Investigating psychological distress in children with a visual impairment: The role of parental factors

Previous research has suggested children and adolescents with a visual impairment (VI) may be at greater risk of experiencing psychological distress than typically developing (TD) children. The purpose of this study was to determine whether VI children experience more internalizing and externalizing symptoms than TD children. Furthermore, we sought to determine whether this distress was associated with parenting factors including parenting stress and parenting style. Thirty-eight children between the ages of 8 and 17 and their parent(s) participated in the study. Children had ‘mild’ or ‘moderate’ VI, with no known neurological or physical comorbidities. Two measures of psychopathology were administered to children, and two measures of parenting were administered to parents. We found that VI children experienced significantly more internalizing and externalizing symptoms than TD children (based on normative population scores). Furthermore, results indicated significant positive associations between parenting stress and psychopathology in children. We also found a significant positive association between permissive parenting and emotional and behavioral difficulties in children. Findings add to the growing evidence base that VI children are at greater risk of experiencing clinically significant distress. We recommend taking a preventive approach and focusing on family-based interventions to support the emotional needs of VI children.