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Abstract
Background: Adults with serious mental illness (SMI) may struggle with expectations of failure in vocational rehabilitation. These expectations can be global and trait-like or performance-specific and related to ability.
Aims: To date, it has not been examined whether global or performance-specific defeatist beliefs are related to functional outcomes.
Method: The Indianapolis Vocational Intervention Program (IVIP) is a CBT intervention used to address expectations of failure and improve work performance. We examined the relationships between defeatist beliefs, self-esteem, social functioning, and work behaviors in 54 adults with SMI who completed IVIP within a work therapy program.
Results: Baseline work-specific defeatist beliefs were related to baseline self-esteem, employment attitude, and work behaviors. Decline in work-specific defeatist beliefs was associated with better social functioning, self-esteem, and work behaviors. Decline in global defeatist beliefs was only associated with improvements in social functioning.
Conclusions: Performance-specific expectations about work may be an appropriate therapeutic target to enhance work outcome in SMI.
Declaration of interest
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
This study was funded in part by a NIMH K23MH086755 to Dr. Choi.