| The Americans with Disabilities Act (1990) is considered to be the most sweeping piece of legislation since the Civil Rights Act. However, there are some concerns about its impact on the employment status of individuals with psychiatric disabilities. This study aimed to explain the influence of various individual and organizational characteristics on the managers' own adherence with the ADA in the process of hiring. It specifically investigated the recruiting, interviewing, and hiring practices of managers with regard to individuals with psychiatric disabilities, and the influence of attitudes towards mental illness on these practices. A total of 195 supervisors/managers from for-profit and non-profit organizations with 15 or more employees completed a mail-in self-administered questionnaire. Hierarchical regression analysis using five factors that were theoretically hypothesized to contribute to manager adherence with the ADA was conducted. The five factors were individual respondent characteristics (disability status and race--being Caucasian), organizational characteristics (size--less than 300 employees, private, and non-profit), attitudes (towards disability and towards mental illness), perceived organizational adherence, and self-reported familiarity with the content of the ADA. Greater manager adherence was associated with greater perceived organizational adherence; with greater self-reported familiarity with the content of the ADA; and with the respondents being disabled and their race being Caucasian. Manager adherence was not associated either with attitudes towards disability and mental illness, or with the scores on a scale measuring knowledge of the ADA. The rates at which managers recruited, interviewed, or hired people with physical disabilities were consistently and significantly higher than they did people with psychiatric disabilities. The findings suggest that managers/supervisors will adhere to the principles and provisions of the ADA if they perceive their employing organization as ADA adherent. Mental health professionals need to advocate for the rights of people with psychiatric disabilities in places of employment and eliminate the disparities that exist between people with physical and psychiatric disabilities. |
