Social Anxiety Symptoms in The Visually Impaired Versus Healthy Control: Saudi Arabian Samples

This study aims to compare self-esteem and social anxiety disorder (SAD) symptoms levels between visually impaired and sighted individuals, and to explore the relationship between social anxiety and various sociodemographic factors.

A case-control study was conducted from March to June 2017 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, involving 62 participants (24 visually impaired and 38 sighted). Participants completed a demographic form, the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale (LSAS), and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES). Data analysis included descriptive statistics, and t-tests to compare psychological outcomes between groups.

The mean age of visually impaired participants was significantly higher than that of sighted participants (24±2.8 vs 22.4±2.2 years, p=0.013). No significant differences were observed between the two groups in terms of gender, marital status, or education level. The RSES scores indicated no significant difference in self-esteem between visually impaired and sighted individuals (18.13±2.66 vs 17.42±2.04, p=0.244). Similarly, LSAS scores did not significantly differ between the two groups (32.63±24.19 vs 36.68±22.68, p=0.506).

The findings suggest that visually impaired individuals do not have significantly different levels of self-esteem or social anxiety compared to their sighted peers, indicating that visual impairment may not directly contribute to lower self-esteem or higher social anxiety. Future research should involve larger, more diverse samples and longitudinal studies to further explore these relationships.