Emotional and social consequences of age-related low vision

The aim of this work is to narratively review findings on emotional and social adjustment among visually impaired older adults. The definition of emotional adjustment employed here includes a decline in mental health, especially the occurrence of depression, as well as less severe manifestations of emotional disturbance, such as lower well-being. Empirical research on these topics strongly and consistently confirms difficulties in emotional functioning among visually impaired elders. In particular, a considerable body of research using different methodologies has shown the prevalence of depression in visually impaired groups to be at least twice as high as that found in normal populations. Social adjustment to vision loss is construed to involve difficulties in social functioning, changes in social support, and loneliness. Although research findings indicate loss of social activity and, to a lesser extent, loss of social support among the visually impaired, the relationship between vision loss and lonelin...