LONG-LASTING BLINDNESS, AVAILABILITY OF RESOURCES, AND EARLY AGING

The present paper studied the influence of long lasting blindness on p rocesses of aging. It addressed the broader issue of the effects of fa miliarity with and earlier experience of stress on the capacity of ind ividuals to deal successfully with similar stressful situations at a l ater point of development. 75 chronically blind men and women, aged 45 to 65, were compared with 75 sighted individuals (matched by age, sex , and cultural origin) on scores on the Shanan Sentence Completion Tec hnique, an interview designed to assess perception of change in variou s areas of everyday living, and on scores on the Wechsler-Bellevue Int elligence Test. Blind subjects showed less psychological and less soci al engagement with the outer world. Availability of resources, educati on, and assistance considerably reduced differences between the nonsig hted and sighted subjects. These findings were interpreted as pointing to a potentially preventable process of premature aging.