The Role of Perceived Social Support and Quality of Life in Predicting the Body Image of Physical Disabilities in Yazd

Body image, such as any other psychological aspect, is a part of the personality of any human being who has evolved and has more fluctuations and changes in times of life, including the occurrence of a lesion and the occurrence of disability In people. In this case, the reliance of the person with disabilities will be shaken, and the feeling of need for others and dependence on the appearance will be strengthened. Based on this research, the present study aimed to investigate the relationship between social support and quality of life with body image among physical disabilities in Yazd.

The present study is a cross-sectional survey study that studies the relationship between social support and quality of life with body image. The statistical population of this study was physically disabled people between eighteen to thirty-seven-years-old in Yazd city, in 2018, who were clients of social work clinics and referred to them. The sample size was estimated to be three hundred and ten people. To collect data, social support questionnaire Zamet et al.1988, the quality of life scale of SF-36 of the world health organization and the researcher-made body image were used. Data analysis was performed using SPSS23 and Amos23 software, using Pearson statistical tests and multiple regression. 

The results of this study showed a positive and significant correlation between social support and quality of life with body image. The quality of life and social support dimensions predict thirteen percent of variations in the attitude of people with disabilities to the body image.

If people with disabilities, especially physical disabilities, have a negative attitude toward their physical condition, they face many personal and social problems. In this regard, it is suggested that, given that social support has a positive effect on the attitude of people with disabilities towards their bodies, families with a disabled person, should pay more attention to these individuals, which is also increased personal and social health of these people in different situations of life.