Intra- and Interpersonal Factors in Adolescence Predicting Loneliness among Young Adults with Visual Impairments

Abstract

Introduction: Youths with visual impairments (i.e., blindness or low vision) experience difficulties with forming and maintaining social relationships with peers. These difficulties challenge their psychosocial functioning and put them at risk of being lonelier later in life. The study's primary goal was to investigate how intra-and interpersonal factors during adolescence influence Loneliness in young adulthood. Methods: Analyses were conducted on data from a national data set. Participants (N ¼ 96) were interviewed at two different time points. General linear regression and mediation analyses were used to examine the role of social competence, personality, and satisfaction with social support, measured at mean age 17.83, and on Loneliness measured at mean age 23.45. Results: Analyses showed that adolescents with visual impairments who were more emotionally stable and had higher social competence during adolescence were less lonely later in life. In addition, the results showed that emotionally unstable adolescents reported lower social competence and, therefore, were lonelier in young adulthood. Discussion: These findings indicate that factors connected to Loneliness in young adulthood include people's personality traits and their level of social competence at a younger age. Implications for practitioners: Knowing the underlying causes of an individual's Loneliness assists practitioners in selecting what type of intervention would be suitable for addressing these issues. Those with low social skills benefit more from social

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“…En las interacciones existe una dificultad, cuando no una imposibilidad, para distinguir las claves visuales, como son los gestos, las expresiones faciales o el contacto ocular (Gourgey, 1999), lo que, en muchas ocasiones, supone que no se pueda reaccionar a estas claves, a lo que hay que añadir la dificultad añadida para localizar a la persona que está hablando (Van der Ham et al, 2021). Ello, además, como señalan Veerman et al, (2019), aumenta la posibilidad de mostrar un comportamiento socialmente inapropiado durante las interacciones, ya que muchas de las normas sociales solo se pueden aprender o asimilar a partir de la experiencia visual. Pero también puede llevar aparejado dificultades para predecir el comportamiento o las reacciones de los interlocutores a partir de sus expresiones faciales (Augestad, 2017).…”

International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health core set for vision loss: A discussion paper and invitation

“…Persons with visual impairment experience difficulties with forming and maintaining social relationships. This difficulty challenges their psychosocial functioning and results in a sense of loneliness (Veerman et al, 2019). Research from K. Yang and Victor (2011) has shown that these problems are not only experienced by older adults but also by young people with vision loss.…”

“…Persons with visual impairment experience difficulties with forming and maintaining social relationships. This difficulty challenges their psychosocial functioning and results in a sense of loneliness (Veerman et al, 2019). Research from K.…”

Analysis of the Coping Process among Visually Impaired Individuals, Using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA)

“…Despite these challenges, factors that can positively affect developmental processes, such as coping on family support, social environment, and children's ability to adapt, can have a positive influence on children with visual impairments [3]. One way to help visually impaired people overcome the impediments of their disability is to strengthen their adaptation to life.…”