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Potency: a readjustment‐promoting link in the rehabilitation of disabled persons
Author(s) -
BenSira Zeev
Publication year - 1989
Publication title -
sociology of health and illness
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.146
H-Index - 97
eISSN - 1467-9566
pISSN - 0141-9889
DOI - 10.1111/1467-9566.ep10844089
Subject(s) - potency , coping (psychology) , perception , psychology , social psychology , rehabilitation , clinical psychology , biochemistry , chemistry , neuroscience , in vitro
A study among a stratified sample of Israeli disabled war veterans ascertained the contribution of ‘potency’ ‐ a recently discerned stress‐moderating link in the coping process ‐ in promoting the readaptation to social life of traumatically disabled persons. Potency reflects a combination of self‐confidence and commitment to and trust in society. The data suggest that potency is likely to weaken the deleterious impact of inadequate coping with the unprecedented demands inherent in disability. Disabled army veterans with strong potency are less likely than those with weak potency to be affected by occasional coping failures, by subjectively perceived ‘demands’, or by occasional resource deficiencies. The evident instrumentality of potency for readjustment suggests that societal and personal factors simultaneously play a significant role in readjustment. The contribution of this study is in its illumination of the importance of the disabled person's perception of society, in addition to his/her individual resources, for successful reintegration into social life.