Abstract:
The purpose of this survey research was to investigate coping strategies of blind adolescent students in relation to individual and environment factors in Chiang Mai province, Thailand .The sample group were 135 blind adolescent students studying in Chiang Mai School for the blind, age 10 to 20 years and 10 care assistants. The results revealed that blind adolescent students used two effective means of coping strategies namely a problem focused strategy and a social support seeking strategy both at a high level. However, they used other coping strategies considered ineffective means of coping, namely avoidance strategies at a moderate to high level. The factors that were found to be significantly associated with the problem focused strategy
were age of female, father and mothers marital status, and academic achievement. The factors that were found to be significantly associated with the social support seeking strategy were father and mothers marital status, emotional support, and tangible support. The factors that were found to be significantly associated with the avoidance strategy were age of female, father and mothers marital status, and academic achievement. Among other problems, blind adolescent students had the most problems with studying. The care assistants though that blind students have the same daily living methods as sighted adolescent students. When blind students encounter problems, they tend to seek help from their parents first. The care assistants though that the blind should be given more opportunities to demonstrate their ability and be involved in more activities in society