Work

Validation studies of the Career Advancement Inventory for individuals with psychiatric disabilities.

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: OBJECTIVE: Measuring the career development of individuals with psychiatric disabilities is essential for assessing their employment preparedness and the impact of educational and vocational supports and programs. The primary purpose of the two studies presented was to develop a shorter version of an established instrument, the Career Advancement Inventory (CAI), that assesses the psychological preparedness for careers and employment among individuals with psychiatric disabilities. The CAI was originally developed using a community-based participatory research approach and a combination of Classical Test Theory and Item Response Theory resulting in a 111-item scale. METHODS: = 100) of individuals with psychiatric disabilities. RESULTS: The resultant 52-item Career Advancement Inventory-Short Version has a five-factor structure and demonstrated excellent norms with high reliability and moderate to high concurrent, divergent, and known groups validity. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: The Career Advancement Inventory-Short Version would be useful in assessing the career preparation of individuals with psychiatric disabilities and has implications for clinicians, rehabilitation providers, researchers, and educational and employment interventions for these populations. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).

Source: Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal

DOI: 10.1037/prj0000659

Authors: Uma Chandrika Millner, James Green, Amanda Nutton, Sarah Satgunam, Tracy Woods, Larry Ludlow