Bionic Eye

8
VISION | jul_aug | 2008 | The Opticians Association of Canada |
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By Paddy Kamen
A recent study shows there is now little or no
stigma attached to children wearing eyeglasses.
In fact, the opposite is true.
Cultural stereotypes do change, albeit slowly, and the case of kids and
glasses is illustrative of just such a transformation. Research from the
optometry department at Ohio State University, published in the May 2008
issue of the journal Ophthalmic and Physiological Optics, demonstrates that
children hold other children who wear glasses in positive esteem 1 .
Eighty young children – 42 girls and 38 boys –
were surveyed. Of those, 30 kids (38 percent) wore
glasses, 34 had at least one sibling with glasses and
almost two-thirds had at least one parent who wore
glasses.
The children were presented with 24 pairs of
pictures of children and asked six questions about
them. Each pair of children in the photos included one
child with glasses and the other without glasses. The
children in the photos also differed by gender and
ethnicity. When presented with each pair of photos,
the participants were asked which of the two children
pictured: would you rather play with; looks smarter;
looks better at playing sports; do you think is better
looking; looks more shy; and looks more honest?