Exploring Leisure Activity Interest, Participation, and Satisfaction in Visually Impaired Adults

Document Type

Conference Paper

Publication Date

2025

Publication Title

International Symposium of Adapted Physical Activity and International Symposium on Physical Activity and Visual Impairment and Deafblindness

Pages

40 (1-2)

Conference Name

International Symposium of Adapted Physical Activity and International Symposium on Physical Activity and Visual Impairment and Deafblindness, June 16-20, 2025, Kerry, Ireland

Abstract

Introduction

Physical activity levels are low among Visually Impaired (VI) adults (Ackley et al., 2009; Haegele & Zhu,2022). Identifying the factors that influence PA engagement is essential to improving overall health and quality of life outcomes for this population. While several works examine barriers to PA participation for VI individuals, fewer works explore leisure interests and satisfaction, both factors which influence recurring participation and overall quality of life (Dattilo, 2015; Kim et al.2020). This cross-sectional study seeks to explore the relationships between leisure activity interests, participation, and satisfaction among VI adults in the U.S.

Methodology

VI adults were recruited to complete an online questionnaire which consisted of 51 items across three sections: the Leisure Interest Measure (Ragheb & Beard 1992), Leisure Frequency and Enjoyment, and demographic information.

Results

Analysis is ongoing. Respondents (n=232) were largely white and male, with an average age of 36.5. 35.8% categorized their visual impairment as a B2 on the U.S.A.B.A classification system(n=232). Mean leisure interest scores were highest for the social domain(M=3.72) and lowest for the physical and mechanical domains(M=3.41, M=3.25) 58.1% of participants (n=133) reported engaging in physical leisure activities less than once a week. Data will be further analyzed using inferential statistics to explore relationships between factors.

Conclusions

Preliminary results suggest low interest and participation in recreational PA. Full analysis may provide insight into potential areas of need which can be utilized by recreation professionals to improve the quality of services for VI individuals.

Original Publication Citation

Creveling, Kathryn E.; Haegele, Justin; and Zhu, Xihe, "Exploring Leisure Activity Interest, Participation, and Satisfaction in Visually Impaired Adults" (2025). International Symposium of Adapted Physical Activity and International Symposium on Physical Activity and Visual Impairment and Deafblindness. 40.
https://sword.cit.ie/isapa/2025/day2/40

ORCID

0009-0003-5193-6968 (Creveling), 0000-0002-8580-4782 (Haegele), 0000-0002-5048-3464 (Zhu)

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