Domain-Specific Ratings of Importance and Global Self-Worth of Children with Visual Impairments.

Abstract: This study examined perceived competence; ratings of importance of physical appearance, athletic competence, and social acceptance; discrepancy scores; and global self-worth of 43 children with visual impairments. The findings revealed that the children discounted the importance of physical appearance, athletic competence, and social acceptance and had moderately high ratings of global, or overall, self-worth. The results are discussed in relation to understanding the effects of discounting strategies on domain-specific and overall self-esteem. ********** Self-concept, the way in which a person thinks about himself or herself, has been a key construct in academic and sports settings largely because of its persistent relationship to motivation, behavior, and achievement (Clever, Bear, & Juvonen, 1992; Ebbeck & Stuart, 1993; Weiss, 1987). Children, including those with disabilities, need positive self-concepts to feel competent enough to participate in the common games and sports of childhood in a variety of physical activity settings (Shapiro & Dummer, 1998). Participation in sports and other physical activities is often a social activity involving groups of children, such as teams, friends, and clubs, and is viewed as a key socializing environment for teaching children interpersonal skills and physical competencies that are related to enhancing their self-esteem (Ebbeck & Stuart, 1993; Weiss & Duncan, 1992). Within a general physical education or mainstream setting, children and adolescents with visual impairments generally have fewer opportunities and incentives to engage in athletic and social activities that provide the amounts and kinds of stimulation that are typical of sighted children. Such patterns of participation may be due to less extensive social networks; fewer friendships; exclusion from groups; withdrawal from group activities; differences in physical appearance; and poorer physical fitness, motor skills, and functional skills than their sighted peers (Kef, 1997; Kroksmark & Nordell, 2001; Robinson & Lieberman, 2004; Rosenblum, 1997; Skaggs & Hopper, 1996; Sorensen, 1999). Lieberman, Houston-Wilson, and Kozub (2002) found that the greatest barrier to participation in physical activity was the lack of professional preparation by general physical education teachers. Children with visual impairments also reported that this lack of professional preparation led to the lack of knowledge about equipment, assessments, and modifications. Researchers have also indicated that teachers, parents, and administrators make decisions for students with regard to activities, teams, positions, modifications, equipment, and rules, regardless of the students' level of visual impairment (Robinson & Lieberman, 2004; Stuart, Lieberman, & Hand, 2006). When students with visual impairments do not make their own decisions about their physical activities, their preferences and needs are not always met. A respondent in Agran, Hong, and Blankenship's (2007, p. 459) study stated that children who are visually impaired "have a greater need for self-determination than other students because they have to learn to do what they need to do to succeed in a sighted world." According to Harter's (1978) theory of competence motivation, limited or failure experiences of individuals with visual impairments in the social, physical, and athletic domains should have a negative impact on the individuals' domain-specific perceptions of competence, ratings of importance, and judgments of global, or overall, self-worth. Negative self-perceptions often lead to a reduction in physical activity, an unwillingness to try unfamiliar activities or to meet new challenges, loneliness, and social dissatisfaction (Kalloniatis & Johnston, 1994; Lieberman, 2002; Lieberman, Robinson, & Rollheiser, 2006; MacCuspie, 1996; Page, Frey, Talbert, & Falk, 1992; Rose & Larkin, 2002). …