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People with Mental and Physical Disabilities

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Trauma Interventions in War and Peace

Part of the book series: International and Cultural Psychology Series ((ICUP))

Abstract

Culture and economic development influence how disability is perceived, distributed, and responded to. Physical disability resulting from disease, malnutrition, and accidents is more common in developing nations than in more developed nations (United Nations General Assembly, Resolution 37/53, Dec. 3, 1982). Poor prenatal nutrition, obstetric skills, and perinatal care are other sources of disability. Once a disability occurs, the affected child has considerably less chance of surviving due to impoverished living conditions (De Jong, 1987). Poverty and harsh living conditions may result in extreme solutions, including abandonment (Carreire, 1971;Lévy-Bruhl, 1921). This higher prevalence of disabilities in developing nations has negative and, surprisingly, also positive consequences for those who have physical or mental disabilities. On the one hand, because of poverty and lack of health services, persons with physical disabilities in developing nations are less likely than those in more developed nations to have technical aids and accommodations that facilitate their interactions and functioning. On the other hand, perhaps because disabilities are more common in developing countries, and also because in these countries individuals are more integrated into family and mainstream society, persons with both physical and mental disabilities appear to be better accepted in developing nations.

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Authors
  1. Kim T. Mueser
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  2. Virginia A. Hiday
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  3. Lisa A. Goodman
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  4. Denise Valenti-Hein
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, D.C.

    Bonnie L. Green

  2. National Center for PTSD, White River Junction, Vermont

    Matthew J. Friedman

  3. Dartmouth Medical School, Hanover, New Hampshire

    Matthew J. Friedman

  4. Transcultural Psychosocial Organisation, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    Joop T. V. M. de Jong

  5. National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland

    Susan D. Solomon

  6. National Center for PTSD, Boston, Massachusetts

    Terence M. Keane

  7. Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts

    Terence M. Keane

  8. UCLA—Duke University National Center for Child Traumatic Stress, Durham, North Carolina

    John A. Fairbank

  9. United Nations, New York, New York

    Brigid Donelan

  10. International Policy Research Institute, Riverdale, New York

    Ellen Frey-Wouters

  11. United Nations, ISTSS, USA

    Yael Danieli (Special Consultant, Senior Representative) (Special Consultant, Senior Representative)

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© 2004 Kluwer Academic Publishers

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Mueser, K.T., Hiday, V.A., Goodman, L.A., Valenti-Hein, D. (2004). People with Mental and Physical Disabilities. In: Green, B.L., et al. Trauma Interventions in War and Peace. International and Cultural Psychology Series. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-306-47968-7_7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-306-47968-7_7

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-0-306-47723-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-0-306-47968-7

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