The California Psychological Inventory and the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory were administered to 128 women and men, aged 18-55, who were totally blind or partially sighted from birth, infancy, or early childhood, who had no other neurological, perceptual, or sensory-motor difficulties in addition to blindness, and had completed the eighth grade. The significant findings relate to the differences between the sample and sighted reference groups. Although both inventories seem to be highly sensitive to the adjustment patterns of early visually impaired persons, the findings clearly indicate that individual personality test results can be interpreted only when norms are appropriate and based on a representative group of visually impaired persons. Variant CPI and MMPI scale scores may not necessarily reflect psychopathology, but rather may be indicative of the unique adaptive processes of persons who experienced early visual impairment. Since the total experience of congenital or early visual impairment is not easily understood, normative data must be developed so meaningful and relevant comparisons can be made among persons who have shared common developmental experiences.
A principal component factor analysis with varimax rotation was performed for a sample of male adult congenitally blind persons. Seventeen variables were measured, including the six WAIS Verbal subtests, the six HISAB subtests, the Category Width Scale, the Repression-Sensitization Scale, the Rigidity Scale, a measure of sophistication of body concept, and vision. The analysis produced five factors, three of which are small specific factors. The first common factor, described as nonverbal ability, is of substantial magnitude and suggests that these measures clearly assess areas of intellectual functioning not tapped by verbal testing alone, and that level of useful vision is a highly important consideration in evaluating the test performance of this group. The second common factor is described as verbal intelligence, and it is proposed that much of the variance involved in tests of Information, Vocabulary, Similarities, and Comprehension can be attributed to verbal memory and that these four tests provide an adequate assessment of learning potential for this group. Standard regression coefficients for computing factor scores are provided. The validity data presented should facilitate the application of the cognitive style approach to further research with congenitally blind persons.
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