A cross-lagged study of psychosocial adaptation among students with visual impairments: Coping, self-esteem, and social integration

Abstract

Background: As three key indicators of psychosocial adaptation, coping, self-esteem, and social integration are vital for students with visual impairments.

Aims: This study aimed to examine the reciprocal relationships among visually impaired students' coping, self-esteem, and social integration.

Methods: Students with visual impairments (N_Time1 = 311, N_Time2 = 170) from four special schools in mainland China responded to three inventories at two timepoints over one year. Cross-lagged panel modelling was performed to analyse the data.

Results: After controlling for gender, self-esteem positively predicted self-directed coping and negatively predicted relinquished-control coping. An inverse path was found in the prediction of relinquished-control coping to self-esteem. Social integration positively predicted self-esteem. Furthermore, gender did not moderate the relationships in the cross-lagged model.

Conclusions and implications: Evidence is provided for a negative loop between self-esteem and relinquished-control coping. Social integration could be a precursor of self-esteem, and self-esteem could be a precursor of self-directed coping. Moreover, the study has practical implications for special schools, teachers, parents, and students on enhancing visually impaired students' psychosocial adaptation.

Keywords: Coping; Cross-lagged panel modelling; Self-esteem; Social integration; Visual impairments.