Exploring the “interactive” hypothesis in adolescents with vision impairment: The relationship between school belonging and selfesteem
Published:
Sep 3, 2024
Keywords:
School Psychology, Social Psychology, Interactive Hypothesis, school belonging, self-esteem, special educational needs and disabilities, adolescence
Abstract
According to the “interactive” hypothesis, global self-esteem is the outcome of the
interaction between domain-specific self-esteem and the importance individuals
attach to each particular area of the self. This study is the first known attempt to
examine the “interactive” hypothesis in adolescents with vision impairment,
focusing on the effect of school belonging on self-esteem. Twenty-five adolescents
with vision impairment and 19 sighted adolescents, aged 12-18 years, attending
mainstream and special schools, participated in this study. Two groups of
adolescents with vision impairment participated in this study according to their
visual acuity: adolescents with severe sight impairment (previously “blindness”
according to the UK classification system) and adolescents with sight impairment
(previously “low vision” according to the UK classification system). All the
participants completed the revised form of Harter’s Self-Perception Profile (2012)
and the Psychological Sense of School Membership (PSSM) scale (Goodenow, 1993a,
1993b). The findings of the study confirmed the hypothesis and showed that the
importance attached to specific domains of self-esteem moderates the relationship
between school belonging, and domain-specific and global self-esteem in
adolescents with and without vision impairment. This study could be considered the
first attempt to test the relationship between school belonging and self-esteem in
students with severe sight impairment and students with sight impairment, treating
them as two different student populations with individual socio-emotional needs.
Our findings can be used by professionals who work closely with students with
vision impairment (e.g., teachers and rehabilitation officers) to develop educational
interventions that will promote their socio-emotional development and self-esteem.
Article Details
- How to Cite
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Manitsa, I., & Barlow-Brown, F. (2024). Exploring the “interactive” hypothesis in adolescents with vision impairment: The relationship between school belonging and selfesteem. Psychology: The Journal of the Hellenic Psychological Society, 29(2), 79–104. https://doi.org/10.12681/psy_hps.36495
- Section
- RESEARCH PAPERS
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