Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society (한국산학기술학회논문지)

The Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society (한국산학기술학회)
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Examining depressive symptoms of visually impaired adults in Korea

한국 후천적 시각장애인의 우울과 영향요인에 관한 연구

  • Kim, Hyemee (Department of Social Welfare, Incheon National University)
  • Received : 2016.06.16
  • Accepted : 2016.07.07
  • Published : 2016.07.31
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Abstract

This study was designed to examine the depressive symptoms of individuals who became visually impaired and identify factors associated with the symptom. For the analysis, data from the Korean National Survey of Individuals with Disability 2014 was used. Adults between the ages of 20 and 60 years who became visually impaired after the first year of birth were included with a total of 235 individuals in the final sample. To identify the determinants of their depressive symptoms, a multivariate logistic regression analysis was conducted. The results showed that about twenty percent of the respondents reported having depressive symptoms in the past year. Among the sociodemographic factors, age, gender, and marital status were identified as significant predictors, while smoking status, stress level, and self-reported health status were identified as important health-related predictors. Among the disability-related factors, the length of disability and activities of daily living level were found to be significantly associated with the likelihood of experiencing the symptom. The results indicate the need for practitioners working with visually impaired populations to be better aware of the risks of depression and develop a wide array of preventive measures and techniques to work with individuals suffering from depression.

본 연구의 목적은 후천적 시각장애인에 대한 우울 실태와 이들의 우울에 영향을 미치는 요인을 규명하는 것으로 이를 위해 본 연구에서는 장애인실태조사 2014 자료를 활용하여 분석을 실시하였다. 연구대상자는 출생 1년 이후부터 시각장애를 가지게 된 20~60세 사이의 성인이며 최종 분석에 포함된 대상자 수는 235명이다. 다중로지스틱회귀분석 실시 결과, 후천적 시각장애인의 약 20%가 우울증상을 경험한 것으로 나타났으며, 우울증상 경험을 예측하는 요인으로는 인구사회학적 요인 중에서는 연령, 성별, 결혼여부가 유의한 요인으로 나타났으며 건강 관련 요인으로는 흡연여부, 일상생활 스트레스 수준, 주관적 건강상태가 유의한 요인으로 파악되었다. 장애관련 요인으로는 장애기간 및 일상생활 수행능력 수준이 유의한 예측요인으로 밝혀졌다. 종합적으로 본 결과는 국내 거주하는 후천적 성인 시각장애인의 많은 수가 우울과 같은 심리적 어려움에 노출되어 있으며, 이를 위한 예방 및 개입 방안 마련이 시급함을 알려준다. 아직까지 장애인 복지 및 장애인 대상 서비스 분야에서 이들에 대한 관심 및 서비스 마련이 미흡한만큼 추후 중도에 실명 혹은 시각손실을 경험하게 된 장애인에 대한 제도적인 고려가 요구된다.

Keywords

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