Reasons to worry about employment during COVID-19 among Veterans with disabilities

Abstract: COVID-19 has resulted in enormous labour consequences for persons with disabilities, resulting in worries about their economic futures. While limited research assesses these worries in the general population, research to date has not examined employment-related worries for veterans with disabilities. The purpose of this study was to assess if veteran status results in elevated employment-related worries among persons with disabilities. Data from 219 employed persons with disabilities was extracted from a larger dataset of 269 persons with disabilities and chronic conditions. Respondents were asked to provide information on their demographic background (including veteran status) and respond to questions about their worries about job loss, COVID-19-related concerns, perceived COVID-19 stress, and functional limitations. After controlling for the explained variance presented by demographic variables, perceived COVID-19 stress, and functional limitations, hierarchical multiple regression analysis revealed veteran status was significantly and positively related to worry about job loss. In the context of COVID-19, veterans with disabilities face elevated worries about job loss compared to the general population of disabled persons. Future research needs to examine the reasons for this high level of worry to create veteran-informed interventions.

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