Demographic, psychosocial, and health- and disability-related factors associated with psychological distress among people with physical disabilities.

OBJECTIVES: Psychological distress among people with physical disabilities (PWPD) might affect their physical morbidity, reduce their quality and duration of life, and increase their need for health care services. Therefore, it is essential to explore the factors that might affect psychological distress among PWPD. The current study assesses the association between demographic factors (gender, education, and employment status), health- and disability-related factors (type of disability, visibility of the disability, disability duration, and self-rated health), and psychosocial factors (perceived discrimination and perceived social support), and psychological distress among PWPD in Israel. DESIGN: The data were collected through structured questionnaires administered to a sample of 433 PWPD. RESULTS: The findings suggest negative associations between education, employment status, duration of disability, self-rated health, and perceived social support, and psychological distress among PWPD. In addition, the findings indicate a positive association between perceived discrimination and psychological distress. No association was found between gender, type of disability, and visibility of the disability, and psychological distress. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: PWPD who are unemployed, less educated, with a shorter duration of disability and lower self-rated health, as well as those who feel more discriminated against and less social support, are more likely to experience higher levels of psychological distress. Therefore, it is important to raise PWPD's awareness of their rights and of the social possibilities and services available to them, to provide them with mental help, to engage in extensive social activities aimed at providing resources to PWPD, and to act to eliminate discrimination. (PsycINFO Database Record

Perceived social support as a moderator between perceived discrimination and subjective well-being among people with physical disabilities in Israel.

PURPOSE: Perceived social support has gained importance as a significant preventive factor of depressive symptoms and as helpful for rebuilding feelings of self-worth and subjective well-being among people with physical disabilities. The current study examined whether perceived social support moderates the association between perceived discrimination and subjective well-being among people with physical disabilities in Israel. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Data were collected by means of structured questionnaires among a convenience sample of 433 people with physical disabilities in Israel and hierarchical multiple regression was performed. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: The findings reveal that perceived social support has a moderating role in the association between perceived discrimination and subjective well-being among people with physical disabilities, such that those with low and moderate levels of perceived social support showed a negative association between perceived discrimination and subjective well-being, while those with high levels of perceived social support showed no association between perceived discrimination and subjective well-being. Findings are discussed in light of the social model of disability, and practical implications are suggested. Implications for Rehabilitation A negative association was found between perceived discrimination and subjective well-being among people with physical disabilities with low and moderate levels of perceived social support. Professionals working with people with physical disabilities must acknowledge the importance of social support for people with physical disabilities and for their families. Professionals working with people with physical disabilities should take a proactive approach to locating disabled people who do not receive or do not have adequate social support and offer them assistance. Professionals working with people with physical disabilities should engage in wide social activities aimed at providing resources and opportunities to service beneficiaries. Society bears the collective responsibility to act in order to reduce the social problem of discrimination against people with disabilities, as well as to raise public awareness of this issue.

Predictors of the Self-Reported Likelihood of Seeking Social Worker Help among People with Physical Disabilities.

The current study assesses the association between demographic factors, attitudes toward social workers, the stigma attached to seeking social worker help, perceived social support, and psychological distress-and the self-reported likelihood of seeking social worker help, among people with physical disabilities in Israel. Data collection utilized structured questionnaires, administered to a sample of 435 people with physical disabilities. The findings suggest that women, older respondents, people with more positive attitudes toward social workers, with higher levels of psychological distress and of social support, and with a lower level of stigma, reported a greater likelihood of seeking social workers help. The study's conclusion is that there are certain avoidance factors among people with physical disabilities that might discourage them from seeking social workers' help. Therefore, it is important that social workers identify these factors and develop interventions aimed at encouraging people with physical disabilities to seek social workers help in case of need, and also develop practices adjusted to the unique needs of people with physical disabilities.

Psychosocial adjustment of Israeli veterans with disabilities: Does employment status matter?

BACKGROUND: Since its establishment in 1948, the state of Israel has been deeply committed to reintegrating veterans with disabilities into mainstream society. Prominently, the Israeli Ministry of Defence's rehabilitation division provides veterans with disabilities with a wide array of benefits and services aimed at restoring their physical and psychosocial functioning, especially in the workplace. The focus on employment is motivated by a prevailing assumption among professionals that successful adjustment to disability is contingent on an individual's ability to reacquire normative occupational function. To date, however, this widely accepted wisdom has not been empirically scrutinized. OBJECTIVE: To empirically explore whether employment status is associated to psychological, social, and behavioural adjustment attributes. METHODS: One hundred and one employed veterans were compared to 111 non-employed veterans in respect to their self-reported levels of hope, acceptance of disability, social networks size and social participation patterns. RESULTS: Employed veterans reported significantly higher levels psychological adjustment as manifested in elevated hope and acceptance of disability and lighter social network than their non-employed counterparts. However no differences were found between employed and non-employed veterans with respect to their social participation patterns. CONCLUSIONS: The value of these findings, as well as wider implications for rehabilitation professionals and policy makers, is discussed.

How Do Meaning in Life and Positive Affect Relate to Adaptation to Stress? The Case of Firefighters Following the Mount Carmel Forest Fire.

BACKGROUND: We examined how positive affect (PA) and meaning in life (MIL) conjointly regulate posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and perceived coping self-efficacy. Hypotheses were guided by a recent holistic model, according to which PA and MIL should compensate for each other in relating to adaptation to high stress. METHOD: The sample included 75 Israeli firefighters who took active part in extinguishing the 2010 Mount Carmel forest fire. RESULTS: PA and MIL helped to compensate for the other, demonstrating that when one of them was low, the other related to higher adaptation. That is, under low MIL, PA related to PTSD symptoms and coping self-efficacy, and under low PA, MIL related to PTSD symptoms and coping self-efficacy. LIMITATION: The study design was cross-sectional and therefore precluded any causal inferences. CONCLUSIONS: The findings lend additional support to the holistic model and help to understand how subjective well-being and MIL correlate with adaptation to stress.

Israeli policy toward veterans with disabilities: a snapshot and insights of the proposed reform.

The policy toward Israeli veterans with disabilities is based on the Invalids Law (Benefits and Rehabilitation) of 1949 . This legislation has served as the foundation for an intricate disability policy, providing benefits and psychosocial services for veterans with disabilities. Sixty two years later, in light of the emergence of a new social model and disability rights conceptualization, there is a need to reevaluate the current legislation and policy. In this article the authors present the essence of the current Israeli disability policy and explore the applications of a proposed reform aimed at adapting the disability policy and services to the new principles of the social model of disability.