Department of Community Mental Health, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel.
Disabil Rehabil. 2021 May;43(9):1228-1236. doi: 10.1080/09638288.2019.1661036. Epub 2019 Sep 6.
The sense of vision plays a dominant role in entering a romantic partnership. However, the romantic experiences of individuals with visual impairment have received scant research attention. The study aimed to describe the lived romantic experiences of young adults with visual impairment from various cultural backgrounds and to understand the implications of these experiences on their psychological wellbeing.
The study was conducted in the Israeli multicultural society. We conducted in-depth semi-structured interviews with 24 Jewish and Arab adults (aged 18-40 years) with visual impairment about their romantic experiences and the meanings they attribute to these experiences. We used an inductive thematic analysis.
Singlehood seemed to be a distressing situation for the Muslim female participants compared to the Jewish participants. Having a romantic partner contributed to the participants' self-acceptance and psychological well-being, especially for Muslim individuals.
The findings demonstrate the intersection of lifelong disability, gender, and culture in the context of romantic relationships. The findings also highlight the need to support the romantic opportunities and experiences of young individuals with visual impairment, especially those from Arab society.IMPLICATIONS FOR REHABILITATIONYoung adults with visual impairment often face physical and social barriers in entering and maintaining a romantic relationship.Having a romantic partner contributes to the self-acceptance and psychological wellbeing of young adults with visual impairment.Rehabilitation practitioners should take into consideration personal and environmental factors, such as gender and cultural background, when providing support in a romantic and intimate relationship, for individuals with lifelong disabilities.Rehabilitation practitioners should also engage family members, especially from religious families, to support their relatives with visual impairment in developing a romantic relationship.
视觉在进入浪漫关系中起着主导作用。然而，视力障碍个体的浪漫体验却很少受到关注。本研究旨在描述来自不同文化背景的年轻视力障碍成年人的真实浪漫体验，并理解这些体验对他们心理健康的影响。
该研究在以色列多元文化社会中进行。我们对 24 名犹太和阿拉伯成年人（年龄在 18-40 岁之间）进行了深入的半结构化访谈，了解他们的浪漫经历以及他们对这些经历的看法。我们采用了归纳主题分析。
与犹太参与者相比，单身对穆斯林女性参与者来说似乎是一种痛苦的情况。有伴侣有助于参与者的自我接纳和心理健康，尤其是对穆斯林个体而言。
研究结果表明，在浪漫关系中，终身残疾、性别和文化是相互交织的。研究结果还强调了需要支持年轻视力障碍个体的浪漫机会和体验，尤其是来自阿拉伯社会的个体。
视力障碍的年轻人在进入和维持浪漫关系时常常面临身体和社会障碍。有伴侣有助于年轻视力障碍者的自我接纳和心理健康。康复从业者在提供终身残疾者的浪漫和亲密关系支持时，应考虑个人和环境因素，如性别和文化背景。康复从业者还应让家庭成员，特别是来自宗教家庭的成员，支持他们有视力障碍的亲属发展浪漫关系。
