B-75 A Preliminary Investigation of Predictors of Employment and Perception of Ability to Work in Combat-Exposed Veterans

Abstract

Abstract Objective The purpose of this study was twofold: (1) to evaluate whether perception of one’s ability to work (a subjective rating) predicts employment status (an objective marker of functioning) in a sample of combat-exposed Veterans, and (2) to examine predictors of employment status and perception of work ability to determine whether the same sets of variables that predict employment status also predict perception of one’s ability to work. Method Combat-exposed Operation Enduring Freedom/Operation Iraqi Freedom Veterans (N = 83) completed self-report questionnaires assessing demographic characteristics, combat-related experiences, and psychiatric and neurobehavioral/health-related symptoms. Veterans also underwent a comprehensive neuropsychological assessment. Primary outcomes of interest were employment status (unemployed versus employed) and Veterans’ rating of a perceived decline in work ability (yes versus no). Results Logistic regression analyses showed that perception of work ability significantly predicted employment status (p = .046). Moreover, psychiatric and neurobehavioral/health-related symptoms significantly predicted employment status and perception of work ability (p = .001-.017), whereas demographic characteristics (i.e., service-connection disability rating) and combat-related experiences (i.e., number of traumatic brain injuries) only predicted perception of work ability (p = .010-.029). Cognition was not significantly associated with employment status or perception of work ability (p’s > .05). Conclusions Altogether, these findings support the notion that perception of one’s ability to work plays an important role in employment-related outcomes in combat-exposed Veterans. Future studies using larger samples are needed to confirm these findings, but our preliminary results suggest that perception of work ability may be a particularly important treatment target in this population.