Loneliness among Students with Blindness and Sighted Students in Jordan: A brief report

Abstract

This study investigated loneliness among students with blindness and those who are sighted in Jordan, and examined whether loneliness levels vary according to gender. Students included 90 students with blindness and 79 sighted students selected from high schools and universities in the capital city of Amman. The instrument used to collect information in this study was an Arabic translation and adapted version of the UCLA Loneliness Scale developed by Russell in 1996. The results indicated that students with blindness reported significantly higher degrees of loneliness than sighted students; however, no significant differences were attributable to gender or interaction between visual status and gender. The implications of the findings for families and teachers of students with blindness, and for future research in Jordan, are offered.

Keywords:

• adolescents
• Arab countries
• blindness
• Jordan
• loneliness
• social isolation
• vision impairment
• young adults

Acknowledgements

The findings reported here are based on research conducted as part of a research project entitled “Social Relationships of Blind Adolescents in Jordan” funded by the Deanship of Academic Research, The University of Jordan. No restrictions have been imposed on free access to, or publication of, the research data. The content of this publication does not necessarily reflect the views or policies of The University of Jordan. Opinions reflect those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of The University of Jordan. The authors had no financial or other conflicts of interest.