Social Interaction and Self-Management Abilities among Visually Challenged Individuals: Role of Silver Lining Effect

Abstract

The current study aimed to explore the mediating role of silver lining effect on the relationship between social isolation and self-management abilities among visually challenged individuals. For this purpose, three scales were used; the Social Isolation Scale (Rajan & Yadav, 2019), Self-control and self-management scale (Mezo, 2009) and the Silver Lining Questionnaire (Jabeen & Maqsood, 2013). 260 visually challenged individuals comprising of both genders, including both congenital and late blindness were made part of the study using cross sectional research design and through convenient sampling. The study hypothesized that there’s a significant relation between social isolation and the selfmanagement abilities of visually challenged individuals. It was also hypothesized that there is a negative relationship between social isolation and the silver lining effect in visually challenged individuals. The third hypothesis was that silver lining effect plays a mediating role in relationship between social isolation and self-management abilities of visually challenged individuals. Hypotheses on the basis of demographic variables such as extent of blindness, employment status, age, gender and level of education were also tested. The findings revealed that there is significant negative relationship between social isolation and self-management abilities and also that there is negative relationship between silver lining and social isolation. The mediation analysis revealed that silver lining played a mediating role in the relationship between social isolation and self-management abilities. The findings of the present study have its implication in special educational sector and can provide guidelines to the policy makers to work for facilitation of visually challenged individuals of the society by enhancing their strengths to make them productive participant of the society.