A qualidade de vida de adolescentes com cegueira congénita ou precoce em Portugal : implicações na construção da personalidade e da vida adulta
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2011
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Qualidade de Vida é um conceito muito complexo que, basicamente, define a percepção que um indivíduo tem acerca da sua situação na vida, de acordo com o contexto cultural e com os sistemas de valores nos quais vive, sendo essa percepção o resultado da interacção entre os objectivos e expectativas individuais e os indicadores objectivos disponíveis para o ambiente sócio-cultural em que o indivíduo está inserido.
Sendo um período de crescimento, de desenvolvimento e de novas oportunidades, mas, simultaneamente, de desafios e incertezas, a adolescência traz consigo tensões e ansiedades que interferem, necessariamente, com o bem-estar dos jovens.
Para além das tensões inerentes a este período de grandes transformações, os adolescentes portadores de cegueira congénita ou precoce têm ainda de gerir as tensões provocadas pelo confronto diário - necessariamente desgastante - com as barreiras de carácter académico, social e afectivo que, decorrentes das concepções altamente depreciativas da sociedade - nomeadamente da sociedade portuguesa - relativamente à cegueira, condicionam fortemente a inclusão social destes jovens.
Foram entrevistados três adolescentes cegos: dois do sexo feminino - com 19 e 16 anos, respectivamente, e frequentando, à data da entrevista, uma o Ensino Superior, e a outra o Ensino Secundário - e um do sexo masculino, com 15 anos, que, quando foi entrevistado, frequentava o Ensino Básico.
Foram colocadas aos participantes na pesquisa questões que visaram o conhecimento dos aspectos mais relevantes da vida de cada um deles ao nível das várias dimensões a considerar, de modo a podermos, em cada caso, realizar uma avaliação da qualidade de vida e do impacto nela provocado pelas circunstâncias directa e indirectamente associadas à cegueira.
Embora constituam acima de tudo pistas para futuras investigações na medida em que são referentes ao estudo de alguns casos, os resultados obtidos indiciam muito claramente que, em Portugal, a qualidade de vida dos adolescentes portadores de cegueira congénita ou precoce é fortemente afectada, quer pelas concepções muito penalizantes detidas pela nossa sociedade relativamente à cegueira, quer pelas barreiras físicas, logísticas, académicas, sociais e afectivas delas decorrentes.
Life Quality is a very complex concept which basically defines the perception one individual has over his situation in life accordingly to the cultural context and life values he lives within. That perception is the result of the interaction between its goals and personal expectations and the objective available indicators of the socio-cultural environment the individual is inserted in. Being a period of growth, development and new opportunities, but simultaneously, of challenges and incertitude, adolescence brings with it tensions and anxieties which interfere necessarily with young’s well-being. Moreover inherent tensions to this period of big changes, adolescents bringer of congenital or precocious blindness have also to manage the ones provoked by the daily confront – necessarily demanding – containing barriers of academicals, social and affective character, emerging from the highly depreciative conceptions of Society – as the Portuguese one – regarding blindness, strongly conditioning the social inclusion of these young. Three blind adolescents have been interviewed: two feminine – with 19 and 16 years old respectively. At the moment of the interview, one frequented College and the other one High School. Another 15 year old individual from the masculine sex was interviewed, frequenting at this moment High School. To the participants questions focusing on the acknowledgement of the aspects more relevant in the life of each one of them, touching several levels of important dimensions, were asked in a way to within each specific case evaluate the impact provoked by direct and indirect circumstances of blindness in their life quality. Although constituting above all clues to future investigations since it is an analysis of a few cases, the obtained results clearly show that in Portugal, life quality of adolescents bringers of congenital or precocious blindness, is strongly affected by the very penalizing conceptions of our society relatively to blindness, and the physical, logistic, academicals, social and affective barriers ensuing from them.
Life Quality is a very complex concept which basically defines the perception one individual has over his situation in life accordingly to the cultural context and life values he lives within. That perception is the result of the interaction between its goals and personal expectations and the objective available indicators of the socio-cultural environment the individual is inserted in. Being a period of growth, development and new opportunities, but simultaneously, of challenges and incertitude, adolescence brings with it tensions and anxieties which interfere necessarily with young’s well-being. Moreover inherent tensions to this period of big changes, adolescents bringer of congenital or precocious blindness have also to manage the ones provoked by the daily confront – necessarily demanding – containing barriers of academicals, social and affective character, emerging from the highly depreciative conceptions of Society – as the Portuguese one – regarding blindness, strongly conditioning the social inclusion of these young. Three blind adolescents have been interviewed: two feminine – with 19 and 16 years old respectively. At the moment of the interview, one frequented College and the other one High School. Another 15 year old individual from the masculine sex was interviewed, frequenting at this moment High School. To the participants questions focusing on the acknowledgement of the aspects more relevant in the life of each one of them, touching several levels of important dimensions, were asked in a way to within each specific case evaluate the impact provoked by direct and indirect circumstances of blindness in their life quality. Although constituting above all clues to future investigations since it is an analysis of a few cases, the obtained results clearly show that in Portugal, life quality of adolescents bringers of congenital or precocious blindness, is strongly affected by the very penalizing conceptions of our society relatively to blindness, and the physical, logistic, academicals, social and affective barriers ensuing from them.
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Orientação : António Rebelo
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COMUNICAÇÃO, DEFICIÊNCIA VISUAL, QUALIDADE DE VIDA, ADOLESCENTES, COMMUNICATION, VISUAL IMPAIRMENT, QUALITY OF LIFE, ADOLESCENTS, MESTRADO EM COMUNICAÇÃO ALTERNATIVA E TECNOLOGIAS DE APOIO