Sage Journals: Discover world-class research

Abstract

This study qualitatively examined visually impaired individuals’ motivations to reveal or conceal their low vision. Interviews revealed that participants (n = 24), who had the ability to pass as sighted, weighed the risks and rewards of disclosure. They concealed to minimize stigma and avoid undesired attention and revealed because the benefits (procuring tangible assistance, building intimacy, educating others, and not incurring worse stigma) outweighed the risks. In some cases, participants found that instead of resulting in stigma, disclosing their visual impairment was useful in contesting marginalization. As individuals with low vision are provided with few communication tools and most sighted individuals have little exposure to people with low vision, knowledge of these disclosure strategies may help empower visually impaired individuals while spreading awareness and combating misperceptions about this community.

Keywords

Communication privacy management disclosure low vision stigma visual impairment

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Benoit

Jansson

Jansenberger

Phillips

(2013). Disability stigmatization as a barrier to employment equity for legally-blind Canadians. Disability and Society, 28(7), 970–983. https://doi.org/10.1080/09687599.2012.741518

Braithwaite

D. O.

(1991). “Just how much did that wheelchair cost?” Management of privacy boundaries by persons with disabilities. Western Journal of Speech Communication, 55(3), 254–274. https://doi.org/10.1080/10570319109374384

Brannon

G. E.

Rauscher

E. A.

(2019). Managing face while managing privacy: Factors that predict young adults’ communication about sexually transmitted infections with romantic partners. Health Communication, 34(14), 1833–1844. https://doi.org/10.1080/10410236.2018.1536951

Braun

Clarke

(2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77–101. https://doi.org/10.1191/1478088706qp063oa

Braun

Clarke

(2019). Reflecting on reflexive thematic analysis. Qualitative Research in Sport, Exercise, and Health, 11(4), 589–597. https://doi.org/org/10.1080/2159676X.2019.1628806

Bulk

L. Y.

Smith

Nimmon

Jarus

(2020). A closer look at opportunities for blind adults: Impacts of stigmatization and ocularcentrism. British Journal of Visual Impairment, 38(3), 270–283. https://doi.org/10.1177/0264619620911424

Campbell

(2009). Contours of ableism: The production of disability and abledness. Springer.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2022). Fast facts about vision loss. https://www.cdc.gov/vision-health/data-research/vision-loss-facts/index.html

The Chicago Lighthouse. (2016, January 28). What do people who are blind see? https://chicagolighthouse.org/sandys-view/what-blind-people-see/

10.

Coupland

Giles

Benn

(1986). Language, communication and the blind. Journal of Language and Social Psychology, 5(1), 53–62. https://doi.org/10.1177/0261927X8651005

11.

Csillag

Svastics

Győri

Hidegh

A. L.

(2022). Fighting shadows? The concept and emergence of ableism in society and at the workplace. Vezetéstudomány-Budapest Management Review, 53(11), 16–28. https://doi.org/10.14267/VEZTUD.2022.11.02

12.

Duckett

P. S.

Pratt

(2001). The researched opinions on research: Visually impaired people and visual impairment research. Disability & Society, 16(6), 815–835. https://doi.org/10.1080/09687590120083976

13.

Fleck

(2024, January 4). Vision loss predicted to surge 55% by 2050. Statista. https://www.statista.com/chart/31502/expected-number-of-people-with-vision-loss-globally/

14.

Frame

M. J.

(2004). Blind spots: The communicative performance of visual impairment in relationships and social interaction. Charles C. Thomas.

15.

Frederick

(2017). Visibility, respectability, and disengagement: The everyday resistance of mothers with disabilities. Social Science & Medicine, 181, 131–138. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2017.03.030

16.

Goering

(2015). Rethinking disability: The social model of disability and chronic disease. Current Reviews in Musculoskeletal Medicine, 8(2), 134–138. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12178-015-9273-z

17.

Goffman

(1963). Stigma: Notes on the management of spoiled identity. Prentice-Hall.

18.

LaFreniere

Hiland

E. B.

(in press). “I felt like it was the right thing to do”: How college students’ decisions to disclose COVID-19 diagnoses reflect privacy preferences, perceptions of stigma, and cultural norms. Qualitative Health Communication.

19.

Lemire

(2025, January 6). Navigating bias in qualitative research: Identifying and mitigating its impact. QRCA. https://www.qrca.org/blogpost/1488356/506750/Navigating-Bias-in-Qualitative-Research-Identifying-and-Mitigating-Its-Impact

20.

McDonnall

M. C.

Cmar

J. L.

Antonelli

Markoski

K. M.

(2019). Professionals’ implicit attitudes about the competence of people who are blind. Journal of Visual Impairment and Blindness, 113(4), 341354. https://doi.org/10.1177/0145482X19865391

21.

McGrath

Rudman

D. L.

Trentham

Polgar

Spafford

M. M.

(2017). Reshaping understandings of disability associated with age-related vision loss (ARVL): Incorporating critical disability perspectives into research and practice. Disability and Rehabilitation, 39(19), 1990–1998. https://doi.org/10.1080/09638288.2016.1212116

22.

Oliver

(1983). Social work with disabled people. Macmillan.

23.

Olyan

S. M.

(2011). The ascription of physical disability as a stigmatizing strategy in biblical iconic polemics. In Moss

C. R.

Schipper

(Eds.), Disability studies and biblical literature (pp. 89–102). Palgrave Macmillan.

24.

Petronio

(2002). Boundaries of privacy: Dialectics of disclosure. State University of New York Press.

25.

Roberts

S. O.

Bareket-Shavit

Dollins

F. A.

Goldie

P. D.

Mortenson

(2020). Racial inequality in psychological research: Trends of the past and recommendations for the future. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 15(6), 1295–1309. https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691620927709

26.

Romo

L. K.

(2012). “Above the influence”: How college students communicate about the healthy deviance of alcohol abstinence. Health Communication, 27(7), 672–681. https://doi.org/10.1080/10410236.2011.629409

27.

Romo

L. K.

(2016). How formerly overweight and obese individuals negotiate disclosure of their weight loss. Health Communication, 31(9), 1145–1154. https://doi.org/10.1080/10410236.2015.1045790

28.

Romo

L. K.

Dinsmore

D. R.

Watterson

T. C.

(2016). “Coming out” as an alcoholic: How former problem drinkers negotiate disclosure of their nondrinking identity. Health Communication, 31(3), 336–345. https://doi.org/10.1080/10410236.2014.954090

29.

Ryan

Coyne

Heary

Birney

Crotty

Dunne

. . .Walsh

J. C.

(2023). Weight stigma experienced by patients with obesity in healthcare settings: A qualitative evidence synthesis. Obesity Reviews, 24(10), Article e13606. https://doi.org/10.1111/obr.13606

30.

Sanders

C. R.

(2000). The impact of guide dogs on the identity of people with visual impairments. Anthrozoös, 13(3), 131–139. https://doi.org/10.2752/089279300786999815

31.

Shakespeare

(2012). Still a health issue. Disability and Health Journal, 5(3), 129–131. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dhjo.2012.04.002

32.

Smith

J. W.

Kandath

K. P.

(2000). Communication and the blind or visually impaired. In Braithwaite

D. O.

Thompson

T. L.

(Eds.), Handbook of communication and people with disabilities (pp. 389–403). Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

33.

Terzi

(2004). The social model of disability: A philosophical critique. Journal of Applied Philosophy, 21(2), 141–157. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0264-3758.2004.00269.x

34.

Tuttle

D. W.

Tuttle

N. R.

(1996). Self-esteem and adjusting with blindness: The process of responding to life’s demands (2nd ed.). Charles C. Thomas.

35.

Uttermohlen

T. L.

(1997). On “passing” through adolescence. Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness, 91(3), 309–314. https://doi.org/10.1177/0145482X97091003

36.

Wilson

S. R.

Hintz

E. A.

MacDermid Wadsworth

S. M.

Topp

D. B.

Southwell

K. H.

Spoont

(2021). Female US military veterans’(non) disclosure of mental health issues with family and friends: Privacy rules and boundary management. Health Communication, 36(4), 412–423. https://doi.org/10.1080/10410236.2019.1693128

How visually impaired individuals manage disclosure of their visual impairment

Abstract

Keywords

Get full access to this article

References