Staying connected: re-establishing social relationships following vision loss.
OBJECTIVE
To examine the nature of relationship-related challenges experienced by adults with vision impairment, as well as the strategies employed to deal with them.


METHODS
Cross-sectional qualitative study.


METHODS
Vision rehabilitation agency.


METHODS
Fifty-eight young, middle-aged and older adults with vision impairment.


METHODS
Telephone and in-person interviews included an open-ended question about how having a vision impairment has changed relationships. Interviews were coded using a qualitative analytical approach.


RESULTS
Participants' responses fell into two categories: difficulty in social situations was due either to other people's lack of understanding and/or one's own lack of visual cues. Responses were either to readjust one's behaviour to maintain relationships or to let relationships go or turn sour. Within these two directions, participants reported specific strategies. For readjusting one's behaviour, participants mentioned explaining themselves more and being more assertive, relying on other senses for information, 'faking' it through interactions, and being more selective about who they interacted with. For letting relationships go, participants reported either withdrawing and making fewer initiatives to socialize, or getting angry and telling people off.


CONCLUSIONS
Study findings suggest that re-establishing relationships following vision loss is a multifaceted experience in which individuals employ different strategies. These need to be further researched, given their importance to individuals dealing with vision impairment.
Wang
Shu-Wen
SW
University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA. shuwenwang@ucla.edu
Boerner
Kathrin
K
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009519:New York City; D012919:Social Behavior; D015354:Vision, Low / Q000523:psychology* / Q000534:rehabilitation*