Perceived Competence of Children with Visual Impairments - Self-Perception - January 2005

This study examined the perceptions of competence of 43 children with visual impairments who were attending a summer sports camp. It found there were meaningful differences in the perceived competence of the girls, but not the boys, after they attended the camp, and no differences in the perceptions of competence with age. The authors thank Paul Ponchillia and the athletes who attended his summer sports camp for allowing them the opportunity to interview the campers and validate their survey. Perceptions of competence, or the ways in which a person thinks about himself or herself, influence initiation and mastery attempts in various domains of achievement, including athletics, social acceptance, and physical appearance (Kosma, Cardinal, & Rintala, 2002). A child may perceive himself or herself as http://www.afb.org/jvib/jvib990103.asp (1 of 27)5/5/2005 8:32:07 AM Perceived Competence of Children with Visual Impairments Self-Perception January 2005 having high ability in the social domain but low ability in the athletic or physical appearance domain (Weiss, 1984). Within a given domain, a person’s goal is to improve skills, learn new skills, and demonstrate mastery of a task. Children with high perceptions of competence tend to exert more effort, persist longer, feel more in control, experience pride, and be intrinsically motivated to continue to participate (Roberts, Kleiber, & Duda, 1981; Weiss & Horn, 1990). In contrast, those who experience failure and develop lower perceptions of competence avoid participation, apply little effort and persistence, and demonstrate a negative affect in the form of anxiety and low achievement levels (Roberts et al., 1981; Weiss & Horn, 1990). Researchers have found changes in perceptions of competence with age and gender. Changes in perceptions of competence with age reflect the greater ability of children to differentiate among luck, ability, and the difficulty of a task, as well as changes in the sources of information they use to judge their performance. With age, children rely less on evaluative feedback from parents and teachers and more on the opinions of their peers. Toward late adolescence, youths rely on internal performance criteria to make independent judgments of their competence, relying less on external information, such as feedback from others or test scores (Horn & Hasbrook, 1987; Horn & Weiss, 1991). http://www.afb.org/jvib/jvib990103.asp (2 of 27)5/5/2005 8:32:07 AM Perceived Competence of Children with Visual Impairments Self-Perception January 2005 A meta-analysis of gender differences in perceptions of competence found that males perceive themselves as being higher in overall competence and more positive in estimating their competence than do females (Lirgg, 1991). Gender-linked movement tasks (sports or behaviors that are identified as belonging to male or female) have been found to mediate gender differences in perceptions of ability, with males displaying more confidence on masculine-type tasks—such as football or weight lifting—and females displaying more confidence in feminine-type tasks—such as ballet or gymnastics (Lirgg, 1991). The more that girls see sports as gender neutral or appropriate for girls, the more positive their perceptions of their competence are (Eccles & Harold, 1991). In the contexts of sports and physical activity, participation is often a social activity involving groups of children, such as teams, friends, and clubs, and is viewed as a primary socializing environment for teaching children interpersonal skills and physical competencies (Weiss & Duncan, 1992). Children and youths with visual impairments (that is, those who are blind or have low vision) generally have fewer opportunities and incentives to engage in physical activities that provide the amounts and kinds of stimulation that are typical of sighted children, partly because of differences in physical appearance or poorer physical fitness, motor skills, and functional skills than their peers without visual impairments (Kef, 1997; Kroksmark & Nordell, 2001; Rosenblum, 1997; http://www.afb.org/jvib/jvib990103.asp (3 of 27)5/5/2005 8:32:07 AM Perceived Competence of Children with Visual Impairments Self-Perception January 2005 Skaggs & Hopper, 1996; Sorensen, 1999). Children who have difficulty performing sport and physical activity skills often have lower selfperceptions. These poor self-perceptions are likely to lead to a reduction in confidence in movement and often extend beyond the athletic domain, resulting in adverse psychosocial consequences (Bouchard & Tetrault, 2000). In addition, children who are visually impaired tend to have less extensive social networks and fewer friends than do their sighted peers (Robinson, 2002). Children with visual impairments have described schools as unfriendly, lonely places or as places where they are teased and ignored by other children (Nikolaraizi & De Reybekiel, 2001). Robinson (2002) found that children with visual impairments had low levels of perceived control over their ability to make and retain friends. As a result of poor physical fitness and motor skills, these children tend not to be included in groups or to withdraw from group activities, which contributes to greater feelings of social uncertainty, loneliness, and social dissatisfaction, and an inactive lifestyle (Kalloniatis & Johnston, 1994; Lieberman, Houston-Wilson, & Kozub, 2002; Lieberman & McHugh, 2001; Page, Frey, Talbert, & Falk, 1992). There has been a noticeable absence of perceived competence theory in the study of disability and selfconcept (Sherrill, 1997). The assessment of the perceived competence of children with visual http://www.afb.org/jvib/jvib990103.asp (4 of 27)5/5/2005 8:32:07 AM Perceived Competence of Children with Visual Impairments Self-Perception January 2005 impairments is of critical interest from both a theoretical and a practical perspective, so that psychosocial findings can be generalized to special populations and sound and effective programs and psychological interventions can be developed to improve the athletic, physical, and social well-being, and achievement strivings of children who are visually impaired. The study reported here investigated the perceptions of physical appearance, athletic competence, and social acceptance of children and youths with visual impairments aged 8–21 prior to and at the conclusion of a one-week developmental summer sports camp. Demographic variables, such as chronological age and gender, were examined in relation to self-perceptions across domains of competence. The following research questions guided the investigation: (1) What are the perceptions of competence of children and youths with visual impairments? (2) Do perceptions of competence change after participation in a one-week summer sports camp? and (3) Do perceptions of competence vary across age or gender?