1
Est i Wungu
SOCIAL INTERACTION
AM ONG PRE ADOLESCENTS & ADOLESCENTS W ITH VISUAL IM PAIRM ENT
Social int eract ion has impor t ant role in children w ho ent er ed middle childhood and adolescent s’ age, as t hey spent t im e m ost ly w it h t h eir peers. But , it w ould be a challenging t im e for t he preadol escent s and adolescent s w it h visual impairment s; since t hey had limit at ion t o int eract w it h ot hers. The purpose of t his lit erat ure r evi ew is t o find out about social int eract ion condit ion in preadolescent s and adolescent s w it h visual impairment and how t o enhance t heir social skills. This st udy used fift een art icles about social int eract ion in preadolescent s and adol escent s w it h visual impairment . Findings indicat ed t hat majorit y of pr eadolescent s and adolescent w it h visual impairment had a limit ed social int eract ion, alt hough t hey had similar self concept and self est eem w it h t heir sight ed peer s. Preadolescent s and adolescent s w it h visual impairment most ly spent t heir leisure t ime in home and had a passive act ivit y. Teacher, parent s and peers can promot e social int eract ion in visual impairment s t hrough creat e a suppor t ive environm ent for t hem.
Key w ords: Preadolescent s, Adolescent s, Social int eract ion, visual impairment
INTRODUCTION
Int eract ion can be defined as a kind of act ion bet w een t w o or mor e people have an ef f ect upon one anot her. Thus, social int eract ion is an int eract ion t hat happened in social set t ing or in t he com munit y. Social int eract ion is a dynamic, changing sequence of social act ions bet w een individuals and t heir part ners. In ot her w ords, individuals interpr et w hat ot hers’ m eaning, and r espond accordingly. When children ent er ed t he middle childhood or pr eadolescent s, friends become mor e import ant t han t heir f amily. Preadolescent s and adolescent s spent l ess t im e w it h family m ember, t hus peers and act ivit ies in school becom e t he most import ant t hing. They shared t heir f eelings, problems and many t hings w it h t heir peers. Ther efor e, social int eract ion becom es crucial component in t heir life. Sight ed children learn about social int eract ion f rom t heir cont act w it h peer s and using visual cues. They can read body language of t heir peers and r eact pr operly from it . They have access and capabilit ies t o joint and involved w it h any kind of act ivit ies. Some expert s said t hat adolescent period is t he w orld of relat ionship and act ivit ies.
2 For children in middle childhood and adolescent s social int eract ion occurred, especially in school and t heir hom e. But , w hen t hey ent er ed “ gang age” or preadolescent s, most ly t hey spent t heir t ime w it h t heir friends in school or neighborhood. Even if t he int eract ion occurr ed in home; t hey spent t heir t ime most ly w it h t heir friends inst ead of t heir f amily member.
But , social int eract ion could be very diff icult for individual w ho had visual impairment , as t hey could not give a r esponse immediat ely af t er act ions from t heir part ner happened. Preadolescent s and adolescent s w it h visual impairment had limit at ion t o perf or m as t heir sight ed peers since t hey had visual vulnerabilit y. A major part of social int erchanges is vision, because in social int erchanges obser vat ion of ot her s should be involved (Hooper, 2004). W hen w e t alk w it h ot hers, w e look at t he people direct ly and t r y t o underst and not only f rom t he w ords but also, from gest ures and body language.
Pr eadolescent s and adolescent s w it h visual impairment have difficult y t o r ead nonverbal cues from ot hers and it has an effect on t he social skills (Vernon, 1993). Whenever t hey int er act ed w it h ot hers t hey depend on t he inf ormat ion about surroundings from t heir peers. But , som et imes t heir sight ed peers becam e impat ient and excluded t hem. In addit ion, people’s at t it udes t ow ard individuals w it h handicap may be negat ive, especially t ow ards t hose w ho have deviat ions in physique. Visual impaired persons may have deviat ion in physique because of eye pressing or mot or mannerisms or a lack of social skills (Van Haselt , 1983). M any resear ches in adolescent w it h visual impairment f ound t hat t hey becam e lonely and social isolat ed. They have f ew friends and small social net w ork t hat ar e largely limit ed t o family m em bers, relat ives and ot her handicapped peopl e (Van Haselt , 1983; Eaglest ein, 1975; Wesolow ski, 1987). St udent w it h visual impairment have difficult ies t o develop t heir int erpersonal skills because t hey have f ew er friends, few er opport unit ies t o socialize, and few er occasions t han st udent s w ho are sight ed (Huur e & Aro, 2000; Rosenblum, 1998). These condit ion led adolescent w it h visual impairm ent less opport unit y t o make social int eract ion w it h peers and develop t heir social skills. Tut t le & Tut t le (2004), f ound t hat childr en w ho are visually impaired are oft en mor e socially immat ure and mor e egocent ric t han ar e sight ed children. Since t he social int eract ion becom e f oundat ion for adolescent s t o building a mat ur e relat ionship and it has an eff ect t o emot ional developm ent ; adolescent s w it h visual impairment should enhance t heir social skills in order t o cat ch up t heir limit at ion.
3 group act ivit ies such as going t o ball gam e or a movie because sight ed peers just assum e t hey ar e not int er est ed. Over t im e st udent s w it h visual impairment s and t heir sight ed ages mat e have few er and few er shar ed experiences and common int er est s as bases for conversat ion, social int eract ion and friendship (Hew ad, 2006). Anot her f act or cont ribut ing t o social dif ficult ies is t hat t he inabilit y t o see and r espond t o t he social signals of ot hers r educes opport unit ies f or reciprocal int eract ion (Frame, 2000 & Kirkw ood, 1997). During a conversat ion, for example, a st udent w ho is blind cannot see t he gest ur es, facial expressions, and changes in body post ure used by his conversat ion part ner. This inabilit y t o see impor t ant com ponent s of communicat ion hampers t he blind st udent ’s underst anding of t he conversat ion par t ner’s m essage (Hew ad, 2006). The purpose of t his review is t o sum marize t he research on social int eract ion among adolescent s w it h visual impairment , t o add t he know ledge about social int er act ion condit ion in adolescent w it h visual impairment and how t o improve social compet ence in adolescent w it h visual impairm ent .
M ETHOD
St udies w er e ident ified for t his lit erat ur e review t hr ough t w o st eps. First , elect ronic resour ces w er e screened t o ident ify art icles for possible inclusion in this st udy. The sources of t he art icles w er e t h e ERIC, EBSCO-Host , Blackw ell-Publishing, Science-Direct , PROQUEST, and SAGEONLINE (relevant jour nals include in t hose provider, such as: Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness, Brit ish Journal of Visual Impair ment , Visual Impairment Research, Special educat ion int ernat ional journal, et c) using t he keyw ords: social int eract ion, social engagement , social com pet ence, psychosocial, social skills, social int erchange, social behavior, friendship, visual impairment , visual disabilit y, impaired yout h,
blindness, visual handicapped, blind yout h. And t hen, addit ional search w as examined from bibliogr aphic informat ion. After comput er search, t he art icles select ed for r evi ew ed base on follow ing crit eria.
1. The st udy, at least have one part icipant .
2. The part icipant s on t he st udy ident ified having visual impairment , includes t ot ally blindness or low vision or high vision.
3. At least half of t he par t icipant s w er e pr eadolescent s and/ or adolescent s ranged in age fr om 9 -18 years old.
4. The st udy had t o repor t t he r esult of dat a-based invest igat ion.
5. The focus of t he research w as on social int eract ion or how to enhance social skills in preadolescent s and adolescent s w it h visual impairment .
4 w as coded and analyzed w it h r espect t o t he fol low ing variables: a) set t ing, b) sample charact erist ic, c) met hod, and d) out comes.
REVIEW AND DISCUSSION OF THE STUDIES Set t ing
The st udies t hat t ook place in school w er e 9 of 15 st udies (60%). Five st udies w hich conduct ed in school involved sight ed peers as part icipant s. Though t hey used school as a place for t he invest igat ion, only one of nine st udi es used educat ional set t ing as a background w hich is physical educat ion classroom. Types of t he school t hat used in t he st udi es w er e general and special school. Six st udies conduct ed in general or public school w it h inclusive set t ing and t hr ee st udies conduct ed in special school for visual impairment. Only t w o st udies t ook place in home (13%). The st udies conduct ed in hom e involved sight ed peers f or comparison. Three st udies (20%) used school and hom e as a place for invest igat ion and one last st udy (7%) t ook place on summ er camp. All st udies w ere conduct ed in hom e or in school and hom e involved f amily m embers as significant persons for dat a analysis.
Sample charact erist ic
Eight hundr ed and t w o st udent s w it h visual impairment and nine hundr ed and eleven sight ed st udent s w er e included in 15 st udies, w it h a ranged of 1 t o 385 part icipant s. All st udies report ed dat a on gender. M ale st udent s w it h visual impairment numbered 439 (55%) and 363 (45%) w er e femal e w it h visual impairment . For sight ed st udent s t her e w as no clear numbered since one st udy did not report gender for sight ed part icipant s. The t ypes of visual impairment s w er e t ot ally blind, low vision and high vision w it hout addit ional impairment such as hearing or physical impairment , ment al r et ardat ion or cerebral palsy t hat w ould have impact ed on t he out comes of t he st udy. Since t her e w ere no exact number ed about t ypes of visual impairment from som e st udies, t hus overall numbered cannot be count ed for each t ype. Par t icipant s ranged in age from 6 - 24 years old in 15 st udies. Only one st udy report ed t hat part icipant s com e from middle class family.
M et hod
5 used in experiment al met hod and last st udy used pr e and post t est . Case st udy and observat ion w ere used in qualit at ive met hod.
Out com es
Specifically, five st udies invest igat ed social skills in st udent s w it h visual impairm ent . Tw o of t hem used a physical educat ional class as a set t ing. They examined relat ed st udy bet w een physical skills and social compet ence. In t he cont ext of spor t and physical act ivit y, part icipat ion is of t en a social act ivit y involving groups of children, such as teams, f riends, and clubs, and is view ed as a primar y socializing environm ent for t eaching children int erpersonal skills and physical compet encies (Weis & Duncan, 1992). Adolescent s w ho have dif ficult y performing sport and physical act ivit y skills oft en have low er self percept ion. These poor self percept ions are likely t o lead t o a reduct ion in confidence in movement and oft en ext end beyond t he at hlet ic domain, result ing in adverse psychosocial consequences (Bouchar t & Tet rault , 2000). But , Shapiro et .al (2005) found t hat t hough st udent s had low percept ions of t heir at hlet ic com pet ence, they f elt posit ive about t heir social compet ence. This result show ed, alt hough st udent felt negat ive about t heir at hlet ic skills, it w as not become a barrier for having a posit ive social compet ence. The second st udy f ound t hat t he st ruct ur e of t he physical act ivit y play a r ole in social engagement . The st udy concluded t hat codependence should exist bet w een physical act ivit y offerings and social out comes (Oh et .al, 2004).
Three ot hers st udies conduct ed by one aut hor. The st udies examined self evaluat ion and feedback in st udent w it h visual impairment t o est ablish and t o enhance social int eract ion skills. According t o Weber et .al (1993) self evaluat ion has been obser ved t o be eff ect ive in increasing t h e social int eract ion and generalizat ion and maint enance of t he social behavior of children wit h disabilit ies. Findings from t w o st udies in t his lit erat ure review s show ed t hat self evaluat ion w as eff ect ive t o increase feedback’ s aw areness from ot her s and may help t hem improve st udent s’ social int eract ion skills. Schlos & Smit h (1994) found t hat feedback is t he provision of evaluat ive informat ion t o an individual w it h t he aim of eit her mai nt aining present behavior or improving fut ur e behavior. St udent s w it h visual impairment need verbal feedback for t heir behavior from ot hers, since t hey couldn’t see ot hers’ behavior. But , if t he consequences are clear no verbal f eedback necessar y in st udent s w it h visual impairment . The findings also suggest f eedback from significant people in t he environment is a w ay t o help st udent s w it h visual impairment t o develop social skills t hat requir e visual cues and t hat t hese people should make an eff ort t o provide it accurat ely and in an appropriat e w ay (Jindal-Snape, 2005).
6 preadolescent s w it h visual impairment s developed social compet ence in a similar manner t o t he sight ed pr eadolescent s. Anot her finding w as similar wit h previous st udy t hat having a pet posit ively corr elat ed w it h feeling of import ance, social compet ence and self est eem (Vidovic, et .al 1999).
Anot her seven st udies in t his lit erat ure r eview discussed about element s in social int eract ion bet w een sight ed adolescent s and visual impairment adolescent s. They found t hat visual impairment had an impact t o a friendship (Rosenblum, 2000); one of t he impact s is limit ed act ivit y t hat t hey can spend w it h t heir peers. This condit ion caused adolescent s w it h visual impairment s had a smaller social net w ork t han sight ed st udent s. Adolescent s w it h visual impairment t ended t o be dependence on t heir peers; t hey also had low qualit y in friendship, especially on spending leisure t im e t oget her (Lif shit z et .al, 2007). Adolescent s w it h visual impairment spent t heir t ime w it h passive or est ablished act ivit ies (such as horse riding, guit ar) and t hey perfor med f ew er act ivit ies t han sight ed adol escent s (Kroksmark & Nordell, 2000). But , Huure & Aro (1998) found t hat adolescent s w it h visual impairment t ended t o describe t heir family relat ion as slight ly bet t er t han adolescent s w it hout visual impairment and most ly t hey spent t heir leisure t ime in hom e. Anot her findings f rom t he st udies show ed t hat adolescent s w it h visual impairm ent had similar self concept , self est eem and empat hy w it h sight ed adolescent s (Lift shit z et al. 2000). One st udies show ed t hat if adolescent s w it h visual impairment had a good environment he could have a good qualit y in social int eract ion and lif e (George & Duqquet t e, 2006).
As a conclusion, findings in t his lit erat ur e review similar w it h result s in ot her st udies about social int eract ion in preadolescent s and adolescent s w it h visual impairment . Alt hough t hey had similar percept ion w it h sight ed adolescent s about t heir self concept , but t heir visual vulnerabilit y st ill becom e a barriers for blending w it h t heir social environm ent . But , t his barrier could be solved as long as t hey had support ive en vironm ent t hat provide a lot of opport unit y t o int eract w it h peers and joint w it h many act ivit ies.
LIM ITATION
The first limit at ion of t his st udy is inconsist ent w it h age cat egorizat ion; one st udy includes 24 years old as adolescent s, one st udy had 8 years old as a pr eadolescent and anot her st udy includes 8 years old as a yout h. The second limit at ion is most of st udies using sur vey as a met hod in collect ing dat a, t hough sever al st udies used an int erview , but t he bias might be happened and w it h limit ed sample t he int erpret at ion and generalizat ion should be conscient ious.
7 Ther e is st ill a need for f ur ther resear ch on social int eract ion in preadolescent and adolescent w it h visual impairment . Part icularly, resear ch st udy about int ervent ion t o enhance social skills in adolescent s w it h visual impairment . According t o t he st udies in t his lit erat ure review , adolescent s w it h visual impairment could have a good social life as long as parent , t eacher, peer and also school’s syst em gi ve t he opport unit y f or int er act ion and support adolescent s w it h visual impairment s’ act ivit ies, but w hat and how t he aspect s could be enhance social int eract ion is st ill a need furt her invest igat ion.
IM PLICATION FOR PRACTICE
Teacher and par ent s can use t his em er ging body of research t o promot e social int eract ion i n adolescent s w it h visual impairment . Especially for t he par ent s, according t o t he st udies in t his lit er at ure review adolescent s w it h visual impairment s spend t heir t im e most ly in hom e and t hey t ended t o have bet t er r elat ionship w it h t heir parent s. For t eacher, since f eedback becom es on e fact or t o enhance social int eract ion, t hey could provide f eedback f or st udent s w it h visual impairment s’ behavior. One st udy found t hat adolescent w it h visual impairment s gain mor e posit ive experiences in public school w it h sight ed peer s t han r esident ial or special school f or t he blind. This finding suggest s t hat int eract ion w it h sight ed peer is good opport unit y t o incr ease social int eract ion in st udent s w it h visual impairment .
Refer ences:
Brow n, B.B., & Klut e C., (2003). Fr iendship, cliques, and crow ds. In Cart er, E.W., Hughes, C., (2005). Increasing social int eract ion among adolescent s w it h int ellect ual disabilit ies and t heir general educat ion peers: effect ive int er vent ion. Research and Pract ice f or Persons w it h Sever e Disabilit ies. 30, 4. Pg. 179-193.
Cart er, E.W., Hughes, C., (2005). Increasing social int eraction among adolescent s w it h int ellect ual disabilit ies and t heir general educat ion peers: eff ect ive int er vent ion. Research and Pract ice for Persons w it h Severe Disabilit ies. 30, 4. Pg. 179-193.
* George, A.L & Duguet t e (2006). The psychosocial experiences of a st udent w it h low vision. Journal of Visual Impairment s and Blindness. 100:3. Pg. 152.
* Grif fin-Shirley, N. & Nes, S.L. Self est eem and empat hy in sight ed and visually impaired preadolescent s. Journal of Visual Impairment s and Blindness. 99, 5. pg.276
8 * Huure, T.M . & Aro, H.M . (1998). Psychosocial development among adolescent s w it h visual
impairment . Eur opean Child & Adolescent Psychiat ry. 7:73-78.
* Jindal-Snape, D (2004). Generalizat ion and maint enance of social skills of children w it h visual impairment s: Self-evaluat ion and t he role of feedback. Jour nal of Visual Impairment s and Blindness. 98:8.
* Jindal-Snape, D (2005). Self-evaluat ion and r ecruit ment of feedback for enhanced social int eract ion by a st udent w it h visual impairment . Journal of Visual Impairment s and Blindness. 99:8. Pg. 486.
* Jindal-Snape, D (2005). Use of feedback from sight ed peers in promot ing social int eract ion skills. Jour nal of Visual Impairment s and Blindness. 99:7.
* Kef, S. (1997). The personal net w ork and social suppor t s of blind and visually impaired adolescent s. Jour nal of Visual Impairment s and Blindness. 91, 3. Pg. 236.
* Kef, S. & Dekovic, M . (2004). The role of par ent al and peer suppor t in adolescent s w ell-being: a comparison of adolescent s w it h and w it hout a visual impair ment . Jour nal of Adolescence. 27 (2004) 453-466.
* Kroksmark, U. & Nordell, K. (2001). Adolescence: The age of oppor t unit ies and obst acles f or st udent s w it h low vision in Sw eden. Journal of Visual Impairment s and Blindness. 95, 4. * Lifshit z, H., Hen, I., & Weisse, I. (2007). Self-concept , adjust ment t o blindness, and qualit y of
friendship among adolescent s w it h visual impairm ent s. Jour nal of Visual Impairment s and Blindness. 101:2. Pg. 96.
* Oh, H. K., Ozt urk, M .A. & Kozub, F.M . (2004). Physical act ivit y and social engagement pat t erns during physical educat ion of yout h w it h visual impairment s. RE:view : 36,1.
* Rosenblum, L.P. (1997). Friendship dyads of adolescent s w it h visual impairment . Doct oral Dissert at ion, Universit y of Arizona, Tucson. Universit y M icrofilms Int ernat ional, AAG 97229535.
* Rosenblum, L.P. (2000). Per cept ion of t he impact of visual impairment on t he lives of adolescent s. Jour nal of Visual Impairment s and Blindness. 94:7. Pg. 434.
* Rosenblum, L.P. (1997). Adolescent s w it h visual impairment s w ho have best f riends: a pilot st udy. Jour nal of Visual Impairment s and Blindness. 91:3. Pg. 224.
* Shapiro, D.R., M off et t , A., Lieberman, L. & Dum m er, G.M . (2005). Perceived compet ence of children w it h visual impairment s. Jour nal of Visual Impairment s and Blindness. 99, 1. Pg.15.
Van Hasselt , V.B.,et al., (1989). Increasing social int eractions in deaf-blind sever ely handicapped young adult s. Behavior M odificat ion. 13, 2. Pg.257-272.
9 Table 1
List of the study
No Study Setting Sample Characteristic M ethod/
Design
Outcomes
1. Kef, 1997 Home 316 part icipant s w it h visual impairment ; ranged in age from 14-23 years old
Survey (Int er view ) The size and range of the personal net w orks of t he blind and visually impaired adolescent s in t his st udy w ere smaller t han t hose of sight ed adolescent s. Parent s w ere list ed as t he most important source of emot ional and pract ical support . Friends w er e mor e import ant for f emale part icipant s t han for male part icipant s, especially for relat ional support .
2. Rosenblum
, 1997
school 40 visual impairment adolescent s w it hout addit ional disabilit ies and t heirs best friends. Ranged in age f rom 13-19 years old
Survey (incl. t elephone surveys and int erview )
Visual impairment negat ively impact ed t he friendship, t he source of t he problem involved act ivit ies t hat of t en ar e challenging f or individuals w it h visual impairment . Adolescent s w it h visual impairment and best fr iends m ost ly spent t im e in home and t hen t he second most fr equent ly t o spend t ime t oget her w as in school. Even t hough adolescent w it h visual impairment does play a role in t he friendship, generally speaking, t he friends adapt t o t he limit at ion and have est ablished an int imat e, reciprocal friendship.
3. Rosenblum
, 1997
School 22 st udent s w it h visual impairment ; Ranged in age from 13-19 years old
Survey St udy found t hat t her e w as a higher level of int imacy in t he friendship of t he female part icipant s t han of t he male part icipant s. Talking (mainly about people and relat ionship and joint act ivit y) w as a popular w ay t hat t he part icipant s spent t i me w it h t heir friends, as w as sharing hobbies. The st udy also found t hat adolescent s w it h visual impairment w ho have est ablished best friendships experience int imacy in t he friendship.
4. Huure & Aro, 1998
School 54 visual impairment st udent (40 boys, 14 girls), 385 sight ed st udent s (172 boys, 213 girls); Age mean 14.0
Survey Social net w ork of visually impairm ent st udent s smaller t han sight ed st udent s (t he differences did not r each st atist ical significance); girl student s w it h visual impairment have mor e diff iculties in t he social relat ions compar ed w it h t heir normally sight ed peers; mor e st udent s w it h visual impairment r epor t ed difficult y in making friends; Self est eem w as low er am ong girls w it h visual impairment t han among girls w it hout visual impairm ent ; adolescent s w it h visual impairment t ended t o describe t heir family r elation as slight ly bet t er t han adolescent s w it hout visual impairment ;
5. Rosenblum
, 2000
School 10 visual impairment adolescent s w it hout
10
additional disabilities and
theirs best friends;
Ranged in age from
13-17 years old
Nevertheless, they had experienced firsthand the benefits of having friends. Thus, it
is important to recognize that a child can be an outsider and still have beneficial and
meaningful social relationships.
6.
Kroksmark
& Nordell,
2001
School &
Home
6 adolescents, 4
congenital low vision and
2 sighted. Ranged in age
from 15-16 years old.
Survey ( Diary
report)
Everyday – Activity context :
Adolescents with low vision sp ent more time in passive activities and engaged in
those activities for long peri ods; adolescents with low visi on went to the
established activities while t he sighted engaged in established and spontaneously
initiated activities; adolescents with low vision sl ept much more than those who
were sighted; adolescents with low vision spoke on the phone less often than their
sighted peers; adolescents wit h low vision has few activitie s that involved the
manipulation of their hands.
Geographic Context:
Adolescents with low vision provided by a car to go to another place even they lived
in a neighborhood with good public transportation; they spent most of their leisure
time at home. If they visited friends, they often did so because of a goal directed
activity.
The adolescents with low vision perfor med fewer activities than did their sighted
peers, engaged primarily in passive or pre established activities, did not regularly
spent time with friends, and were dependent on their parents for transportation.
7.
Oh, Oztruk
& Kozub,
2004
School
(Physical
education
class)
3 visual impairment
students, 4 low vision
students & 12 high vision
students; age mean
12.58
Qualitative
(Observation)
No significant relationships b etween level of vision and soc ial engagement in
physical education class; the structure of the lesson and the nature of the activities
offered play a role in social engagement; some codependence should exist between
physical activity offerings and social outcomes (e.g. scooter activities demonstrat ed
the highest mean physical activity count s while yielding the lowest me an social
engagement scores)
8.
Jindal-Snape,
2004
School
2 visual impairment
students; Ranged in age
from 9-11 years old.
Experimental
/ multiple baseline
design
Feedback was necessary to f acilitate self evaluation and to develop social skills;
direct feedback related to behavior is essential only for skills that require visual cues
and is required before self evaluation, so children aware of this feedback and help
her/ him pick up on it; sel f evaluation is effective in generalizing and maintaining
social skills and in enhancing social interaction.
9.
Kef and
and
Home
178 adolescents with a
visual impairment (98
Survey (incl.
interview)
11
Dekovic,
2004
males, 80 females) and
338 adolescents without
impairment (170 males,
168 females);Ranged in
age from 14-18 years old.
seems to affect well-being of adolescents with a vi sual impairment stronger than
the well-being of the sighted group; ef fort should be made to increase the social
skills of adolescents with a v isual impairment in order to i mprove their peer
relation.
10.
Shapiro et
al., 2005
Summer
camp
43 visual impairment
students; ranged in age
from 8-21 years old.
Experimental/ pre
experimental one
group pre test
purposive sampling
The students in the study felt more positive about their social competence, though
they had low perceptions of their athletic competence. These findings suggest that
children and youths who are vi sually impaired may think they have acquired the
social skills necessary to interact and function in social setting but these social skills
may not have translated into inclusion in group physical activity.
11.
Shirley &
Nes, 2005
School,
home
71 visual impairment
students, 88 sighted
students; age mean: 11
years old
Survey
Children with visual impairments in this study appeared to have developed socially
in a similar manner to the sighted ch ildren, and study found that having a pet is
positively correlated with the feeling of importance, social competence and self
esteem.
12.
Jindal
Snape,
2005
School
1 visual impairment
students, 4 sighted
students; Age: 9 yrs old.
Experimental/
Multiple baseline
design
Social interaction between student with visual impairment and his peers increased
considerably. Self evaluation was shown to be effective in generalizing skil ls and
interaction across participants and settings. M odeling the provision of feedback and
information about the social environment is feasible and tho se teachers need to
provide more feedback and information to children who visually impaired, so that
other children may model the t eacher and will start pr oviding feedback and
information without any formal training. Feedback from signi ficant people in the
environment is a way to help student who are visually impair ed to develop social
skills that require visual cues and that these people should make an effort to
provide accurately and in an appropriate way.
13.
Jindal
Snape,
2005
School
4 students; 1 totally
blind, 3 sighted students.
Age 9 yrs old.
Experimental/
Multiple baseline
design
Verbal feedback was effective in enabling student to self evaluate social skills that
required visual cues. After si gnificant others in the enviro nment provide initial
feedback, children who are vis ually impaired can generalize and maintain their
behavior even in the absence o f these significance others. I f such feedback an d
information are provided by teacher in everyday situation, students may model it,
which could lead visually impaired students to more rapid and natural development
of social skills and an increase in social interaction.
14.
George &
Duquette,
School &
home
1 low vision student; Age:
11 yrs old.
Qualitative (Case
study)
12
2006
difficulty with pee r relation. As long as parent, teacher, and peers worked
cooperatively to create supportive environment.
15.
Lifshitz,
Hen &
Weisse,
2007
School
40 visual impairment
students & 41 sighted
students; ranged in age
from 13-18 years old.
Survey
The score for the students with visual impairments on confrontation and b etrayal
and spending leisure time together were significantly lower than were those of the
sighted students. The social relations of individuals with visual impairments involve
a certain amount of dependence. The lower level o f confrontation and betrayal
found in this group may reflect their fear of losing their f riends. When choosing a
friend, they preferred an inde pendent blind friend who is co mpetent and well
adjusted to a dependent friend with a low vision. Student in public school have a
bigger opportunity to make social interaction with sighted p eer, thus their score in
behavioral category higher than students in residential school.
