Life Satisfaction Among Israeli Soldiers With Penetrating Head Wounds

Abstract

The relationships between life satisfaction and the severity of the injuries were examined using interview data collected in a follow-up study of soldiers who received penetrating head wounds during the war in Lebanon in 1982-1985. Mean reported life satisfaction in the past was higher than that noted immediately after injury, following rehabilitation or for the future, while the lowest levels of satisfaction were reported around the time of injury. Post rehabilitation satisfaction was higher than that recorded immediately after the injury, and there was a consistent tendency for reporting aspirations for higher satisfaction in the future. Life satisfaction was highly correlated with education and being married but not with age or the patients' severity of injury. The residual disability was directly related to life satisfaction, with the more seriously affected having lower scores. Those who returned to service had higher satisfaction scores compared to those who could not or did not want to return to active military service. There were lower satisfaction scores for those with existential or aesthetic anxiety. Life satisfaction is suggested as an important measure of the success of rehabilitation