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Purpose/Objective: Research suggests that effective coping with stress related to stigmatization and discrimination might protect the stigmatized persons against poor mental health outcomes associated with experiencing stress. Despite this, research specifically on coping with social stigma among people who are blind or have low vision has received less attention. We addressed this gap in the literature, by exploring the lived experiences of people who are blind or have low vision with regard to their perceptions of stigma and their coping responses. Research Method/Design: We employed a qualitative research method using an Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). Participants were 11 Australians who were blind or had low vision, aged between 18 to 65 years, and were recruited via advertisement. Data was collected using in-depth interviews and was subjected to data analysis using IPA. Results: Two sets of themes emerged from the data analysis which we classified under 2 superordinate themes labeled as Ways of Coping and Coping Skills and Resources. Conclusions/Implications: This study highlights the significance of personal and contextual aspects of coping with stigma and discrimination by demonstrating the complex nature of how people who are blind or have low vision cope with stigma. Coping efforts might be tenuous and require cognitive and/or behavioral skills and psychological resources and as such, individuals experiencing stigma might benefit from interventions aimed at improving coping skills and resources, such as self-advocacy, assertion, or positive reinterpretation. Impact and ImplicationsThe present work contextualizes the perception of and reactions to stigmatization and discrimination related to blindness and low vision. This paves the way for future quantitative studies using the rich detail obtained from the lived experiences of the affected individuals. This work addresses a research gap in studying stigma related to blindness or low vision, by applying coping with stress models. The relevant literature is devoid of significant studies in this area. This work provides insight for those clinicians and allied health professionals involved in the rehabilitation of persons who are blind or have low vision. These people should have access to group or individual counseling and psychotherapy designed to improve social skills, to assist them in focusing on their strengths and available resources, and to counter negative thoughts and behaviors, which might affect their functioning, goal attainment in their lives as well as their psychological well-being.

Australia’s federal, state, territory and local governments all have responsibilities, often overlapping, for policy and delivery of primary mental health care to postpartum women. Identification and treatment of postpartum distress is carried out by a broad range of professionals from diverse disciplines. Although there is evidence to show that anxiety and stress are important aspects of postpartum distress, substantially greater emphasis has been given to identification and treatment of depression. In addition, relatively little attention has been given to incorporating positive and negative social experiences in healthcare policy and practice. This study aimed to extend the postpartum literature by: (1) comparing the levels of depression, anxiety and stress (i.e. distress indicators) in a non-clinical sample of postpartum mothers to those in the general non-clinical population; (2) comparing the prevalence of anxiety and stress to that of depression in postpartum mothers; and (3) examining the consequences of negative social exchange, alongside perceived social support, on postpartum distress indicators. A self-report survey was completed by 242 postpartum women assessing levels of perceived social support, frequency of negative social exchange and distress indicators. Postpartum mothers were found to have significantly higher depression, anxiety and stress than the general population, and had anxiety and stress levels that were similar in severity to depression. In addition, both negative social exchanges and perceived social support were found to be important for postpartum depression, anxiety and stress. These findings suggest that Australia’s primary postpartum mental health care policy and practice guidelines, delivered through a broad range of professionals, may benefit from giving anxiety and stress equal weight to depression and by embracing the important effects, for good and for ill, of positive and negative social interactions.

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