Adaptation to vision loss: Comparing African American and European American women

Vision impairment is the second most prevalent disability among adults. Because of the pervasiveness of this disease, research studies have examined adjustment, coping, and adaptation outcomes of these individuals; consequently, minimal research is available that study the psychosocial adaptation of women, more specifically, African American and European American women. This study consisted of African American and European American women over the age of 50 with a visual impairment. The purpose of this quantitative study was to assess if there are significant differences in psychosocial adaptation to vision loss between African American and European American women over the age of 50 with a visual impairment. Participants were recruited from a local chapter of the American Council of the Blind (ACB) and a local organization that provides vision rehabilitation assistance. Data collection included surveys which examined each participant's adaptation to vision loss. The two surveys were the Functional Vision Index and the Adaptation to Age-Related Vision Loss Scale (AVL 12). Descriptive statistics were used in analyzing the scores from both the AVL 12 and the Functional Vision Index. The researcher used t tests to analyze the psychosocial adaptation of African American and European American women over the age of 50 with vision loss. Results indicated no statistically significant difference in the psychosocial adaptation of African American and European American women over the age of 50 with a visual impairment.