Relationship between perceived parenting style with anxiety levels and loneliness in visually impaired children and adolescents

Background: Visual impairment is a risk factor for psychiatric disorders in the affected children and adolescents, but there are only a limited number of studies concerning the mental health characteristics of visually impaired children and adolescents. Objective: The aim of this study was to determine levels of loneliness and anxiety in visually impaired children and adolescents, to analyze parenting style perceived by visually impaired children and adolescents, to compare those with typically controls. Methods: The study included 40 children and adolescents with visually impairment and 34 control group without visual impairment. Sociodemographic data form, the UCLA loneliness scale, and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children were used in both groups. The parenting Style Scale was used to determine perceived parental attitudes. Results: This study found more loneliness and trait anxiety levels in visually impaired children and adolescents compared to the control group. Authoritative parenting style was the most frequent type of parental attitude in the visually impaired group. In visual impairment group, loneliness level was higher in subgroups of authoritative and permissive-indulgent parenting style. However, level of trait anxiety was higher in authoritative parenting style subgroup compared to the control group. Discussion: The results of this study showed higher loneliness and anxiety levels in visually impaired children and adolescents. Further studies are needed to determine psychopathological risks in this population.