"Do not act blind": findings from qualitative interviews with adolescents and adults living with a visual impairment or blindness

Introduction: Visual impairment or blindness (VIB) during adolescence has a significant impact on young people’s subjective visual ability, general well-being, and fatigue levels. However, the mechanisms underlying these negative experiences remain unclear. This study aimed to explore the social and structural challenges faced by adolescents living with a VIB, and how these challenges shape their well-being and everyday life. Participants and methods: A descriptive qualitative design was applied. Individual interviews with adolescents and adults living with a VIB were conducted to capture both present and retrospective experiences. Participants were recruited from a previous study database and during routine clinic appointments. Data were analyzed using Braun and Clarke’s reflexive thematic analysis and supplemented by Timmermans & Tavory. The emergent themes were subsequently interpreted through Bourdieu’s concepts of habitus and capital and Goffman’s theory of Stigma. Results: Five individual interviews with adolescents aged 16–17 were conducted, as well as eight individual interviews with adults aged 24–30. We identified three themes: Theme one: Supportive networks as a safeguard in adolescents well-being, Theme two: To meet in the world of the sighted, and Theme three: “Do not act blind”. Engaging in networks with sighted peers emerges as vital for the participants, functioning both as a source of support and as a form of protection. Findings reveal how adolescents navigate the complex social field of the sighted majority by concealing and downplaying their impairment. Conclusion: The adolescents strive to pass without anyone noticing their impairment, a strategy that can be seen as a way of reducing the risk of stigma. Variations in mastering this strategy appear, placing some at increased risk of exclusion. Together, the findings reveal that well-being and fatigue among adolescents living with a VIB is not only a matter of functional limitation but deeply embedded in social relations, field dynamics, and stigma processes.