The Clinical Use of the Career Ability Placement Survey vs. the GATB with Persons Having Psychiatric Disabilities

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the clinical utility of the Career Ability Placement Survey (CAPS) as a tool in the vocational assessment of persons having a psychiatric disability. The CAPS and the General Aptitude Test Battery (GATB) were administered to a sample of 91 individuals with varied DSM-II/ psychiatric diagnoses. Vocational aptitude scores yielded by the CAPS were compared to those obtained on conceptually similar tests of the GATB. Correlation coefficients were used to evaluate the relationship between the two measures. In addition, the independence or degree of differentiation of the tests within each battery was assessed and confirmed by factor analysis. High positive correlations were obtained for conceptually similar tests. While test intercorrelations within each battery exhibited an acceptable level of independence, greater independence was found within the CAPS structure. Factor analysis confirmed that the CAPS contained a three-factor solution, whereas the GATB showed a two-factor structure. These results, coupled with the fact that the CAPS is more efficiently administered, indicated that the CAPS might have clinical advantages when used with this population.