The Prospective Effect of Acceptance of Disability on Self-esteem of Persons with Hearing Impairments

Qualitative case study on the disability acceptance experiences of soldiers with disabilities

“…To recruit study participants, three selection criteria were considered: (1) individuals who were drafted under the Military Service Act and suffered injuries, either as combat casualties or in service-related accidents, while performing their duties (Constitution of the Republic of Korea, 1987 ); (2) those registered as persons with disabilities under Article 32 of the Act on Welfare of Persons with Disabilities and its Enforcement Decree (Act on welfare of persons with disabilities, 2023 ); and (3) those who have acknowledged and accepted the limitations and inconveniences caused by their disabilities and have opted to live with them based on the concept of disability acceptance, as proposed by earlier studies (S. Jeong, 2014 ; Li & Moore, 1998 ; Lindemann, 1981 ; Lindowski & Dunn, 1974 ; Livneh, 2001 ; Smart, 2001 ). In the case of participant selection criteria (3), it was asked whether it fell under (3) to confirm whether or not to accept disability, and those who answered “yes” were selected as study participants.…”

“…They no longer suffer from tension and shame to hide their disability (Wright, 1983 ), and when evaluating the value of themselves, it means that the sense of loss related to disability changes to a state that does not have a significant effect. In other words, disability acceptance means acceptance of loss (S. Jeong, 2014 ; Livneh, 2001 ; Wright, 1983 ). Disability acceptance occurs continuously throughout life (Smart, 2001 ), and studies indicate that high disability acceptance correlates with high physical, psychological, and social independence (Nam et al, 2013 ).…”