2 - (SYM 53) Disability Identity, Depression, and Anxiety in People with Visual Impairment

Objective:   Disability identity refers to self-concept as a person with a disability. Rooted in social identity theory, disability identity is theorized as a pathway by which people with disabilities affirm their disability identity and adopt the values, norms, and culture associated with disability. Research has begun to support the role of disability identity in predicting positive outcomes among people with disabilities. Visual impairment has been associated with anxiety and depression, however, the role of disability identity in anxiety and depression for people with visual impairments is not fully understood. This study examined whether two novel facets of disability identity, disability self-worth and personal meaning, relate to levels of depression and anxiety above and beyond the effects of demographic and disability characteristics in people with visual impairment.  

Method: Participants represented an international sample of adults (age 18-99) with any level of visual impairment or blindness. Participants completed an online survey containing questions regarding demographic and impairment factors, disability identity, anxiety, and depression. Hierarchical linear regressions assessed relative contribution of disability identity and disability characteristics to anxiety and depression. 

Results: Anxiety/depression was entered as the dependent variable, demographic variables were entered in Block 1, impairment-related variables were entered in Block 2, and disability identity subscales (self-worth and personal meaning) were entered in Block 3. In the final model, anxiety/depression was significantly associated with disability-related self-worth (ß = –.40, p < .001), age (ß = –.18, p < .001), and gender (ß = –.15, p < .001), such that higher disability self-worth, identifying as male, or being older related to lower reported anxiety/depression.  

Conclusion: This study considered associations among two subconstructs of disability identity, self-worth and personal meaning, and disability-related factors and anxiety and depression in an international sample of people with visual impairment. As hypothesized, higher disability self-worth was significantly associated with lower depression and anxiety, explaining more variance than demographic or disability-related factors. Findings suggest that disability self-worth may be an important individual difference for mental health, which implicates the utility for cognitive-behavioral and other interventions that could promote disability identity.