Social support and self-esteem in people with physical disabilities

Abstract

Self-esteem is an important individual factor because it determines personality and influences human health. One factor that affects self-esteem is social support. The purpose was to examine the relationship between social support and self-esteem in people with physical disabilities. The hypothesis was there was a positive relationship between social support and self-esteem in people with physical disabilities. It was quantitative research that involved social support and self-esteem. The sampling technique used was purposive sampling. The subject was 103 people with physical or innate disabilities (accidents, illness), 18 -35 years old, and participate in social rehabilitation programs. The instruments were the social support scale and the self-esteem scale. The data analysis technique was regression analysis. The result was social support has a positive relationship with self-esteem in people with physical disabilities. Social support contributed an amount of 47.5% for self-esteem. People with physical disabilities had medium social support and self-esteem. The study implies that the social rehabilitation center needs to optimize social support in the form of emotional support, information, instrumentals, and appreciation because it plays a role in shaping the self-esteem of people with physical disabilities.