A comparison of family functioning in families with member visually and hearing impairment with families without disorder

Visually and hearing impairments are as the most common groups of physical disabilities. Due to limitation caused by these disorders, they can affect family functioning. The aim of this study was to compare the functioning of families with visual and hearing impairments with families without disorders.
In this descriptive – analytical study, 55 subjects with visually and hearing impairment from association of the blind and deaf of Ahvaz city, Iran and 55 subjects without disorders as the control group were selected by available sampling method and examined. Data collection tools include Family Assessment Device (FAD) inventory and the demographic information questionnaire. Finally, the data were statistically analyzed using descriptive and analytical statistics in SPSS 20 software.
The research findings showed that the mean scores values obtained from FAD inventory in families with visual and hearing impairments and the controls had no statistically significant differences (P=0.1). Comparing the functioning dimensions in the three groups, the families with visual impairment had poorer functioning in dimensions of behavioral control (P=0.02), communication (P = 0.01) and overall functioning (P = 0.03) with respect to the two groups.
The results suggest that the families with visual impairment have lower performance compared to families with hearing impairment and the control group in some aspects.