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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.