational commitment are distinguishable (affective, continuance, and normative commitment) across occupations. The authors also examined correlates of the 3-component model as well as differences in occupational commitment levels across occupations. The 3 forms of occupational commitment relate differentially to a variety of variables, providing further evidence for the construct validity of J. P. Meyer et al.'s model. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Current Perspectives on Occupational Cancer Risks

On the basis of the International Agency for Research on Cancer's evaluations of occupational exposures, 22 occupational agents are classified as human carcinogens and an additional 22 agents as probable human carcinogens. In addition, evidence of increased risk of cancer was associated with particular industries and occupations, although no specific agents could be identified as etiologic factors. The main problem in the construction and interpretation of such lists is the lack of detailed qualitative and quantitative knowledge about exposures to known or suspected carcinogens. The recent examples of recognized occupational carcinogens, such as cadmium, beryllium, and ethylene oxide, stress the importance of the refinement in the methods for exposure assessment and for statistical analysis on the one hand and the potential benefits from the application of biomarkers of exposure and early effect on the other hand. Other trends that may be identified include the increasing practice of multicentric studies and investigations of exposures relevant to white collar workers and women. Finally, there is a need for investigation of occupational cancer risks in developing countries.     

Cluster analyses of interest inventory scales as tests of Holland's occupational classification.

Compared J. L. Holland's occupational categories with groups of occupations that resulted from the application of L. L. McQuitty and J. A. Clark's iterative intercolumnar correlational analysis to the scales of the Strong Vocational Interest Blank, the Minnesota Vocational Interest Inventory, and the Kuder Occupational Interest Survey for men and women. Results indicate that clusters of occupations exist that are internally consistent, and these usually agreed with the groups of occupations in Holland's classification. The hierarchical structure of the clusters followed the hexagonal ordering of Holland's occupational categories suggested in other studies. In addition, the usefulness of all 3 letters in Holland's occupational classification was supported. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Occupational sex role stereotypes and social desirability among counselor trainees.

Reviewers of the literature have concluded that sex bias frequently occurs in career counseling and is operative in both male and female counselors. In order to test whether counselors hold preconceptions about occupations, a study was conducted that incorporated 2 levels of counselor sex with 4 levels of stimulus occupations in a mixed factorial design. The dependent variables were degree and direction of sex role stereotypes and degree of social desirability, as measured by scales of the Bem Sex Role Inventory. 27 male and 27 female graduate students in counselor training completed the Bem Sex Role Inventory for each of the stimulus occupations. ANOVAs and mean comparisons on scores representing the dependent variables led to the following conclusions: (a) Males do not differ from females in degree of occupational stereotypes. (b) Occupations differ in degree of stereotypes elicited. (c) Males do not differ from females in direction of occupational stereotypes. (d) Occupations differ in direction of stereotypes elicited. (e) Males do not differ from females in degree of occupational social desirability perceived. (f) Occupations do not differ in degree of social desirability perceived by counselors. (9 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The decrease of risk of occupational diseases among rail road workers: future strategies

Diagnosis, registration and prophylaxis of occupational diseases among railway workers remain unsatisfactory so far. Thus, creation of the Railway Register of Occupational Diseases is essential. The Register includes several blocks related to each other and covering enterprises, medical and social institutions. Given relatively low primary occupational morbidity in railway transport, the Register's software considers incidence of occupational diseases in Russian Federation among analogous occupations, matched in working environment classes, length of service and occupational hazard. The authors obtained the matched incidences of occupational diseases, and can extrapolate the relationships revealed to railway workers, forecast high risk of occupational diseases among these workers.     

Social role quality and psychological well being in employed black and white midlife women

This study examined relationships among job, partner, and parent role quality and psychological well being in midlife black (n = 51) and white (n = 56) women employed in occupations varying by socioeconomic status (SES). Oversampling for black women ensured balanced occupational representation, allowing investigation uncontaminated by SES. Instruments included Baruch and Barnett's Rewards and Concerns Scales, Bradburn Affect Balance Scale, and Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D). Better well being scores were reported by black women than whites, and by professionals than non-professionals. However, when race, occupational group, and menopausal status were held constant in a multiple regression analysis, partner role quality was significantly related to both well being scores, parent role quality was related to life satisfaction only, and job role quality was not related to either. Nurses in the workplace can help women identify problematic aspects of their multiple social roles, and facilitate resolution of problems to improve worker health.     

Intimacy and identity status in young adults.

Intimacy status in 48 men and 44 women (aged 21–35 yrs) was investigated in relation to ego-identity status in occupation, religion, politics, and sex role. All Ss were college educated, and most were employed in professional or skilled occupations. An intimacy status measure developed by J. L. Orlofsky et al (1973) was modified for use with adults and expanded by the addition of the merger status, describing relationships in which one partner dominated the other. There were no significant sex differences in intimacy or identity status; and as predicted by E. H. Erikson's (1963) theory, intimacy status was generally related to identity status. This relationship was not observed for occupational identity in either sex. It is suggested that Erikson's theory regarding the pattern of identity and intimacy resolutions may be extended from men to women, at least for the type of sample studied in the present investigation. (25 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Modeling Construction Occupational Demand: Case of Hong Kong

Appropriate training can only be developed if training needs for specific skills are carefully identified. This paper, further to an aggregate model developed previously, aims to forecast the occupational share of the aggregate manpower demand for the construction industry of Hong Kong. The forecast, based on existing manpower statistics, is divided into two levels: broad occupations and detailed occupations. The broad occupational demand forecasting model is formulated using a time-series regression analysis to derive the relationship between the occupational share and the construction output cycle, technology, and various work-mix variables; whereas exponential smoothing technique is used to forecast the share of detailed occupations. This occupational demand estimation can provide solid information to facilitate manpower planning. It enables the policymakers to foresee the trends of occupational manpower demand and formulate policies and training and retraining programs tailored to deal effectively with the industry’s human resource requirements in this critical sector of the economy. Although the study focuses on developing models for the Hong Kong construction labor market, the adopted methodology can be applied in other labor markets to develop such models for manpower planning.