Guide dogs and equipment use as factors influencing self-esteem in visually impaired individuals

Abstract

Background and goals: Global self-esteem in general is an important indicator of well-being and mental health (Rosenberg, Schooler, Schoenback, & Rosenberg, 1995), which can be one indicator of the effectiveness of special education rehabilitation work. Considering studies of self-esteem in the visually impaired persons (Huurre, Komulainen & Aro, 1999; Cardinali & D’Allura, 2001; Papadopoulos, Montgomery & Chronopoulou, 2013), there is no consensus among researchers that visually impaired individuals would have lower self- esteem than their sighted peers. Our aim was to examine the global self-esteem of visually impaired people living in Hungary along transport habits and forms.

Method: In our research, we included 93 visually impaired adults (58 women and 35 men mean age is 42 years). According to the forms/habits of transport, the participants were divided into groups – number of people with a guide dog (n=13); number of white cane users (n=36); number of people using a sighted guide (n=15); number of visually impaired persons traveling without assistance and assistive device (n=27). Participants completed the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale online. The results of the self-esteem scale were compared between the already defined groups. Differences between groups were observed during the study.

Results: Based on the results, there is no significant difference between the groups (p>,05). We found no statistically significant difference between groups in terms of self-esteem.

Conclusions: The self-esteem of the examined visually impaired persons is not directly influenced by the mode of transport chosen or acquired by the given person.

Keywords: self-esteem, visual impairment, transport, assistive tool/white cane, guide dog