Thesis (Ph.D.)--Boston University / PLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis or dissertation. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at open-help@bu.edu. Thank you. / This study was designed to examine dependency in a permanently and totally blind adult male population. This necessitated the use of measures of overt and covert dependency which examined (a) the differences in dependency levels for blind adults compared with a sighted adult comparison group, and (b) the dependency levels varying within the blind groups is a function of length of blindness. A distinction between Instrumental Dependency (ID) and Emotional Dependency {ED) was proposed. ID was defined as the activity of seeking support or overt help, and ED referred to behavior exhibited in gaining satisfaction of some covert need.
It is generally accepted that blindness creates a state of helplessness and dependency. A physical disability, by its very nature, necessitates the disabled person to both seek out and accept help from others. Often times the assistance he receives is in areas of performance where he was formerly able to function independently. Generally, the more severe the disability, in this case, the degree of blindness, the higher the amount of dependent behavior required to function adequately. It is possible that generalization effects of this dependency result in a transfer of this behavior to new and different situations. Not only is there the possibility of ID transfer, but there also may be a transfer effect which would increase covert ED behavior.
The following four hypotheses were tested:
1. Blind adults are higher in Instrumental Dependency than are sighted adults.
2. Instrumental Dependency is related to length of blindness among blind adults.
3. Blind adults are higher in Emotional Dependency than are sighted adults.
4. Emotional Dependencx is related to length of blindess among blind adults.
Instrumental Dependency was reflected through the frequency with which Ss required the assistance of repeated anchor value sounds in the judgment of "slow" and "fast" audible stimuli. Emotional Dependency was measured through responses to the Rohde Sentence Completion Test.
Subjects' ages ranged from 20-54 years, intelligence quotients were between "dull normal" and "bright normal". Seventy subjects were studied, fifty-six blind and a comparison group of fourteen sighted. The blind Ss were divided into four groups according to length of blindness, which ranged from four months to almost eleven years.
Results indicated that blind adults are higher in ID, and that ID is related to length of blindness (r=.47). While the blind adults scored higher in ED than did sighted adults, results indicated that, contrary to the proposed hypothesis, ED decreases as the length of blindness increases (r= -.35).
There is evidence that help-seeking ("dependency") is a concomitant of the condition of blindness that is generalized to behavior which would not ordinarily elicit differential responses. As noted in the results , this help seeking was significantly greater for blind adults. However, the lessening of ED over time seems to indicate the learning of coping behavior following the initial heightened dependency. The separate dynamics of ID and ED, and their relationship to length of blindness, were discussed within the framework of learning and ego psychology. / 2031-01-01
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bu.edu/oai:open.bu.edu:2144/34548 |
| Date | January 1966 |
| Creators | Green, Emmanuel |
| Publisher | Boston University |
| Source Sets | Boston University |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis/Dissertation |
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