Psychological Adaptation to Visual Impairment: The Traditional Grief Process Revised. Bergeron, C & Wanet-Delfalque, M-C. British Journal of Visual Impairment. 2013, 31 (1) 20-31.
* * *
Résumé original
The objective of this study was to explore the pattern of adaptation in patients who have been diagnosed with visual impairment. Participants (N = 700), recruited in the Montreal area (Canada), underwent a structured interview in order to collect information on the duration of the acquired visual impairment and answered the ‘Brief Cope’, ‘Satisfaction with Life Scale’ and ‘Center for Epidemiologic Studies–Depression Scale’ (CES-D). Multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) revealed that patients who have lived with vision impairment for over 2 years reach significantly higher acceptance and lower denial levels compared to those of patients who had recent vision loss (≤2 years). We also found that acceptance was positively correlated with well-being and denial with depression, while acceptance was negatively correlated with depression and, likewise, denial with well-being. Our study results suggest that patients who have been diagnosed with visual impairment engage in an adaptative coping style early in the grief process.