This article describes a pilot study of the friendships of 22 adolescents aged 13–19 with visual impairments. The study found that the female participants and the 13–15-year-old participants had more intimate friendships than did the male participants and the 16–19-year-old participants. The friends engaged in a variety of activities, talked about a wide array of topics, and spent time together in many places. Only a few participants reported that their visual impairments affected what they did with their friends.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
BarragaN.C., & ErinJ.N. (1992). Visual handicaps and learning.Austin, TX: Pro-Ed.
2.
BeradtT.J. (1982). The features and effects of friendship in early adolescence.Child Development, 53, 1447–1460.
3.
BuhrmesterD. (1990). Intimacy of friendship, interpersonal competence, and adjustment during preadolescence and adolescence.Child Development, 61, 1101–1111.
4.
CamarenaP.M., SarigianiP.A., & PetersenA.C. (1990). Gender-specific pathways to intimacy in early adolescence.Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 19(1), 19–32.
5.
CrockettL., LosoffM., & PetersenA.C. (1984). Perceptions of the peer group and friendship in early adolescence.Journal of Early Adolescence, 4, 155–181.
6.
D'HeurleA., & Widmark-PeterssonV. (1980). Cross-sex friendship in children: Gender patterns and cultural perspectives.Psychology in the Schools, 17, 523–529.
7.
DiazR.M., & BerndtT.J. (1982). Children's knowledge of a best friend: Fact or fancy?Developmental Psychology, 18, 787–794.
8.
DuckS. (1983). Friends, for life: The psychology of close relationships.Brighton, England: Harvester Press.
9.
DuckS. (1991). Friends, for life: The psychology of personal relationships (2nd ed.). New York: Harvester Wheatsheaf.
10.
HartupW.W. (1978). Children and their friends. In McGurkH. (Ed.), Issues in childhood social development (pp. 130–170). London: Methuen.
11.
HartupW.W. (1993). Adolescents and their friends. In LaursenB. (Ed.), Close friendships in adolescence (pp. 3–22). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
12.
HaysR.B. (1984). The development and maintenance of friendship.Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 1, 75–98.
13.
HobenM., & LinstromV. (1980). Evidence of isolation in the mainstream.Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness, 74, 289–292.
14.
JonesG.P., & DemboM.H. (1989). Age and sex role differences in intimate friendships during childhood and adolescence.Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, 35, 445–462.
15.
KekelisL.S. (1988). Increasing positive social interactions between a blind child and sighted kindergartners. In SacksS., KekelisL., & Gaylord-RossR. (Eds.), The social development of visually impaired students.San Francisco: Department of Special Education, San Francisco State University.
16.
KekelisL.S. (1992). Peer interaction in childhood: The impact of visual impairment. In SacksS.Z., KekelisL.S., & Gaylord-RossR.J. (Eds.), The development of social skills by blind and visually impaired students (pp. 13–18). New York: American Foundation for the Blind.
17.
KekelisL.S., & SacksS.Z. (1992). The effects of visual impairment on children's social interactions in regular education programs. In SacksS.Z., KekelisL.S., & Gaylord-RossR.J. (Eds.), The development of social skills by blind and visually impaired students (pp. 59–82). New York: American Foundation for the Blind.
18.
KentD. (1983). Finding a way through the rough years: How blind girls survive adolescence.Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness, 77, 247–250.
19.
MacCuspieP.A. (1990). The social acceptance and interaction of integrated visually impaired children. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Dalhousie UniversityHalifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
20.
MacCuspieP.A. (1992). The social acceptance and interaction of visually impaired children in integrated settings. In SacksS.Z., KekelisL.S., & Gaylord-RossR.J. (Eds.), The development of social skills by blind and visually impaired students (pp. 83–102). New York: American Foundation for the Blind.
21.
McCoyJ.K. (1992). The importance of individual and family characteristics in predicting adolescent friendship quality (Doctoral dissertation, University of Georgia, 1992). University Microfilms International, No. 9316369.
22.
ParkerJ.G., & GottmanJ.M. (1989). Social and emotional development in a relational context. In BerndtT.J., & LaddG.W. (Eds.), Peer relationships in child development (pp. 95–131). New York: John Wiley & Sons.
23.
RitzS. (1992). Intimate friendship and social competency through early adolescence (Doctoral dissertation, Virginia Commonwealth University, 1992).University Microfilms International No. 9310463.
24.
RubinL.B. (1985). The role of friendship in our lives.New York: Harper & Row.
25.
SacksS.Z. (1992). The social development of visually impaired children: A theoretical perspective. In SacksS.Z., KekelisL.S., & Gaylord-RossR.J. (Eds.), The development of social skills by blind and visually impaired students, (pp. 3–12). New York: American Foundation for the Blind.
26.
SacksS.Z., WolffeK., & TierneyD. (In press). The Social Network Pilot Project: Lifestyles of students with visual impairments.Teaching Exceptional Children.
27.
SharabanyR. (1974). Intimate friendship among kibbutz and city children and its measurement (Doctoral dissertation, Cornell University, 1974).University Microfilms International No. 1613066.
28.
SharabanyR. (1994). Intimate Friendship Scale: Conceptual underpinnings, psychometric properties and construct validity.Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 11, 449–469.
29.
SharabanyR., GershoniR., & HofmanJ.E. (1981). Girlfriend, boyfriend: Age and sex differences in intimate friendship.Developmental Psychology, 17, 800–808.
30.
ShechtmanZ. (1994). The effect of group psychotherapy on close same-gender friendships among boys and girls.Sex Roles, 30(11–12), 829–834.
31.
ShulmanS. (1993). Close friendships in early and middle adolescence: Typology and friendship reasoning. In LaursenB. (Ed.), Close friendships in adolescence (pp. 55–71). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
32.
WarrenD.W. (1984). Blindness and early childhood development (2nd ed.). New York: American Foundation for the Blind.
33.
WarrenD.W. (1994). Blindness and children: An individual differences approach.New York: Cambridge University Press.
