Blind and partially sighted people’s perceptions of their inclusion by family and friends

Abstract

Blind and partially sighted people’s perceptions of inclusion by family and friends are examined in a major survey of over 900 adults with low vision in the UK. Findings demonstrate a complex picture, reporting high levels of severe lack of social support in comparison to the general population especially among men, and lack of social support expressed extensively by those who were rarely or never visited by family or neighbours. Levels of reported social support were not related to the degree of severity of sight loss or age; and economically inactive respondents of working age reported lower levels of social support than those who were working. Correlation between respondents’ having hobbies and going shopping and rising levels of social support was shown. With 40% of respondents living alone, having someone visiting as little as at least once a month meant that respondents were less likely to express severe lack of social support. The concept of ‘inclusion’ is recognized as more associated with formal ideas of citizenship and participation in community life than with informal support. It is suggested that increased focus should be given in public policy development and service provision to enabling greater levels of informal inclusion for people with visual impairments. Implications for general services development are noted.

Family Functioning and Low Vision: A Systematic Review

“…Another body of work has examined the impact of lack of support on the outcomes of persons with low vision (Bruce, Harrow, & Obolenskaya, 2007). A review by Crews (1994) found that adults with low vision were most often institutionalized because of the lack of social support, rather than a decline in their health.…”

A Conceptual Stress‐Coping Model of Factors Influencing Marketplace Engagement of Visually Impaired Consumers

“…The fact that the extent of social support from friends increases visually impaired consumers' ME, further supports previous work showing that perceived availability of social support moderates the effects on subsequent physical and psychological distress (DeLongis, Folkman, and Lazarus 1988). The support for H3a is also noteworthy, especially given that visually impaired people have been said to suffer from a severe lack of social support as compared with the general population (Bruce, Harrow, and Obolenskaya 2007).…”

“…A high degree of good‐quality social support also makes a person feel better and makes them more eager to engage in activities. Indeed, prior research has consistently shown a positive relationship between social support from family members and/or friends and SWB (Bruce, Harrow, and Obolenskaya 2007; Cohen and Wills 1985; George 1989; Pruchno, Burant, and Peters 1997; Reinhardt 2001). For example, in a study of 570 elderly people with age‐related vision loss, those who received more support from friends had less depressive symptoms and higher life satisfaction (Reinhardt 2001).…”

Being Well, Being Musical: Music Composition as a Resource and Occupation for Older People

“…Challenges that face the ageing population include poor motivation in self care (Mussi et al 2002), dissociative states that include depression and in some cases suicidal ideation (Rubin andHewstone 1998, De Leo et al 2001), loneliness (Bruce et al 2007), emotional distress (Scott et al 2001) and impaired quality of life (Hassell et al 2006). Such challenges indicate the more negative outcomes arising from the enormous social transformation that an ageing population may experience upon entering a later stage of life.…”