Assessing Social Integration in Employment Settings: Current Knowledge and Future Directions

Based on a review of descriptive studies found in the employment literature from 1985 through 1995, we classified empirical measures that have been used to assess the social integration of employees with disabilities. In addition, we aggregated findings that described social interaction patterns in employment and summarized similarities and differences between the interactions of employees with and without disabilities. Ten categories of measures of social interaction were identified, and occurrence of social interaction was found to vary by environmental context and presence of disability. Findings were then compared to those of social skills interventions conducted in the workplace. Although aggregated findings revealed important information about social integration in work settings, critical gaps were found in current knowledge bases.