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Updated: Aug 14, 2026

The Social Dimension of Stress: Experimental Manipulations of Social Support and Social Identity in the Trier Social Stress Test
Published on: November 19, 2015
The relationship between physical disability, social perception and psychological stress
Abstract:
It was hypothesized that the prevailing attitudes towards the disabled would affect their self-concept and thus the impact of the disability as a stress stimulus. This hypothesis was examined in two separate studies. The first study evaluated the impact of disability context on the evaluations of disabled individuals by the non-disabled. It was found that disabled veterans were evaluated significantly higher than individuals disabled in traffic, work accidents, or as a result of polio. In the second study, the self-concept of disabled veterans was compared to the self-concept of work accident disabled. The disabled veterans had significantly higher self-concept than those of the people disabled in work accidents. The results would appear to demonstrate the relationship between the variables presented in the hypothesis.
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