The Relationship Among Demographic Variables, Professionalism, and Level of Involvement in a State Occupational Therapy Association

• Published in: Occupational therapy in health care Vol. 12; no. 2-3; pp. 53 - 72
• Main Authors: Breeden, Lori E., Fultz, Regina L., Gersbacher, Cynthia A., Murrell, Jennifer L., Pedersen, Kristen D., Thomas, Kristine E., Hanna-Stewart, Julie A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Informa UK Ltd 2000; Taylor & Francis
• Subjects: demographic characteristics; Involvement; membership; occupational therapy; organization; professionalism
• ISSN: 0738-0577; 1541-3098
• DOI: 10.1080/J003v12n02_04

Research on professional occupations has defined varying criteria that an occupation must meet to be considered a profession. Involvement by the members in their professional organization is a recurrent theme. A questionnaire consisting of Hall's Occupational Inventory, an involvement scale, and a demographic survey was used to determine the relationship among three factors of the Indiana Occupational Therapy Association members: (a) demographics, (b) professional attributes, and (c) involvement in a state occupational therapy organization. Determining these relationships is significant for understanding membership and involvement in a state occupational therapy association. Findings indicated significant differences in terms of hourly involvement in a state occupational therapy association between respondents with entry-level and post-professional degrees and respondents who were married and those who were not married.