Ethnicity moderates the effects of resources on quality of life for persons with mental illness living in community settings.

Objective: The study explored quality of life among Jewish and Arab individuals with mental disorders living in community settings in Israel. The goal was to examine the associations between social and psychological resources, involvement in decisions, and quality of life, and to assess the moderating effects of ethnicity on these associations.

Method: The sample consisted of 58 Jewish and 62 Arab residents with schizophrenia, living in community residences.

Self-esteem and perception of quality of life among Israeli women with and without physical disability.

This study compared the relationship between self-esteem and perceived quality of life among Jewish Israeli women with and without physical disabilities, and estimated the moderating effects of marital status and age on these relationships. A quasi-experimental design was employed. A total of 134 women aged from 21 to 45 years participated in the study: 70 of them with disabilities and 64 without disabilities (case and control groups, respectively).

Accepting disability: the parenting experience of fathers with spinal cord injury (SCI).

This qualitative study describes and analyzes the perceptions and experiences of fathers with spinal cord injury (SCI) regarding their relationship with their children, in the context of social attitudes toward parenting by persons with SCI. The study was conducted within the phenomenological-constructivist paradigm. The sample included 12 males with SCI.

Do persons with intellectual disability have a social life? The Israeli reality.

Living in the community does not, in and of itself, guarantee social integration and inclusion for persons with intellectual disability. Social life and leisure participation can indicate the beginning of such a process and its impact on the quality of life. The present study investigated the social life quality of persons with intellectual disability who live in community settings or with foster families and its impact on their quality of life.

Out-of-home placement of children with intellectual disability: Israeli-born parents vs. new immigrants from the ex-USSR.

Although the policy of deinstitutionalization encourages parents to raise a child with development disability at home, professionals are becoming increasingly aware of these parents' care-giving roles. Immigrant parents from the ex-USSR who have children with developmental disabilities are potential clients for placement, but to date, the tendency in Israel to out-of-home placement by immigrant parents, compared with Israeli-born parents, has not been studied. The placement variables were examined as a function of place of birth, emotional stress and social support.

Children's feelings toward parents in the context of parental disability.

The purpose of the study was to examine the influence of parents' disability on children's feelings toward their parents. The paper focuses on the comparison of children's feelings toward their parents among school-age children with disabled parents (research group, n=45) and without disabled parents (control group, n=46). A two-dimensional approach was used.

Leisure activities, friendships, and quality of life of persons with intellectual disability: foster homes vs community residential settings.

Living in the community does not, in itself, guarantee social integration and inclusion for persons with intellectual disability. Friendships and leisure participation can indicate the beginning of such a process and their impact on quality of life. The present study investigated the quality of life, friendships and leisure activities of persons with intellectual disability who live in community settings or in foster families.

Attitudes of American and Israeli staff toward people with intellectual disabilities.

We compared the inclusion-related attitudes of community agency staff in the United States and Israel. Samples of 147 (United States) and 74 (Israel) staff members were assessed with the Community Living Attitudes Scale (CLAS). Results showed that higher educational levels, regardless of nation, were associated with higher Empowerment scores, lower Exclusion scores, lower Sheltering scores, and higher Similarity scores.

Thought, consideration and future planning for out-of-home placement among parental caregivers of dependent adult children with psychiatric disabilities.

Israeli parents caring for their adult children with psychiatric disabilities (n = 89) were studied with regard to their thoughts, considerations and future planning for out-of-home placement. These placement variables were examined as a function of their age, emotional stress (marital, parental and domestic), cognitive appraisal, social support and self-esteem. Major findings show that parental stress (low) was correlated with thought and consideration regarding out-of-home placement, whereas marital stress (low) was associated with future planning.