Tolerance towards Frustration, Self Esteem, Anxiety and Depression in Physically Disabled Individuals

The present study explored mental health, psychological stressors and self-image of individuals who were physically handicapped. It is an area that requires extensive research in Pakistan. According to International Classification of Functional Disability (ICF) physical disability is a state with remarkable defect, limitation or inability of certain organs or processes of the body, which create hurdle in carrying out normal physical movements and thus affect normal functioning in different areas of life (WHO, 2001 as cited in Chang & Johnson, 2008). Physical disability either congenital or acquired may lead to feelings of inadequacy (Chang & Johnson, 2008). Marschark (1993) suggested a strong relationship between physical and mental functioning in humans because any type of physical or sensory deficiency disturbs one's overall psychological functioning by creating an obstruction in normal flow of such processes, leading to an experience of the world, which is distinct in context.Majority of early disabilities lead to disturbed and defective body image as a consequence of unresolved conflicts. If disability is acquired at a stage when a person has developed as an adult, vulnerability to its psychological consequences are fewer. The lifelong physical disability may reduce an individual's independence and lead to profound impediments in life-style (Schalock & Siperstein, 1997). People who experience physical impediments are more likely to have low frustration tolerance (McDermoort & Akina, 1972; Dell Orto & Power, 2007). Many individuals with physical disability experience anxiety (Boswell & Wingrove, 1974) and also experience depression due to loss and as well as due to the changed behaviors of people around them (Krueger, 1984). Taleporos and McCabe (2005) found low self-esteem among those who need help to carry out activities as compared to those who do not require such assistance. Moreover, it has more adverse effects for men as compared to women (Chang & Johnson, 2008). Disabilities are often associated with jeopardized self-esteem (Nosek et al., 2003; Gill, 1996; Cornwell & Schmitt, 1990). It has a negative effect on those who were ambitious and could have achieved their life goals easily in the absence of their present disability as compared to those who were unrealistic in goal setting even without having any disability (Goodwill & Chamberlain, 1988). Narimani and Mousazadeh (2010) also found a significant difference in the mean scores of handicapped and normal students on self-esteem. Lasker et al. (2010) noted similar severe psychosocial problems in children with disability in comparison to the healthy ones.Puranen, Seuri, Simoli and Elo (1999) found that participants displayed symptoms of anxiety and depression more commonly than general population. Sharma, Vaid and Jamwal (2004) studied frustration in 5-13 years of children (n=10) suffering from physical defects belonged to low socio-economic class. They found low frustration in them which was displayed through blaming or resentment against others around them.On the basis of above research evidences, it is concluded that physically disabled individuals may have low self-esteem marked by symptoms of anxiety and depression. However, limited work has been done on frustration tolerance especially in Pakistan. To explore this phenomenon in Pakistani context, present researchers investigated the above psychological constructs in people with physical disabilities.MethodParticipantsThe sample consisted of 15 physically disabled women and 45 men with an age range of 18-25 years (M = 20.88, SD = 2.34). The disabilities were mainly of upper and lower limbs. Based on academic literacy, 22% of the sample was illiterate; 30% were below Matric; 28% were matriculated; 5% were educated upto intermediate and 13% were university graduates. The sample belonged to low (53%), lower middle (32%) and upper middle (15%) socioeconomic status. …