What is Essential is Invisible to the Eye: Intimate Relationships of Adolescents with Visual Impairment

We examined the development of intimate relationships in 180 adolescents with visual impairment (VI) and 533 sighted peers. Adolescents with VI reported a later age at the time of first falling in love, dating, and entering into a romantic relationship. However, between-group differences in the timing of first sexual intercourse were not significant. In addition, similar numbers of adolescents from both groups had experiences with falling in love and having romantic relations at the time of assessment. The two groups differed in the criteria for mate selection, and emotional maturity was more important for young people with VI than for their sighted peers while the reverse was found for physical attractiveness and material resources of potential partners. Finally, the two groups did not differ in the perceived quality of their present romantic relationship.