Explaining the Mediating Role of Social Happiness and Quality of Life in the Impact of Social Support on the Social Health of Physically-Disabled People in Tehran

In the medical model, it is the job of the disabled person to adapt to society, but unlike it in the social model, the community is responsible for adapting the needs of the disabled to the situation. Accordingly, the foremost question of the research is this: According to the importance and status of social support, can it be used as a factor affecting the social health of persons with disabilities? And what is the impact of social support on social health mediated by social support variables and social happiness?

This is descriptive-explanatory research with a descriptive-explanatory approach and the survey method has been used. In measuring the variables, social health based on Keyes indices, social support based on Wellman and Fisher indices, social well-being based on Lindbergh indices, and quality of life were operationalized with the World Health Organization questionnaire. After validity and reliability, the questionnaire was administered among three-hundred ninety physically handicapped persons in Tehran province in 2019 by combining the simple stratified and random sampling method with the estimation of sample size through the Cochran formula.

The findings of the research in structural equation modeling with Smart Pls indicate that the direct effect of social support variable on quality of life and social well-being has a stronger and weaker effect on social health.  

Social vitality is evident, and on the other hand the impact of social vitality and quality of life on social health is strong and acceptable. Finally, the direct and indirect effects of three variables of social support, social happiness, and quality of life on social health were R2=0.33.