title: Myopia, contact lens use and self-esteem.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate whether contact lens (CL) use was associated with self-esteem in myopic children originally enrolled in the Correction of Myopia Evaluation Trial (COMET), that after 5 years continued as an observational study of myopia progression with CL use permitted.
  
  
  METHODS
  Usable data at the 6-year visit, one year after CL use was allowed (n = 423/469, age 12-17 years), included questions on CL use, refractive error measurements and self-reported self-esteem in several areas (scholastic/athletic competence, physical appearance, social acceptance, behavioural conduct and global self-worth). Self-esteem, scored from 1 (low) to 4 (high), was measured by the Self-Perception Profile for Children in participants under 14 years or the Self-Perception Profile for Adolescents, in those 14 years and older. Multiple regression analyses were used to evaluate associations between self-esteem and relevant factors identified by univariate analyses (e.g., CL use, gender, ethnicity), while adjusting for baseline self-esteem prior to CL use.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Mean (±S.D.) self-esteem scores at the 6-year visit (mean age = 15.3 ± 1.3 years; mean refractive error = -4.6 ± 1.5 D) ranged from 2.74 (± 0.76) on athletic competence to 3.33 (± 0.53) on global self-worth. CL wearers (n = 224) compared to eyeglass wearers (n = 199) were more likely to be female (p < 0.0001). Those who chose to wear CLs had higher social acceptance, athletic competence and behavioural conduct scores (p < 0.05) at baseline compared to eyeglass users. CL users continued to report higher social acceptance scores at the 6-year visit (p = 0.03), after adjusting for baseline scores and other covariates. Ethnicity was also independently associated with social acceptance in the multivariable analyses (p = 0.011); African-Americans had higher scores than Asians, Whites and Hispanics. Age and refractive error were not associated with self-esteem or CL use.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  COMET participants who chose to wear CLs after 5 years of eyeglass use had higher self-esteem compared to those who remained in glasses both preceding and following CL use. This suggests that self-esteem may influence the decision to wear CLs and that CLs in turn are associated with higher self-esteem in individuals most likely to wear them.
authors.affiliation: Stony Brook University School of Medicine, Stony Brook, USA. lynette.dias@stonybrook.edu
authors.forename: Lynette
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Dias
authors.forename: Ruth E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Manny
authors.forename: Erik
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Weissberg
authors.forename: Karen D
authors.initials: KD
authors.lastname: Fern
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D002648:Child; D003261:Contact Lenses / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009216:Myopia / Q000523:psychology* / Q000534:rehabilitation; D012649:Self Concept
keywords: adolescents; contact lenses; eyeglasses; myopia; self-esteem