This proposed project will determine the extent to which job task requirements and health status affect the age-specific probabilities of work disability or retirement of persons with severe mental illnesses. The primary research questions are: 1. What are the patterns of work activity and retirement of persons with mental illnesses? 2. To what extent do job task requirements and the physical health of persons with severe mental illnesses result in work disability or retirement? 3. What specific policy recommendations are needed to improve worker accommodation and employment opportunities for persons with severe mental illnesses. The analyses will be based on panel data and retrospective histories contained in four data sets: 1) the Epidemiologic Catchment Area Survey of Mental Disorders, 2) the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys I, 3) the New Beneficiary Surveys, and 4) the 1978 Survey of Disability and Work. In addition to this, prevalence data contained in the Mental Health Supplement to the 1989 National Health Interview Survey will also be examined. Data on job characteristics will be obtained from the 4th Edition of the Dictionary of Occupational Titles and will be merged onto the respondent records for each of the data sets mentioned above. A multivariate hazards approach will be used to identify the relationships between the severity of mental illness, job task requirements, and comorbidity on the age-specific probabilities of work disablement or retirement. A variety of methods will be used to identify and measure these relationships, including: 1) event history methods, 2) logistic regression procedures, and 3) multistate life table methods. Finally, the results of the proposed analysis will be evaluated with respect to worker accommodation issues. Policy recommendations will be made regarding the implementation of the employment discrimination provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
