Predictors of post-hospital employment status for psychiatric patients in Hong Kong: From perceptions of rehabilitation professionals to empirical evidence

Fifty participants with mental illness and a concrete discharge plan were s elected from two mental hospitals in Hong Kong and assessed on their Psycho social support by the Chinese Version of the Significant Others Scale, soci al vocational competence using the Workshop Behavior Checklist and the Voca tional Social Skills Scale, medical history, work history, and demographic variables. At three months after discharge, the employed participants (n = 12) were shown to have better psychosocial support and social vocational co mpetence than the unemployed participants (n = 24) by univariate comparison . The employed and unemployed participants did not differ in their medical and work history, and demographic variables. Implications of the results fo r rehabilitation programming are discussed.