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Study finds contact lens wearers' self-esteem greater than in eyeglass wearers
Researchers found children with myopia enrolled in the Correction of Myopia Evaluation Trial who wore contact lenses after 5 years of eyeglass use had higher self-esteem than those who remained in glasses.
The study was published in the Journal of the British College of Ophthalmic Opticians and included participants with 5 years of eyeglass use.
The abstract stated that useable data at the 6-year visit, 1 year after contact lens contact lens use was allowed, included questions on contact lens use, refractive error measurements and self-reported self-esteem in several areas, including scholastic/athletic competence, physical appearance and social acceptance. Self-esteem was scored from 1(low) to 4 (high), measured by the Self-Perception Profile for Children in participants younger than 14 years or the Self-Perception Profile for Adolescents, in those 14 years and older.
The abstract explained that mean self-esteem scores at the 6-year visit ranged from 2.74 on athletic competence to 3.33 on global self-worth. Contact lens wearers were more likely to be female than eyeglass wearers. Those who chose to wear contacts had higher social acceptance, athletic competence and behavioral conduct scores at baseline compared to eyeglass users. Contact lens users continued to report higher social acceptance scores at the 6-year visit.
The researchers suggest that self-esteem may influence the decision to wear contact lenses, and that contact lenses, in turn, are associated with higher self-esteem in individuals most likely to wear them.
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Dias, et al. Ophthalmic Physiol Opt. Sept 2013; 33(5):573-580. doi: 10.1111/opo.12080.