The Positive Psychology of Personal Factors

People with disabilities are said to be the largest minority group in the US: 25 percent of American adults live with disabilities. This varied population includes people with depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, schizophrenia, multiple sclerosis, deafness, AIDS, arthritis, intellectual disabilities, chronic pain, and more. Views of disability have evolved over time. Having shifted from an earlier medical model, which portrayed disabilities from a deficit perspective, the current model is a more sophisticated biopsychological one that permits focusing on the complex interactions between individuals and requires learning about less-obvious elements of disability. The World Health Organization's International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health (ICF) incorporates this most-current model and encourages concerned researchers and practitioners to consider the interaction between health, environmental factors, and personal factors. In this volume, contributing authors focus specifically on personal factors, adopting a strength-based approach derived from positive psychology. Various authors take a very detailed look at certain strengths generally considered personal factors, including optimism, self-determination, hope, resilience, and social support, all of which have been shown to predict more beneficial outcomes for those with disabilities. Recommended. Graduate students, faculty, and professionals.

* Choice Reviews *

Wehmeyer and Dunn have brought together key experts in the field to thoroughly address what we know and where we should be headed to enable people with disabilities to enjoy optimal outcomes with dignity. Individual chapters identify and examine positive psychological personal factors that can provide the foundation for research and practice. This book is a tour de force that will enlighten students as well as seasoned professionals.

-- Nirbhay N. Singh, Medical College of Georgia–Augusta University

Wehmeyer and Dunn astutely position positive psychology as a project to flesh out the psychological elements of the personal factor in the International Classification of Functioning model of disability. By taking up this charge, this volume advances fundamental knowledge in rehabilitation psychology about how psychological processes interact with biological states, social forces, and the physical environment to influence flourishing after onset of disabling injuries or chronic health conditions.

-- Gitendra Uswatte, The University of Alabama at Birmingham

Wehmeyer and Dunn have created an important elaboration of the World Health Organization's International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health by viewing personal factors through the lens of disability and positive psychology. Acknowledging that this work does not imply that environmental factors are less impactful, they have facilitated a deep dive into individual differences expressed through disability-identity, positive psychology and adaptive coping.

-- John D. Corrigan, The Ohio State Univer