Perceived Barriers to Employment Success: Are There Differences Between European American and African American VR Consumers?

Purpose: The primary purpose of this study was to investigate whether there were differences between European and African American vocational rehabilitation consumers' perceptions of the barriers they experience towards obtaining employment. A secondary purpose was to determine whether there were differences in these perceptions based upon gender or educational background. Method: The perceived barriers to employment success of 189 consumers of a state-federal vocational rehabilitation agency were evaluated using the Barriers to Success Inventory (BESI) between 2004-2007. Univariate (ANOVA) and multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) were used to investigate the effects of three independent variables (gender, ethnicity and educational background) on five dependent variables. The five dependent variables include the BESI Personal and Financial scale, the Emotional and Physical scale, the Career Decision-Making and Planning scale, the Job-Seeking and Knowledge scale, and the Training and Education scale. Results: The results indicate that African American consumers perceived significantly more barriers to obtaining a job or succeeding in employment than their Euro-American counterparts for all five dependent scale variables. Conclusions: African American participants' primary perceived barriers relate to practical matters, such as having sufficient education or training for the type of job sought, childcare, transportation, medical care, housing, and financial resources.