Hope and Social Support in Adults who are Legally Blind at a Training Center

Abstract

Researchers have confirmed a relationship between social support and good health, lower mortality rates, and faster recoveries (Cohen & Syme, 1985; Hale, Hannum, & Espelage, 2005; Hurdle, 2001). Other researchers have focused on social support and its relationship to mental health. The promising prognoses found for physical health when adequate social support exists led to the assumption that strong social support aids in the reduction of depression, somatization (physical symptoms that arise from depression, for example), and other mental disorders. Cohen and McKay (1984), for example, theorized that social support acts as a buffer to protect individuals from the harmful physical and mental effects of stressful life events. Social support for individuals with a disability became another focus for researchers because chronic conditions have the potential to have both physical and mental components (Levine & Blackburn, 1946; Seybold, 2005). Li and Moore (1998) investigated the social variables that help an individual accept his or her disability. They found that perceived social discrimination contributed to negative outcomes and that subsequent social integration improved an individual's psychological well-being. They concluded that to achieve social integration, an individual with a disability needs a strong and supportive social network. Kef (2002) studied the effect of the size and composition of social support networks among adolescents with visual impairments. She explained that although they have smaller social networks than do sighted adolescents, adolescents who are visually impaired receive the majority of their support from family members and friends and are satisfied with this support. In a previous study, Kef (1997) found that parents provided the most important emotional support for all adolescents and that support from friends was more important to girls than to boys. She found little difference between the reported levels of social support perceived by adolescents who were blind, had low vision, or had moderate visual impairments. Beach and Robinet (1995) and Tuttle (1984) studied self-esteem and adjustment in adults who were blind. Both sets of researchers found that higher self-esteem was related to higher levels of independence. The mission of training and rehabilitation centers for people who are blind includes instilling independence and competence in skills in the people they serve. For this reason, the authors hypothesized that having received such training or the length of time spent at training centers would be associated with levels of self-esteem and hope of individuals with visual impairments. One critical step in developing self-esteem, self-identity, and stable health is for an individual with a disability or chronic illness to achieve or regain hope. Miller (2000) discussed the hopelessness that afflicts many individuals with disabilities and identified critical factors, such as setting goals, having optimism, and finding meaning in life, that are required to reestablish a sense of hope. Because initial and unexamined reactions to life-changing events or permanent disabilities are often negative, sometimes even debilitating, factors that help create positive change in the affected individuals' lives need to be examined. In the study presented here, we examined the relationship between levels of hope and social support in a sample of legally blind individuals who were actively engaged in blindness rehabilitation training. Social support from family members, friends, and a significant other were measured to examine the relationships among length of time spent at a training center, quality of social support networks, and levels of hope. We hypothesized that hope and perceived overall social support would be positively correlated. In addition, we hypothesized that participants who had previously attended a training facility or school for persons who are blind would report higher levels of hope than would those who had not, and that levels of hope would be positively correlated with the length of time the individuals had been blind. …