Background. Although both psychological and visual factors have been s
uggested to influence successful monovision contact lens wear, there h
as not been any documentation to support the relationship between psyc
hological factors and the outcome of monovision wear. In our study, th
e relative importance of various visual and psychological factors were
investigated in an attempt to provide a profile of a successful monov
ision wearer. Methods. Participants, who had never worn monovision len
ses were fitted with distance contact lenses for an adaptation period
of 2 weeks; thereafter, 67 participants wove monovision lenses for 2 w
eeks. Results. Of the participants, 67% stated that based on their vis
ual experience they would continue monovision wear. Discriminant analy
sis indicated that one of the personality factors in Cattell's 16 Pers
onality Factor (16 PF) test, ''superego strength,'' could be used, in
conjunction with the difference between binocular and monovision stere
opsis scores, in predicting the success of monovision in 68% of the ca
ses. The variables of age, gender, pupil size, immediate reaction to m
onovision, motivation, self-efficacy distance, and near refractive err
or could not be used to predict successful monovision wear. Conclusion
s. These results demonstrate that psychological factors are indeed imp
ortant in monovision wear.