Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hong Kong, 2006. / Title proper from title frame. Also available in printed format.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Sydney, 2008. / Title from title screen (viewed 18 June 2008). Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy to the Department of Clinical Ophthalmology and Eye Health, Faculty of Medicine. Degree awarded 2008; thesis submitted 2007. Includes bibliographical references. Also available in print form.

Thesis (M.A.)--York University, 2005. Graduate Programme in Psychology. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 58-62). Also available on the Internet. MODE OF ACCESS via web browser by entering the following URL: http://gateway.proquest.com/openurl?url%5Fver=Z39.88-2004&res%5Fdat=xri:pqdiss &rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:dissertation&rft_dat=xri:pqdiss:MR11906

published_or_final_version / abstract / Social Work and Social Administration / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

The older adult population in the United States is rapidly expanding both because of longer life expectancies as well as the aging of the baby boomers. While vision impairment is a growing concern among older adults, there have been few, mostly small studies, of the impact of vision impairment on this population. The present study uses a national data set, the Second Supplement on Aging (1994 -1996) from the National Health Interview Survey, in a cross-sectional study of 9,447 civilian non-institutionalized persons, aged 70 years and over at the time of their interview. The SOA II has been studied in the context of a social theory of aging that emphasizes interdependence through the life course using a stress process model that has been refined into a disability model. Disability is understood as a social construction outcome rather than as a medical outcome. Vision impairment is the stressor which is mediated by health (falls, functioning and self-health report), financial resources (education, income and having only public health insurance) and social support (marital, living along, having no living children, social activities in number and intensity). Depression is a possible, but not a necessary result of vision impairment. Disability may result when a medical pathology leads to an impairment which results in a functional limitation and finally a social disability. This secondary analysis used a multinomial logistic regression for both the whole sample as well as separately for each gender. For the whole sample the results indicate that a typical profile of a vision-impaired older adult depressed some/all of the time, would be a younger-old White woman (aged 70-74 years old) who has fallen in the past 12 months, has difficult with one or more Activities of Daily Living or with both one or more Activities of Daily Living and Instrumental Activities of Daily Living, has a poor to fair self-heath report, a family income under $20,000, a high school or less education, lives alone, has a living child and lacks social activities in number and intensity. In the gender samples, only the female sample at the some/all of the time depression category is significant. Older vision-impaired adults, especially older women who have more social supports are less likely to be depressed and so disabled. There is a need for social policies that will educate, encourage and support older vision-impaired adults as they seek to compensate for the loss of vision, often late in life.