Disability, Perceived Overprotection, and Mental Health

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The long term goal of the proposed research is to better understand the interrelationship between disability, perceived overprotection, and mental health among visually impaired adults between the ages of 22 and 64 years. Over 10 million Americans between the ages of 22 and 64 report having some type of vision problem even when using corrective lenses and vision loss has been linked to negative mental health outcomes, such as depression and anxiety. Perceived overprotection, which is defined as a feeling of being unnecessarily helped or overly restricted by caregivers, is associated with depression in stroke and cancer patients. Moreover, overprotection is associated with lower levels of well-being and psychosocial adaptation in older adults with age-related vision loss. These studies have used the theoretical framework of the learned helplessness theory to explain the link between overprotection and depression. A fair amount of research has been conducted with older individuals, but the relationship between overprotection and depression in younger individuals (age 22 to 64) with a disability remains mostly unexplored. Moreover, research has shown that the experience of a chronic impairment may have a more adverse impact on the mental health of younger individuals than of older individuals. Therefore, the specific aims of this study are: [1] to explore the interrelationship between disability, perceived overprotection and mental health (depression and anxiety); and [2] to explore whether age moderates the effects of functional disability and perceived overprotection on mental health outcomes. Participants will be 100 adults ranging between the ages of 22 and 64, recruited from a community-based rehabilitation agency. Data for this cross-sectional study will be collected via telephone interviews. Regression analyses will be used to test the effects of independent variables on mental health and to test if age moderates the effects of functional disability and overprotection on mental health outcomes. Findings from this research will help to identify those who are at risk for mental health problems and to design interventions.