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

Abstract

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 selfreported 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.

Loneliness, mental health, and social health indicators in LGBTQIA+ Australians.

“…Subscale scores quantify levels of contact with family, friends, and neighbors. The scale exhibits strong internal consistency, α = .82–.90 (Araten-Bergman, Tal-Katz, & Stein, 2015).…”

The experience of Veterans with disabilities: A grounded theory study on coping with trauma and adapting to a new life

“…Positive personality traits such as positive thinking, resilience, contentment, and self-evaluation were understood to be a significant coping resource for them. Previous studies show that hope, optimism and psychological resilience support Veterans' adaptation to civil life (Araten Bergman et al, 2015;Larner, 2013). It was seen that the studies on Veterans with disabilities did not mention the concepts of contentment and self-evaluation.…”

“…Gaining independent life skills and working are important components of integrating into the life after war for the Veterans (Berghuis & Jongsma, 2010;Caplin & Lewis, 2011;Reiber et al, 2010). Psychosocial adjustment levels and quality of life were found to be higher in the Veterans who have a job (Araten Bergman et al, 2015;Salamati et al, 2015). Additionally, the experience of being a Veteran with disabilities was found to have caused positive changes in the participants' viewpoints, ways they perceived themselves and the future, their behaviors, and their relations with other people.…”

“…Psychological, social, cultural, religious, and familial factors play a significant role in the process of coping with trauma, disability, and adaptation problems, as well as reintegration into the psychosocial life. Veterans, who have high levels of resilience and optimism (Araten Bergman et al, 2015;Larner, 2013), social and family support (Aflakseir, 2010;Martz et al, 2010), and religious coping strategies (Aflakseir & Coleman, 2009;Reiber et al, 2010;De Zoysa & Wickrama, 2011), can successfully adapt to life after war trauma. Research studies conducted with Turkish Veterans with disabilities have revealed various findings.…”

Integrating Israeli Defense Force (IDF) veterans with disabilities into the workforce: characteristics and predictors

“…Since its establishment, the State of Israel has been morally, ethically and legally obligated to care for their veterans with disabilities, who have been injured during the course of their service in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) [1]. This obligation was expressed in the 1959 “Disability Law (Remuneration and Rehabilitation)” that grants rights to the veterans with disabilities through medical treatment, housing payment, and rehabilitation and which places their integration into the workforce at the center of this process [2] p. 283.…”