Mental Health of Children with Vision Impairment at 11 years of age

Summary

The purpose of the study was to compare the risk of psychiatric disturbance among sighted and vision-impaired children aged 11 years. Scores from the parent and teacher versions of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) were used to compare sighted children with: vision-impaired children; vision-impaired children with no other reported disabilities or special educational needs; and children with vision impairment and additional disabilities or special educational needs. Both parents and teachers scored vision-impaired children significantly higher on the SDQ compared with sighted children (p≤0.000) and a significantly higher proportion of the vision-impaired children had SDQ scores in the abnormal range (p≤0.000). Children with vision impairment and other disabilities or special educational needs were rated as being at greatest risk of psychiatric disorder by both parents (30%) and teachers (22%). Vision impairment among children as young as 11 years of age is associated with an increased risk of psychiatric disorder.