Adjustment of adults to a visual impairment: preliminary findings.

A longitudinal study over a period of 12 months was conducted to assess the process of adjustment of adults to blindness and the factors that influence that adjustment. The visual impairment of the seven subjects took place from 5 days to 8 months prior to the study. Methods of data collection included ooservations in natural settings, ethnographic interviewing techniques, and two quantitative measures of social support and acceptance of disability: Linkowski's Acceptance of Disability Scale and Norbeck's Social Support Questionnaire. Three phaw?s of the adjustment process were identified: pre-impact, impact, and learning to live with the impairment. Factors that influence adjustment were classified into: situations that informants find difficult, factors that help in adjusting, factors that do not help in adjusting, and coping strategies. (Author/DB) *******x************************************************************** * Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made * * from the original document. * *********************************************************************** Adjustment of Adults to a Visual Impairment: Preliminary Findings