The Influence of Perceived Social Support and Self-Esteem on Academic Performance of Students with Visual Impairment in Middle Schools of Dessie City, Ethiopia

The Influence of Perceived Social Support and Self-Esteem on Academic Performance of Students with Visual Impairment in Middle Schools of Dessie City, Ethiopia | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article The Influence of Perceived Social Support and Self-Esteem on Academic Performance of Students with Visual Impairment in Middle Schools of Dessie City, Ethiopia Seifemichael Tsegaye Kassa, Mengistu Awlachew This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7158790/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract The purpose of the study was to examine the influence of perceived social support and self-esteem on the academic performance of students with visual impairment in selected middle schools of the Dessie city administration. The study adopted a descriptive survey research design. A sample size of 50 respondents was selected. Comprehensive sampling and purposive sampling techniques were used to select 50 SWVI and 5 middle schools. Data was collected using questionnaires and tests. Descriptive statistics (such as frequencies, mean, standard deviation, minimum and maximum scores, and cross-tabulation) and inferential statistics (such as Correlation and multiple regression analysis) techniques were used to analyze data. The study found that perceived social support and self-esteem were positively and significantly correlated to visually impaired students' academic performance. In addition, self-esteem and perceived social support had a positive linearly significant predictive value for the academic performance of students with visual impairment (B = 8.515, p = 0.001 < 0.05) and (B = 3.463, p = 0.007 < 0.05) respectively. The study recommends visually impaired students develop positive and caring relationships with their parents, friends, and significant others which promote their academic performance. Moreover, the study recommends the need for students with visual impairment to increase their level of self-esteem; they should establish good social relationships, involve themselves in activities, and make a habit of noticing the good things in their lives. self-esteem perceived social support academic performance visual impairment Figures Figure 1 INTRODUCTION Disabilities have significant impact on cognitive development, and vision impairment has a substantial impact on a person's ability to participate in daily activities. Visually impaired adolescents face difficulties in synthesizing complex structures into higher-level thought and evaluating evidence. Visually impaired teenagers can develop distinct mental frameworks compared to their non-visually impaired counterparts. The system's concept-formation aspects and connections pose a challenge for visually impaired teenagers, limiting their control. Visually impaired teenagers participate in problem-solving processes, but this process, crucial for later outcomes, is more difficult and less engaging (Alvaristo et al., 2020; Figueira et al., 2015; Matobako & Jita, 2022). “Academic performance, which is a component of cognitive development, encompasses the proficiency in fulfilling school responsibilities as indicated by test results and recorded in scores or grades based on a student's performance” (Trow, 1956). This metric is typically employed to assess a student's triumph within an educational setting. The academic accomplishments of visually impaired students are influenced by various factors such as gender, age, instructional approaches, learning capacities, familial background, and parental education. Additionally, the academic performance of visually impaired students can be impacted by perceived social support (PSS) and self-esteem (SE). The concept of social support Social support is defined as the interaction between individuals, which is affected by personality traits, the nature of relationships and social and cultural contexts (Kartal and Ettayo, 2009). Yıldırım (2004) states that social assistance includes the ability to seek advice, to receive material and moral support and to feel comfortable in relations. Perception of social support plays an important role in the adjustment and academic achievement of people with visual impairment. Adolescents with visual impairment often experience limited social contact and few social activities compared to those with normal vision. These visually impaired teens often experience feelings of isolation and difficulty forming close friendships (Huurre, 1998). Yasin and Dzulkifli (2011) examined the attainment of social support among 120 students enrolled in a public university in Malaysia. This study found a positive correlation between students’ academic performance and social support, indicating that as social support increases, so does students' academic accomplishment. Another determinant impacting the academic success of visually impaired students is self-esteem. Aryana (2010) conducted a study investigating the association between self-esteem and students' academic performances. To explore this relationship, Aryana employed a questionnaire and analyzed the students' grades from their current and previous semesters. The findings indicated a significant (p<0.01) positive correlation between self-esteem and students' academic accomplishments. Social support plays a role in the socio-emotional development of students who have visual impairment. Reinhardt (2010) highlighted that favorable outcomes, including lower levels of anxiety and psychological distress as well as enhanced well-being, are correlated with the perception of social support from parents and friends. Additionally, Kef (2002) found that a large number of visually impaired students depend on their intimate friends for social support. The majority of young individuals with visual impairment express satisfaction with the support they receive from their families. Furthermore, previous empirical evidence from Europe indicates that perceived social support is a significant predictor of self-esteem among adolescents with visual impairment (Kef, 2002). However, Klinkosz et al. (2006) have uncovered that there is no primary impact of visual impairment on academic accomplishment; furthermore, visually impaired students are capable of navigating their challenges in approaching or accessing educational criteria as well as written information pertaining to examinations. It appears that the perceived social support and self-esteem influence the academic performance of visually impaired students. The influence of perceived social support and self-esteem on the academic performance of visually impaired students may vary in different contexts. Thus, there are cultural and geographical distinctions between the settings of the aforementioned studies and the Ethiopian setting. Livneh and Antonak (1997) found that teenagers with visual impairment are more likely than non-impaired individuals to experience more psychological stresses (e.g., uncertainty about physical environment, feelings of remorse, fear, sadness, and depression) and isolation including limited social interaction, social barriers, and feelings of loneliness. The Concept of Self-Esteem Self-esteem (SE) is the extent to which a person values and accepts themselves. It is an individual's viewpoint and the value attach to it (Ki et al. 2020). It is an individual's thoughts and feelings about oneself, not those of others. Feelings expressed through speech and mirror images form the foundation of self-esteem. According to Eguavoen and Eniola (2016), a person who as self-esteem acknowledges weaknesses and feels they are worthy of affection and respect. Self-esteem is the way we feel about our successes and how we see ourselves. A strong sense of self-worth is crucial because it gives us the courage to take chances and the confidence to have faith in our abilities. It inspires us to value our identity in spite of our shortcomings. Chen and Jiang (2022) explained that we secure respect from people initially when we respect ourselves. Making decisions about our bodies and thoughts requires having a strong sense of self. It teaches us to value our safety, feelings, and general well-being. If we have a positive sense of self-worth, we could realize that every aspect of ourselves is valuable and should be taken care of (Kapinga and Aloni, 2021). Leary and Baumeister (2000) define self-esteem as a person's overall opinion of themselves as individual beings. Moreover, a child's sense of self-worth can profoundly influence all aspects of their growth (Brooks, 1992). Self-esteem can also be defined as an individual's perception of themselves. According to Brooks (1992), it represents an evaluative aspect of self-knowledge. High levels of self-esteem stem from a favorable overall self-evaluation. However, it is impossible to measure self-esteem precisely. In addition to stemming from a legitimate appraisal of one's abilities, accomplishments, and traits, high self-esteem can also originate from a feeling of superiority. One could argue that a realistic understanding of one's shortcomings and a distorted or even pathological sense of inadequacy and insecurity are the causes of low self-esteem (Marshall, 2014). Self-esteem of adolescents with visual impairment The assertion made by Obiakor and Stile (1990) that teenagers with VI, whatever of age, exhibit lower self-esteem than their sighted classmates is typically unsupported by the available data. However, social skill development is more difficult for adolescents with VI, which may result in a decrease in self-esteem (Jindal-Snape, 2004). Pierce and Wardle (1996) suggest that teens with VI may have lower self-esteem due to their frequent isolation, exclusion, and lack of interaction with their peers (Kroksmark and Nordell, 2001; Wagner, 2004). According to Tuttle and Tuttle (2004), there is sufficient evidence to draw the conclusion that children with VI experience social exclusion. It is not surprising that children and adolescents with VI do not socialize much with their sighted peers, given that research has shown that bullying is common among adolescents with disabilities, including those with VI (Pinquart and Pfeiffer, 2011). Similar findings were made by Pinquart and Pfeiffer (2011), who discovered that adolescents with VI reported experiencing more victimization than peers without VI. Being stigmatized can therefore result in social exclusion and, more crucially, low self-esteem because those who have disabilities would attempt to avoid persecution. Additionally, research has shown that kids who were more likely to be bullied had poorer self-esteem (p = 0.001), reported feeling unhappy (p 0.0001), and reported being less pleased with school (Boulton and Underwood, 1992). Relationship between Self-Esteem and academic performance The cornerstone of academic accomplishment appears to be positive self-esteem, which must be developed early in life. Educational performance and self-esteem appear to be significantly correlated, and one influences the other. Poor academic performance and self-destructive behavior are frequently attributed to low self-esteem (Boulton and Underwood, 1992). This has an impact on both the individual's personal development and his or her position and status in society as a whole. The child's level of self-esteem is largely influenced by his or her environment (Pinquart and Pfeiffer, 2011). Perceived social support of students with visual impairment The subjective perceptions and ideas about the social support that people receive are referred to as perceived social support (Lakey and Scoboria, 2005). Manitsa and Doikou (2022) summarized the key themes in the literature on social support for students with visual impairment based on their integrative literature review, including their experiences with social support in schools and universities and the effects of this social support on their academic learning and socio-emotional development. Inconsistent results were found when comparing the perceived social support of sighted and visually impaired teenagers ( Hadidi and Alkhateeb, 2013), which may be due to social culture, educational setting, and construct conceptualization variations. In contrast to findings from prior studies among sighted adolescents (Rueger et al., 2010), research conducted outside of China found that peer support had a higher meaningful predictive influence on the mental health and loneliness of teens with visual impairment than parental support (Heppe et al., 2020). The published work mostly focused on visually challenged students who attended regular schools, ignoring those who attended special schools. Prior studies have sporadically discussed the significance of reported close friend support and teacher support among teenagers with visual impairment. Only two things have been proven (Pinquart and Pfeiffer, 2013): that adolescents with visual impairment felt higher levels of teacher support than their sighted peers, and that their perception of teacher support is much lower than parental and peer support Additionally, it was found that the social support of friends was a major predictor of depression in young adults with visual impairments (Papadopoulos and Papakonstantinou, 2020). To understand how social networks work among teenagers with visual impairments, more research is needed on the unique contributions of diverse social support systems. This study also examined the connections between those same four sources of perceived social support and social integration in Chinese adolescents with visual impairments to better understand the relationships between perceived social support from parents, teachers, peers, and close friends and self-esteem. Self-esteem and perceived social support of students with visual impairment Individuals with higher levels of self-esteem tend to have better levels of satisfaction and have greater success in their careers and social connections (Orth and Robins, 2022). Research has focused on the self-esteem of children and young adults with visual impairment. Several factors, including social support, gender, and parenting, seemed important for their self-esteem development, according to Augestad (2017), who conducted a systematic review of 26 pertinent studies. However, longitudinal studies are necessary to conclude causal effects because research findings regarding whether the visually impaired would show a lower level of self-esteem than the sighted were inconsistent Even though they may or may not exhibit lower levels of self-esteem than sighted adolescents, it is widely accepted that adolescents with visual impairment confront significant obstacles in achieving high levels of self-esteem (Miklyaeva and Gorkovaya, 2018). According to a recent study, over 90% of Tanzanian students with vision impairment who attended regular schools showed excellent self-esteem (Kapinga and Aloni, 2021). A lower level of self-esteem among students with visual impairment is a result of social isolation and control-relinquished coping (Xie et al 2022). There are three main perspectives on how the relationship between perceived social support and self-esteem might develop. First, the precursor to self-esteem is social support. The socio-meter theory states that people's desire to enhance their relationships and gain social acceptance is a crucial component of self-esteem (Leary, 2005). According to dated empirical data from Europe, self-esteem in teenagers with visual impairment is significantly predicted by perceived social support (Huurre et al., 1999; Kef, 2002). People with low self-esteem are often more sensitive to social input and other people's opinions, which may affect their social interactions, according to Brockner's (1988) plasticity theory. Studies on the mediating effect of perceived social support on the links between self-esteem and developmental outcomes among teenagers without impairments (Chen et al., 2022) provide credence to this idea. Third, the correlation between perceived social support and self-esteem could be mutual. However, longitudinal studies exploring the potential mutual relationship between sighted adolescents' perceived social support and self-esteem produced mixed results. Asendorpf and van Aken (2003) discovered that parental and peer support at age 12 projected global self-worth at age 17, but not vice versa; in contrast, Marshall et al. (2014) revealed that self-esteem reliably predicted perceived social support over time in high school students, but not vice versa. As a result, longitudinal studies are needed to investigate the links between self-esteem and social support among adolescents, particularly those with visual impairment. Perceived social support and academic performance of students with visual impairment According to Haheds, Ilyas, and Hashmi (2016), there is a positive correlation between academic performance and social support of visually impaired students. Social support and self-esteem also play an important role in enhancing confidence and academic performance. There is a positive relationship between perceived social support and academic performance. The academic achievement of visually impaired students was strongly positively correlated with the support that they received from their friends (Haheds, Ilyas, and Hashmi, 2016). Increases in the level of social support were correlated with increases in academic performance Additionally, a strong positive correlation between academic performance and family support, particularly from parents, was discovered. In the past, it has been noted that parents and family members are important every day and homework-related sources of social support. Support from family and significant others was more significant than social support from peers (Tuttle and Tuttle, 2004). This is consistent with other research findings about the source of support, which showed that visually impaired people reported receiving more social support from parents than from peers. Perceived social support, particularly from parents, can help visually impaired students achieve academic success and cope with difficult situations. Schools can assist visually impaired students live independently, become self-sufficient, and lead satisfying lives by establishing strong support networks that include both learners and teachers (Tuttle and Tuttle, 2004). The Conceptual Framework Figure 1.1 illustrates the study variables as well as the hypothesized relationships among the study variables. The two independent variables are perceived social support and self-esteem. Perceived social support is at three levels namely, parent, friend, and teacher. Self-esteem is at two levels namely, high and low self-esteem. The dependent variable is academic performance. Academic performance which is inferred from 2016 E.C. average test scores of different subjects. Visually impaired students' academic performance is hypothesized to be influenced by their perceived social support and self-esteem. The three levels of perceived social support (parent, friend, and teacher) could also interact with the two levels of self-esteem (high and low) to influence visually impaired students' academic performance. Objectives of the Study Since there is limited research on the influence of perceived social support and self-esteem on academic performance among middle school visually impaired students, the attempts to fill in this gap. Hence, this study tends to focus on pointing out the influence of perceived social support and self-esteem on the academic performance of visually impaired students. The specific objectives of this research are as follows: To explore the reciprocal relationship between perceived social support, self-esteem, and academic performance of students with visual impairment. To investigate the influence of perceived social support and self-esteem on the academic performance of students with visual impairment. The researcher hypothesized that the visually impaired student’s academic performance is influenced by their perceived social support and self-esteem. Research design A descriptive survey design was used to examine the influence of perceived social support and self-esteem on the academic performance of SWVI in Dessie city administration middle schools. Study area Data for the study was gathered from visually impaired students of Dessie city administration middle schools in Dessie city. Dessie City, the capital of South Wollo, is located in the northeast part of Ethiopia, in Amhara Regional State, about 400 kilometers far from Addis Ababa. The reasons for selecting this area were: Accessibility of the area The researcher has worked near to the middle-schools and hence, the researchers believed that the respondents were expecting to give valid information about the study. The middle schools that accommodate a large number of visually impaired students with different academic performance. Study population The population of this study consisted of students with visual impairments who attended their education in 2024 in middle schools in Dessie City. There are 45 middle schools in Dessie city. Thirty-one (31) of them are governmental middle schools and 14 of them are private middle schools. From those governmental middle schools, five schools are serving as integrated systems to teach students with disabilities, including SWVI. The total number of the target population of the study was 50 students with visual impairment. Sample Size and Sampling Techniques Five schools from the thirty-one governmental middle schools; the two grade levels grade seven and eight; students with visual impairment were samples of the study. The researcher sampled purposefully Tigle Fire, Karagutu, Eteyemenen, Segno gebeya, and Sefereselam middle schools. The total target population of the study was 50 students with a visual impairment. Therefore, a total of 50 SWVI were taken as the sample of this research using a comprehensive sampling technique to fill the questionnaire. Research instruments Instruments that were used to collect data were a self-reported questionnaire and test. The instruments are described below. The Perceived Social Support Questionnaire This questionnaire was developed by Zimet, Dahlem, Zimet, and Farley (1988) and was used in this study to measure the perceived social support of visually impaired students. The perceived social support multidimensional scale is a 12-item questionnaire with three subscales – family, friend, and significant other perceived support scale. The 12 items can be grouped into three-factor groups related to the source of the social support, namely family, friends, or significant others. The family perceived support scale includes 4 items. The friend perceived support scale has 4 items and the significant other perceived support scale consists of 4 items. The perceived social support multidimensional scale asks whether participants received support from family, friends, and significant others since the relationships with family, friends and significant others are important determinants of visually impaired students' academic performance. Participants rated themselves on a 7-point Likert scale (7=very strongly agree, 6= strongly agree, 5= mildly Agree, 4=neutral, 3= mildly disagree, 2=strongly disagree and 1= very strongly disagree). Overall, the scores range from 12 to 84. A higher score indicates a higher level of family, friends, and significant other support. The Self-Esteem Questionnaire A self-esteem questionnaire was adapted from Rosenberger (1986). The self-esteem questionnaire is a 10-item questionnaire that was presented to visually impaired students to measure their level of self-esteem. It used a Likert scale with four alternatives namely ‘strongly agree, ‘agree’, 'disagree', and 'strongly disagree', which scores 4, 3, 2, and 1, respectively. The self-esteem scores were calculated by summing the items with item2,5,6,8 and 9 reverse scored as 1=4,2=3,3=2 and 4=1 because they are negatively stated. The self-esteem scores ranged from 10 to 40. This means a minimum score of 10 and a maximum score of 40. Academic Performance Academic performances of visually impaired students were measured by their current exam results in eight different subjects (i.e., Amharic, English, citizenship education, Art, General Science, health and physical education, Geography, and Information Technology). It was the most recent evidence of their academic performance. The exam was prepared by eight selected teachers from each primary school. The exam consists of four parts. The first part of the item is composed of 10 true or false items. The second part includes 5 matching items. The third part includes 5 fill the missing word and the last part includes 30 multiple-choice items. Then, the total questions were composed of 50 items for all subjects. Then students took the exam at the same time. Therefore, the researcher multiplied 50 % to make 100% and used it for the analysis. Reliability of the research instruments The Amharic version of the perceived social support and self-esteem questionnaires underwent forward-backward translation by the co-author, and was reviewed for relevance by two English and Amharic language experts. The reviewed versions were pilot tested on purposefully selected 12 visually impaired student respondents from Kombolcha No.1 primary school in Kombolcha city administration Having scored all items, the internal consistency of items was measured by Cronbach alpha using SPSS version 21. Thus, the internal consistency of perceived social support and self-esteem scales were 0.870 &0.884 respectively. Ethical Considerations This research was conducted by considering all ethical issues of research. First, before gathering data from the participants, the researcher introduced the purpose of the study and reached an agreement with all participants. In addition, the researcher promised the participants that the information collected was used for only academic purposes and confidentiality would be kept. Regarding the consent, the researcher informed them that they could withdraw from participating in the research at any time and in any circumstance if they did not feel comfortable. All information was gathered based on the consent. The researcher was sensitive and respectful enough of the participant's culture, identities, and perceptions. Method of Data Analysis In general, descriptive and inferential statistics techniques were used for data analysis. The data were described using descriptive statistical methods such as frequencies, mean, standard deviation, minimum and maximum scores, and cross-tabulation. Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient was used to determine the relationship of academic performance with perceived social support and self-esteem. To determine the influence of perceived social support and self-esteem on the academic performance of visually impaired students multiple regression analysis was considered the best statistical test to use because of its dual advantage. All tests were two-tailed and significant levels were measured at a 95% confidence level and significant differences were recorded at an alpha level of 0.05 (p<0.05). The significant levels were tested at alpha .05. Results and Discussions Results Relationship of perceived social support and self-esteem with academic Performance The first objective of this study was to explore the relationship between perceived social support and self-esteem in the academic performance of students with visual impairment. To achieve this bivariate correlational analysis the Pearson's Product Moment Correlation Coefficient was computed. The results are presented in Table 1 below Table1. Correlation Analysis Results of Perceived Social Support and Self-esteem with Academic Performance Perceived Social Support Self-esteem Academic Performance Pearson correlation .491 ** .542 ** Sig.(2-tailed) .000 .000 N 50 50 **. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed). *. Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed). Table 1 reveals that there was a significant and positive relationship between perceived social support and academic performance ( r (50) = .491, p < .01). The results indicate that when perceived social support scores go up, there is a corresponding rise in academic performance scores. The results imply that visually impaired students who get social support are likely to perform well in academic performance tasks. Results in Table 1 also show that there was a positive and significant relationship between self-esteem and academic performance ( r (50) = .542, p < .01). This means that the self-esteem held by the participants affected their academic performance scores positively or negatively. The results in Table 1 indicate that the higher the student's self-esteem score, the higher the corresponding academic performance score. These findings mean that students with high scores on the self-esteem scale also had high academic performance scores. Similarly, those who had low scores on self-esteem had correspondingly low academic performance scores. The effect of perceived social support and self-esteem on Academic Performance of students with visual impairment The second objective of this study sought to find out if the two predictor variables interacted significantly to produce academic performance or not. Towards this end, a combined descriptive analysis of the perceived social support and self-esteem scores was done and then tested. The Descriptive Analysis of the Interaction Effect of perceived social support and self-esteem on academic Performance of students with visual impairment was based on the scores of the two predictor variables from the questionnaire. The range, mean, standard deviation, and skewness of perceived social support and self-esteem are presented in Table 2. Table 2 Descriptive Analysis of Perceived Social Support and Self-Esteem Scores N Range Min Max M SD Sk Perceived social support 50 52.00 18 70 41.02 13.856 .268 Self-esteem 50 22 17 39 27.1 5.76 .126 Note. N = 50; Min = Minimum; Max = Maximum; M = Mean; SD = Standard Deviation; SK = Skewness The data in Table 2 shows that the minimum perceived social support scale and self-esteem scale were 18 and 17 respectively while the maximum scores for the same were 70 and 39 respectively. The mean scores for the perceived social support scale and self-esteem scale were 41.02 ( SD =13.856) and 27.1 ( SD = 5.76) respectively. The distribution of scores for both scales was found to be positively skewed (0.268 and 0.126 respectively). To test whether the interaction effect of the two predictor variables on academic performance was significant or not, the perceived social support and self-esteem scores as well as the academic performance scores were subjected to multiple regression analysis, and the results presented in Table 3 Table 3 Regression Analysis for Interaction Effect of perceived social support and self-esteem on academic Performance Model S S Df M S F Sig. 1 Regression 2634.835 2 1317.418 15.478 .000 a Residual 4000.445 47 85.116 Total 6635.280 49 a. Predictors: (Constant), Self-esteem, Perceived Social Support b. Dependent Variable: Academic Performance Note. N = 50; SS = Sum of Squares; df = Degrees of Freedom; MS = Mean Squares; F = Critical value of F Table 3 shows that self-esteem and perceived social support had a substantial interaction effect on academic achievement (F=15.478, p <.05). The result variable and each of the predictor factors had a strong, positive association. It came as no surprise that when the two predictor variables were combined, they had a significant interaction effect on academic performance. Furthermore, the researcher wanted to know how much self-esteem and perceived social support impacted academic achievement. As a result, additional regression analysis was performed on this data, and the results are shown in Table 4. Table 4 Predictive Values of perceived social support and self-esteem on academic Performance Model s R R Square Adjusted R Square Std. Error of the Estimate Change Statistics Durbin-Watson R Square Change F Change df1 df2 Sig. F Change 1 .542 a .293 .279 9.88328 .293 19.929 1 48 .000 2 .630 b .397 .371 9.22582 .104 8.085 1 47 .007 1.646 a. Predictors: (Constant), Self Esteem b. Predictors: (Constant), Self Esteem, Perceived Social Support c. Dependent Variable: Academic Performance The result of regression analysis in Table 4 above showed that there were significant effects of perceived social support and self-esteem together on students with visual impairment academic performance (R square value = 0.397). This means that perceived social support and self-esteem together accounted for 39.7% of the variance in visually impaired students' academic performance. This indicated that 60.3% of the variance in visually impaired students' academic performance was influenced by other factors that were not included in this study. The independent effect of self-esteem (R square=.293) and perceived social support (R square= .104) accounted for 29.3% & 10.4% of the total variance of the visually impaired students' academic performance respectively which was positive and significant (F=19.929, P=.000<0.05; F=8.085, P=.007<0.05 respectively). Moreover, the researcher is interested in finding the Regression coefficient results of self-esteem and perceived social support on academic performance. This data was therefore subjected to further regression analysis and the results were as shown in Table 5. Table5. Regression Coefficients Model Unstandardized Coefficients Standardized Coefficients T Sig. Collinearity Statistics B Std. Error Beta Tolerance VIF 1 (Constant) 11.207 6.600 1.698 .096 Perceived Social Support 3.463 1.218 .344 2.843 .007 .878 1.139 Self Esteem 8.515 2.441 .422 3.488 .001 .878 1.139 a. Dependent Variable: Academic Performance Table 5 reveals that self-esteem had a positive linearly significant predictive value for academic performance of students with visual impairment (B = 8.515, p=0.001<0.05). The results mean that for every standard deviation change in self-esteem scores, academic performance scores increased by 8.515 points. Similarly, perceived social support had a positive linearly significant predictive value for the academic performance of students with visual impairment (B =3.463, p=0.007<0.05). This means that one unit change in perceived social support while holding all other variables at zero results in 3. 463 units increase in the academic performance of students with visual impairment. Discussions The first objective of this study was to find out the relationship between perceived social support and self-esteem with academic performance. To achieve this, objective, the Pearson product-moment correlation analysis method was used. The results and discussion are presented below. The study found a significant and positive relationship between perceived social support and academic performance. The higher the participants’ perceived social support mean scores, the higher their academic performance mean scores. This result agrees with the results of Yasin and Dzulkifli (2011) who studied 120 students in a public university in Malaysia and found a significant and positive relationship between their academic accomplishment and social support, showing that with higher social support, students' academic accomplishment also increases. The results also corroborate the research findings of Shahid, Ilyas, and Hashmi (2016) who correlate perceived social support and academic performance of visually impaired students. They found that there was a positive correlation between academic performance and perceived social support of visually impaired students. This result is congruent with that of Hagerty et al. (1996), who discovered that, while academic achievement and self-esteem appear to be tightly linked and impact each other, academic performance appears to be reliant on positive self-esteem, which must be acquired early in life. Low self-esteem is frequently used to explain poor academic achievement and self-destructive conduct. This affects the individual's function and status in society as a whole, as well as their personal development. Similarly, Orth and Robins (2022) discovered that people with higher self-esteem are happier and more successful in their occupations and social interactions. Moreover, Aryana (2010) found that there is a substantial (p<0.01) positive connection between self-esteem and students' academic accomplishments. The results show that the combined effect of perceived social support and self-esteem on the variance of visually impaired student's academic performance was 39.7%. The independent effect of self-esteem was greater than the effect of perceived social support, which was 29.3% of the total variance. This result was consistent with the results of Boulton and Underwood (1992) who found that the cornerstone of academic accomplishment appears to be positive self-esteem, which must be developed early in life. Educational performance and self-esteem appear to be significantly correlated, and one influences the other. Poor academic performance and self-destructive behavior are frequently attributed to low self-esteem. Limitations of this study Though the study has meaningful contribution to the understudied relationship between social support, self-esteem, and academic performance particularly for visually impaired students in middle schools in the Ethiopian context, it has limitations on generalizability and transferability of the findings as it involved small sample size and focused on one geographical area, Dessie City. Future research should be done incorporating larger sample size of students and multiple study sites. Conclusion The study showed that the majority of the sampled respondents reported moderate levels of perceived social support and self-esteem. Then, it is concluded that the level of perceived social support and self-esteem of the majority of respondents was moderate. The one-sample t-test results indicated that the respondents' level of academic performance was high. The correlation analysis results revealed that perceived social support and self-esteem were positively and significantly correlated with visually impaired student's academic performance. The regression analysis results indicated that both perceived social support and self-esteem positively and significantly predicted the academic performance of students with visual impairment. Recommendation For students with visual impairment to increase their level of self-esteem, they should establish good social relationships, involve themselves in activities, and make a habit of noticing the good things in their lives. Visually impaired students need to develop positive and caring relationships with their parents, friends, and significant others which promote their academic performance. Practical implications An in-depth understanding of the influence of perceived social support and self-esteem on the academic performance of visually impaired students can inform the development of targeted interventions. Educational practitioners can benefit from evidence-based strategies that enhance social support networks, foster self-esteem, and ultimately improve academic outcomes for visually impaired students. Declarations The participants' parents or legal guardians provided consent for their minors to participate in the study Author Contribution Seifemichael Tsegaye (Corresponding Author) wrote the main manuscript text and made a step-by-step revision of the manuscript. Mengistu Awulachew(Co-author) translated the research instruments into Amharic and prepared all the figures. Acknowledgements The authors would like to thank all the participants, school directors and reviewers of the research instruments. Conflict of Interests The authors have no conflict of interest for this article. Funding No funding was received for conducting this research. Ethical Approval Approval was obtained from The Research and Ethical Review Board(RERB) of Wollo University. All procedures performed in this studies involving human participants were in accordance with the tenets of the Declaration of Helsinki Consent to publish Authors give consent ensuring that all information in this article could be used for publication. Consent to participate Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in this study. Data Availability Statement The authors declare that any data for this study is not available publicly but can be shared upon request from authors. Clinical Number Not Applicable References Alvaristo, M., Silva, M., Viginheski, F., & Pílatti, L. (2020). The use of manipulative didactic material to teach concepts related to the treatment of information for visually impaired students. Acta Scientiae, 22 (2), 105–121. https://doi.org/10.17648/acta.scientiae.5555. Aryana, M. (2010). Relationship between Self-esteem and Academic Performance Amongst Pre-University Students. Journal of Applied Sciences, 2474-2477. Boulton, M. J., & Underwood, K. (1992). Bully/victim problems among middle school children. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 62(1), 73-87. Figueira, Á., Lima, D., Borges, C., & Soares, R. (2015). A dynamic environment to the learning of geometric concepts by visually impaired people: A Brazilian case study. Computer Science and Engineering, 5 (2), 37–46. https://doi.org/10.5923/j.computer.20150502.03 Hagerty, B.M., Williams, R.A., Coyne, J.C., &Early, M.R. (1996) Sense of belonging and indicators of social and psychological functioning. archives of psychiatric nursing,10(4),235-244.https://doi.org/10.1016/s0883-9417(96)80029-x Huurre T M.,&Aro H M.( 1998). Psychosocial development among adolescents with visual impairment.European Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 7 (2): 73-78. Huurre T. M., Komulainen E. J., Aro H. M. (1999). Social support and self-esteem among adolescents with visual impairments. J. Vis. Impair. Blind. 93, 26–37. Doi: 10.1177/0145482X9909300104.. Kartal A, and Çetinkaya B.(2009). Yüksekokul öğrencilerinin algılanan sosyal destek durumları ve sosyal desteği etkileyen faktörler. Fırat Sağlık Hizmetleri Dergisi; 4:3–20. Kef S. (2002). Psychological adjustment and the meaning of social support for visually impaired adolescents. Journal of visual impairment and blindness, 96 (1): 22-37. Ki, C. W. C., Cuevas, L. M., Chong, S. M., & Lim, H. (2020). Influencer marketing: Social media influencers as human brands attaching to followers and yielding positive marketing results by fulfilling needs. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services , 55 , 102133. Klinkosz, Waldemar, Sekowski, Andrzej, Brambring, and Michael. (2006). Academic performance and personality in visually impaired university students. Journal of Visual Impairment and Blindness, (100): 1. Kothari, C. R. (2004). Research Methodology.Methods & techniques. New age International (P) ltd, India. Livneh, H., and Antonak, R. F. (1997).Psychosocial Adaptation to Chronic Illness and Disability. Cambridge, MA: Aspen Publishers. Matobako , S. ., & Jita, L. C. (2022). How Visually Impaired Learners Construct Opportunities To Learn Mathematics? Armenian Journal of Special Education , 6 (1), 65-80. https://doi.org/10.24234/se.v5i1.288 Orth, U., and Robins, R. W. (2022). Is high self-esteem beneficial? Revisiting a classic question. Am. Psychol. 77, 5–17. doi: 10.1037/amp0000922. Pinquart, M., & Pfeiffer, J. P. (2011). Bullying in German schools: Results of a nationwide survey. Journal of School Violence, 10(3), 264-276. Reinhardt J P.( 2010). The importance of friendship and family support in adaptation to chronic vision impairment.The Journals of Gerontology: Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 51 (5): 268-78. Rosenberg, M (1986) Social psychology of the self-concept Arlington Heights; Harlan Davison. INC Rosenberg, M. (1965).Society and the Adolescent Self-image. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. Shahid, S, Ilyas, Z., and Hashim, A. (2016). Academic performance, self-efficacy and perceived social support of visually impaired students.dol:10.21649/akemu.v22i1.1068. Yasin, A. S. M., & Dzulkifli, M. A. (2011). The relationship between social support and academic performance. International Journal of Humanities and Social Science , 1 (5), 277-281. Yıldırım İ.(2004). Algılanan sosyal destek ölçeğinin revizyonu. Eurasian Journal of Educational Research; 17:221–36. Zimet, G.D., Dahlem, N.W., Zimet, S.G. & Farley, G.K. (1988). The Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support. Journal of Personality Assessment, 52, 30-41. Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-7158790","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":493967951,"identity":"40b8bc8b-881f-403d-bb38-7e425ec7b14e","order_by":0,"name":"Seifemichael Tsegaye Kassa","email":"data:image/png;base64,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","orcid":"","institution":"Wollo University","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Seifemichael","middleName":"Tsegaye","lastName":"Kassa","suffix":""},{"id":493967952,"identity":"bb637dd0-0425-490e-b7fe-adbc63c12b28","order_by":1,"name":"Mengistu Awlachew","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Dessie College of Teachers Education","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Mengistu","middleName":"","lastName":"Awlachew","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-07-18 14:53:11","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7158790/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7158790/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":88412398,"identity":"f24340e1-a8a6-4d59-a12a-ead8261efd36","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-08-06 08:36:12","extension":"png","order_by":1,"title":"Figure 1","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":35898,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eConceptual Framework\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"1.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7158790/v1/ff29e4eb78340434675ce227.png"},{"id":93657907,"identity":"80456328-bc5a-4ba6-adf3-3023642e52f0","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-10-16 07:24:40","extension":"pdf","order_by":0,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":1152326,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"manuscript.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7158790/v1/5a021dd2-cda9-41a2-9c9c-d18ffa8d2137.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"The Influence of Perceived Social Support and Self-Esteem on Academic Performance of Students with Visual Impairment in Middle Schools of Dessie City, Ethiopia","fulltext":[{"header":"INTRODUCTION","content":"\u003cp\u003eDisabilities have significant impact on cognitive development, and vision impairment has a substantial impact on a person\u0026apos;s ability to participate in daily activities. Visually impaired adolescents face difficulties in synthesizing complex structures into higher-level thought and evaluating evidence. Visually impaired teenagers can develop distinct mental frameworks compared to their non-visually impaired counterparts. The system\u0026apos;s concept-formation aspects and connections pose a challenge for visually impaired teenagers, limiting their control. Visually impaired teenagers participate in problem-solving processes, but this process, crucial for later outcomes, is more difficult and less engaging\u0026nbsp;(Alvaristo et al., 2020; Figueira et al., 2015; Matobako \u0026amp; Jita, 2022).\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u0026ldquo;Academic performance, which is a component of cognitive development, encompasses the proficiency in fulfilling school responsibilities as indicated by test results and recorded in scores or grades based on a student\u0026apos;s performance\u0026rdquo;\u003cem\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/em\u003e(Trow, 1956). This metric is typically employed to assess a student\u0026apos;s triumph within an educational setting. The academic accomplishments of visually impaired students are influenced by various factors such as gender, age, instructional approaches, learning capacities, familial background, and parental education. Additionally, the academic performance of visually impaired students can be impacted by perceived social support (PSS) and self-esteem (SE).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe concept of social support\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSocial support is defined as the interaction between individuals, which is affected by personality traits, the nature of relationships and social and cultural contexts (Kartal and Ettayo, 2009). Yıldırım (2004) states that social assistance includes the ability to seek advice, to receive material and moral support and to feel comfortable in relations. Perception of social support plays an important role in the adjustment and academic achievement of people with visual impairment. Adolescents with visual impairment often experience limited social contact and few social activities compared to those with normal vision. These visually impaired teens often experience feelings of isolation and difficulty forming close friendships (Huurre, 1998).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eYasin and Dzulkifli (2011) examined the attainment of social support among 120 students enrolled in a public university in Malaysia. This study found a positive correlation between students\u0026rsquo; academic performance and social support, indicating that as social support increases, so does students\u0026apos; academic accomplishment. Another determinant impacting the academic success of visually impaired students is self-esteem. Aryana (2010) conducted a study investigating the association between self-esteem and students\u0026apos; academic performances. To explore this relationship, Aryana employed a questionnaire and analyzed the students\u0026apos; grades from their current and previous semesters. The findings indicated a significant (p\u0026lt;0.01) positive correlation between self-esteem and students\u0026apos; academic accomplishments.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSocial support plays a role in the socio-emotional development of students who have visual impairment. Reinhardt\u0026nbsp;(2010) highlighted that favorable outcomes, including lower levels of anxiety and psychological distress as well as enhanced well-being, are correlated with\u0026nbsp;the perception of social support from parents and\u0026nbsp;friends. Additionally,\u0026nbsp;Kef (2002)\u0026nbsp;found\u0026nbsp;that\u0026nbsp;a large number of\u0026nbsp;visually impaired\u0026nbsp;students depend on\u0026nbsp;their intimate\u0026nbsp;friends for social support.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe majority of young individuals with visual impairment express satisfaction with the support they receive from their families. Furthermore, previous empirical evidence from Europe indicates that perceived social support is a significant predictor of self-esteem among adolescents with visual impairment (Kef, 2002).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHowever, Klinkosz et al. (2006) have uncovered that there is no primary impact of visual impairment on academic accomplishment; furthermore, visually impaired students are capable of navigating their challenges in approaching or accessing educational criteria as well as written information pertaining to examinations. It appears that the perceived social support and self-esteem influence the academic performance of visually impaired students. The influence of perceived social support and self-esteem on the academic performance of visually impaired students may vary in different contexts. Thus, there are cultural and geographical distinctions between the settings of the aforementioned studies and the Ethiopian setting.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLivneh and Antonak (1997) found that teenagers with visual impairment are more likely than non-impaired individuals to experience more psychological stresses (e.g., uncertainty about physical environment, feelings of remorse, fear, sadness, and depression) and isolation including limited social interaction, social barriers, and feelings of loneliness.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp id=\"_Toc155691664\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe Concept of Self-Esteem\u003c/strong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSelf-esteem (SE) is the extent\u0026nbsp;to which\u0026nbsp;a person\u0026nbsp;values and accepts\u0026nbsp;themselves.\u0026nbsp;It is\u0026nbsp;an individual\u0026apos;s viewpoint\u0026nbsp;and\u0026nbsp;the\u0026nbsp;value attach to it (Ki\u0026nbsp;et\u0026nbsp;al. 2020).\u0026nbsp;It is\u0026nbsp;an individual\u0026apos;s thoughts and feelings about oneself, not those of others. Feelings expressed through speech and mirror images form the foundation of self-esteem. \u0026nbsp;According to Eguavoen and Eniola (2016), a person who as self-esteem acknowledges weaknesses and feels they are worthy of affection and respect. Self-esteem is the way we feel about our successes and how we see ourselves.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA strong sense of self-worth is crucial because it gives us the courage to take chances and the confidence to have faith in our abilities. It inspires us to value our identity in spite of our shortcomings. Chen and Jiang (2022) explained that we secure respect from people initially when we respect ourselves. Making decisions about our bodies and thoughts requires having a strong sense of self. It teaches us to value our safety, feelings, and general well-being. If we have a positive sense of self-worth, we could realize that every aspect of ourselves is valuable and should be taken care of (Kapinga and Aloni, 2021).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp id=\"_Toc155691666\"\u003eLeary and Baumeister (2000) define self-esteem as a person\u0026apos;s overall opinion of themselves as individual beings. Moreover, a child\u0026apos;s sense of self-worth can profoundly influence all aspects of their growth (Brooks, 1992). Self-esteem can also be defined as an individual\u0026apos;s perception of themselves. According to Brooks (1992), it represents an evaluative aspect of self-knowledge. High levels of self-esteem stem from a favorable overall self-evaluation. However, it is impossible to measure self-esteem precisely. In addition to stemming from a legitimate appraisal of one\u0026apos;s abilities, accomplishments, and traits, high self-esteem can also originate from a feeling of superiority.\u0026nbsp;One could argue\u0026nbsp;that a realistic\u0026nbsp;understanding\u0026nbsp;of\u0026nbsp;one\u0026apos;s shortcomings\u0026nbsp;and a\u0026nbsp;distorted\u0026nbsp;or even pathological sense of inadequacy and insecurity\u0026nbsp;are the causes of low self-esteem\u0026nbsp;(Marshall,\u0026nbsp;2014).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSelf-esteem of adolescents with visual impairment\u003c/strong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe assertion made by Obiakor and Stile (1990) that teenagers with VI, whatever of age, exhibit lower self-esteem than their sighted classmates is typically unsupported by the available data. However, social skill development is more difficult for adolescents with VI, which may result in a decrease in self-esteem (Jindal-Snape, 2004). Pierce and Wardle (1996) suggest that teens\u0026nbsp;with VI may have lower\u0026nbsp;self-esteem due\u0026nbsp;to their frequent\u0026nbsp;isolation,\u0026nbsp;exclusion, and lack of\u0026nbsp;interaction\u0026nbsp;with their\u0026nbsp;peers\u0026nbsp;(Kroksmark and Nordell, 2001; Wagner, 2004).\u0026nbsp;According to\u0026nbsp;Tuttle and Tuttle\u0026nbsp;(2004),\u0026nbsp;there is\u0026nbsp;sufficient evidence\u0026nbsp;to\u0026nbsp;draw the conclusion\u0026nbsp;that children with VI\u0026nbsp;experience\u0026nbsp;social\u0026nbsp;exclusion.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt is not surprising that children\u0026nbsp;and adolescents with VI\u0026nbsp;do not socialize much\u0026nbsp;with their sighted peers,\u0026nbsp;given\u0026nbsp;that\u0026nbsp;research has shown\u0026nbsp;that\u0026nbsp;bullying is common among\u0026nbsp;adolescents with disabilities, including those with\u0026nbsp;VI\u0026nbsp;(Pinquart and Pfeiffer,\u0026nbsp;2011). Similar findings were made by Pinquart and Pfeiffer (2011), who discovered that adolescents with VI reported experiencing more victimization than peers without VI. Being stigmatized can therefore result in social exclusion and, more crucially, low self-esteem because those who have disabilities would attempt to avoid persecution. Additionally, research has shown that kids who were more likely to be bullied had poorer self-esteem (p = 0.001), reported feeling unhappy (p 0.0001), and reported being less pleased with school (Boulton and Underwood, 1992).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRelationship between Self-Esteem and academic performance\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe cornerstone of academic accomplishment appears to be positive self-esteem, which must be developed early in life. Educational performance and self-esteem appear to be significantly correlated, and one influences the other. Poor academic performance and self-destructive behavior are frequently attributed to low self-esteem (Boulton and Underwood, 1992). This has an impact on both the individual\u0026apos;s personal development and his or her position and status in society as a whole. The child\u0026apos;s level of self-esteem is largely influenced by his or her environment\u0026nbsp;(Pinquart and Pfeiffer, 2011).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePerceived social support of students with visual impairment\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe subjective perceptions and ideas about the social support that people receive are referred to as perceived social support (Lakey and Scoboria, 2005). Manitsa and Doikou (2022) summarized the key themes in the literature on social support for students with visual impairment based on their integrative literature review, including their experiences with social support in schools and universities and the effects of this social support on their academic learning and socio-emotional development. Inconsistent results were found when comparing the perceived social support of sighted and visually impaired teenagers ( Hadidi and Alkhateeb, 2013), which may be due to social culture, educational setting, and construct conceptualization variations.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn contrast to findings from prior studies among sighted adolescents (Rueger et al., 2010), research conducted outside of China found that peer support had a higher meaningful predictive influence on the mental health and loneliness of teens with visual impairment than parental support (Heppe et al., 2020). The published work mostly focused on visually challenged students who attended regular schools, ignoring those who attended special schools. Prior studies have sporadically discussed the significance of reported close friend support and teacher support among teenagers with visual impairment. Only two things have been proven (Pinquart and Pfeiffer, 2013): that adolescents with visual impairment felt higher levels of teacher support than their sighted peers, and that their perception of teacher support is much lower than parental and peer support\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAdditionally, it was found that the social support of friends was a major predictor of depression in young adults with visual impairments (Papadopoulos and Papakonstantinou, 2020). To understand how social networks work among teenagers with visual impairments, more research is needed on the unique contributions of diverse social support systems. This study also examined the connections between those same four sources of perceived social support and social integration in Chinese adolescents with visual impairments to better understand the relationships between perceived social support from parents, teachers, peers, and close friends and self-esteem.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSelf-esteem and perceived social support of students\u003c/strong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u0026nbsp;with visual impairment\u0026nbsp;\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIndividuals with higher levels of self-esteem tend to have better levels of satisfaction and have greater success in their careers and social connections (Orth and Robins, 2022). Research has focused on the self-esteem of children and young adults with visual impairment. Several factors, including social support, gender, and parenting, seemed important for their self-esteem development, according to Augestad (2017), who conducted a systematic review of 26 pertinent studies. However, longitudinal studies are necessary to conclude causal effects because research findings regarding whether the visually impaired would show a lower level of self-esteem than the sighted were inconsistent\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;Even though they may or may not exhibit lower levels of self-esteem than sighted adolescents, it is widely accepted that adolescents with visual impairment confront significant obstacles in achieving high levels of self-esteem (Miklyaeva and Gorkovaya, 2018). According to a recent study, over 90% of Tanzanian students with vision impairment who attended regular schools showed excellent self-esteem (Kapinga and Aloni, 2021). A lower level of self-esteem among students with visual impairment is a result of social isolation and control-relinquished coping (Xie et al 2022).\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThere are three main perspectives on how the relationship between perceived social support and self-esteem might develop. First, the precursor to self-esteem is social support.\u0026nbsp;The socio-meter theory states that people\u0026apos;s desire to enhance their relationships and gain social acceptance is a crucial component of self-esteem (Leary, 2005). According to dated empirical data from Europe, self-esteem in teenagers with visual impairment is significantly predicted by perceived social support (Huurre et al., 1999; Kef, 2002).\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePeople with low self-esteem are often more sensitive to social input and other people\u0026apos;s opinions, which may affect their social interactions, according to Brockner\u0026apos;s (1988) plasticity theory. Studies on the mediating effect of perceived social support on the links between self-esteem and developmental outcomes among teenagers without impairments (Chen et al., 2022) provide credence to this idea.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThird, the correlation between perceived social support and self-esteem could be mutual. However, longitudinal studies exploring the potential mutual relationship between sighted adolescents\u0026apos; perceived social support and self-esteem produced mixed results. Asendorpf and van Aken (2003) discovered that parental and peer support at age 12 projected global self-worth at age 17, but not vice versa; in contrast, Marshall et al. (2014) revealed that self-esteem reliably predicted perceived social support over time in high school students, but not vice versa. As a result, longitudinal studies are needed to investigate the links between self-esteem and social support among adolescents, particularly those with visual impairment.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp id=\"_Toc155691670\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePerceived social support and academic performance of students\u003c/strong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u0026nbsp;with visual impairment\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAccording to Haheds, Ilyas, and Hashmi (2016), there is a positive correlation between academic performance and social support of visually impaired students. Social support and self-esteem also play an important role in enhancing confidence and academic performance. There is a positive relationship between perceived social support and academic performance.\u0026nbsp;The academic achievement of visually impaired students was strongly positively correlated with the support that they received from their friends (Haheds, Ilyas, and Hashmi, 2016). Increases in the level of social support were correlated with increases in academic performance\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAdditionally, a strong positive correlation between academic performance and family support, particularly from parents, was discovered. In the past, it has been noted that parents and family members are important every day and homework-related sources of social support. Support from family and significant others was more significant than social support from peers (Tuttle and Tuttle, 2004). This is consistent with other research findings about the source of support, which showed that visually impaired people reported receiving more social support from parents than from peers.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePerceived social support, particularly from parents, can help visually impaired students achieve academic success and cope with difficult situations. Schools can assist visually impaired students live independently, become self-sufficient, and lead satisfying lives by establishing strong support networks that include both learners and teachers (Tuttle and Tuttle, 2004).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe Conceptual Framework\u003c/strong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFigure 1.1 illustrates the study variables as well as the hypothesized relationships among the study variables. The two independent variables are perceived social support and self-esteem. Perceived social support is at three levels namely, parent, friend, and teacher. Self-esteem is at two levels namely, high and low self-esteem. The dependent variable is academic performance. Academic performance which is inferred from 2016 E.C. average test scores of different subjects. Visually impaired students\u0026apos; academic performance is hypothesized to be influenced by their perceived social support and self-esteem.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe three levels of perceived social support (parent, friend, and teacher) could also interact with the two levels of self-esteem (high and low) to influence visually impaired students\u0026apos; academic performance.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eObjectives of the Study\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSince there is limited research on the influence of perceived social support and self-esteem on academic performance among middle school visually impaired students, the attempts to fill in this gap. Hence, this study tends to focus on pointing out the influence of perceived social support and self-esteem on the academic performance of visually impaired students. \u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe specific objectives of this research are as follows:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003col\u003e\n \u003cli\u003eTo explore the reciprocal relationship between perceived social support, self-esteem, and academic performance of students with visual impairment.\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003eTo investigate the influence of perceived social support and self-esteem on the academic performance of students with visual impairment.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ol\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe researcher hypothesized that the visually impaired student\u0026rsquo;s academic performance is influenced by their perceived social support and self-esteem.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Research design","content":"\u003cp\u003eA descriptive survey design was used to examine the influence of perceived social support and self-esteem on the academic performance of SWVI in Dessie city administration middle schools.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eStudy area\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eData for the study was gathered from visually impaired students of Dessie city administration middle schools in Dessie city. Dessie City, the capital of South Wollo, is located in the northeast part of Ethiopia, in Amhara Regional State, about 400 kilometers far from Addis Ababa.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe reasons for selecting this area were:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003col\u003e\n \u003cli\u003eAccessibility of the area\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003eThe researcher has worked near to the middle-schools and hence, the researchers believed that the respondents were expecting to give valid information about the study.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003eThe middle schools that accommodate a large number of visually impaired students with different academic performance.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ol\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eStudy population\u0026nbsp;\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe population of this study consisted of students with visual impairments who attended their education in 2024 in middle schools in Dessie City. There are 45 middle schools in Dessie city. Thirty-one (31) of them are governmental middle schools and 14 of them are private middle schools. From those governmental middle schools, five schools are serving as integrated systems to teach students with disabilities, including SWVI.\u0026nbsp;The total number of the target population of the study was 50 students with visual impairment.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eSample Size and Sampling Techniques\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFive schools from the thirty-one governmental middle schools; the two grade levels grade seven and eight; students with visual impairment were samples of the study.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe researcher sampled purposefully\u0026nbsp;Tigle Fire, Karagutu, Eteyemenen, Segno gebeya, and Sefereselam\u0026nbsp;middle schools. The total target population of the study was 50 students with a visual impairment. Therefore, a total of 50 SWVI were taken as the sample of this research using a comprehensive sampling technique to fill the questionnaire.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eResearch instruments\u0026nbsp;\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eInstruments that were used to collect data were a self-reported questionnaire and test. The instruments are described below.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe Perceived Social Support Questionnaire\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis questionnaire was developed by Zimet, Dahlem, Zimet, and Farley (1988) and was used in this study to measure the perceived social support of visually impaired students. The perceived social support multidimensional scale is a 12-item questionnaire with three subscales \u0026ndash; family, friend, and significant other perceived support scale. The 12 items can be grouped into three-factor groups related to the source of the social support, namely family, friends, or significant others. The family perceived support scale includes 4 items. The friend perceived support scale has 4 items and the significant other perceived support scale consists of 4 items.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe perceived social support multidimensional scale asks whether participants received support from family, friends, and significant others since the relationships with family, friends and significant others are important determinants of visually impaired students\u0026apos; academic performance. Participants rated themselves on a 7-point Likert scale (7=very strongly agree, 6= strongly agree, 5= mildly Agree, 4=neutral, 3= mildly disagree, 2=strongly disagree and 1= very strongly disagree). Overall, the scores range from 12 to 84. A higher score indicates a higher level of family, friends, and significant other support.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe Self-Esteem Questionnaire\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA self-esteem questionnaire was adapted from Rosenberger (1986). The self-esteem questionnaire is a 10-item questionnaire\u0026nbsp;that was presented\u0026nbsp;to visually impaired students to measure their level of self-esteem.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt used a Likert scale with four alternatives namely \u0026lsquo;strongly agree, \u0026lsquo;agree\u0026rsquo;, \u0026apos;disagree\u0026apos;, and \u0026apos;strongly disagree\u0026apos;, which scores 4, 3, 2, and 1, respectively.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe self-esteem scores were calculated by summing the items with item2,5,6,8 \u0026nbsp;and 9 reverse scored as 1=4,2=3,3=2 and 4=1 because they are negatively stated. The self-esteem scores ranged from 10 to 40. This means a minimum score of 10 and a maximum score of 40. \u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAcademic Performance\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAcademic performances of visually impaired students were measured by their current exam results in eight different subjects (i.e., Amharic, English, citizenship education, Art, General Science, health and physical education, Geography, and Information Technology). It was the most recent evidence of their academic performance. The exam was prepared by eight selected teachers from each primary school. The exam consists of four parts. The first part of the item is composed of 10 true or false items. The second part includes 5 matching items. The third part includes 5 fill the missing word and the last part includes 30 multiple-choice items. Then, the total questions were composed of 50 items for all subjects. Then students took the exam at the same time. Therefore, the researcher multiplied 50 % to make 100%\u0026nbsp;and used it for the analysis.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReliability of the research instruments\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Amharic version of the perceived social support and self-esteem questionnaires underwent forward-backward translation by the co-author, and was reviewed for relevance by two English and Amharic language experts. The reviewed versions \u0026nbsp;were pilot tested on purposefully selected 12 visually impaired student respondents from Kombolcha No.1 primary school in Kombolcha city administration\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHaving scored all items, the internal consistency of items was measured by Cronbach alpha using SPSS version 21. Thus, the internal consistency of perceived social support and self-esteem scales were 0.870 \u0026amp;0.884 respectively.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eEthical Considerations\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis research was conducted by considering all ethical issues of research. First, before gathering data from the participants, the researcher introduced the purpose of the study and reached an agreement with all participants. In addition, the researcher promised the participants that the information collected was used for only academic purposes and confidentiality would be kept. Regarding the consent, the researcher informed them that they could withdraw from participating in the research at any time and in any circumstance if they did not feel comfortable. All information was gathered based on the consent. The researcher was sensitive and respectful enough of the participant\u0026apos;s culture, identities, and perceptions.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eMethod of Data Analysis\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn general, descriptive and inferential statistics techniques were used for data analysis. The data were described using descriptive statistical methods such as frequencies, mean, standard deviation, minimum and maximum scores, and cross-tabulation.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient was used to determine the relationship of academic performance with perceived social support and self-esteem. To determine the influence of perceived social support and self-esteem on the academic performance of visually impaired students multiple regression analysis was considered the best statistical test to use because of its dual advantage. All tests were two-tailed and significant levels were measured at a 95% confidence level and significant differences were recorded at an alpha level of 0.05 (p\u0026lt;0.05). The significant levels were tested at alpha .05.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Results and Discussions","content":"\u003ch2\u003eResults\u0026nbsp;\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eRelationship of perceived social support and self-esteem with academic Performance\u0026nbsp;\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe first objective of this study was to explore the relationship between perceived social support and self-esteem in the academic performance of students with visual impairment. To achieve this bivariate correlational analysis the Pearson\u0026apos;s Product Moment Correlation Coefficient was computed. The results are presented in Table 1 below\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eTable1. Correlation Analysis Results of\u0026nbsp;\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003ePerceived Social Support and Self-esteem with Academic Performance\u0026nbsp;\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ctable border=\"1\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\" width=\"595\"\u003e\n \u003ctbody\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 175px;\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 132px;\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 168px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003ePerceived Social Support\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 120px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eSelf-esteem\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd rowspan=\"3\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 175px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eAcademic Performance\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 132px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003ePearson correlation\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 168px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e.491\u003csup\u003e**\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 120px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e.542\u003csup\u003e**\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 132px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eSig.(2-tailed)\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 168px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e.000\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 120px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e.000\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 132px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eN\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 168px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e50\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 120px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e50\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003c/tbody\u003e\n\u003c/table\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u0026nbsp;**. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e*. Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed).\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTable 1 reveals that there was a significant and positive relationship between perceived social support and academic performance (\u003cem\u003er\u0026nbsp;\u003c/em\u003e(50) \u003cem\u003e=\u003c/em\u003e .491, \u003cem\u003ep\u0026nbsp;\u003c/em\u003e\u0026lt; .01). The results indicate that when perceived social support scores go up, there is a corresponding rise in academic performance scores. The results imply that visually impaired students who get social support are likely to perform well in academic performance tasks.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eResults in Table 1 also show that there was a positive and significant relationship between self-esteem and academic performance (\u003cem\u003er\u0026nbsp;\u003c/em\u003e(50) = .542, \u003cem\u003ep\u0026nbsp;\u003c/em\u003e\u0026lt; .01). This means that the self-esteem held by the\u003cem\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/em\u003eparticipants affected their academic performance scores positively or negatively. The results in Table 1 indicate that the higher the student\u0026apos;s self-esteem score, the higher the corresponding academic performance score. These findings mean that students with high scores on the self-esteem scale also had high academic performance scores. Similarly, those who had low scores on self-esteem had correspondingly low academic performance scores.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eThe effect of perceived social support and self-esteem on Academic Performance of students with visual impairment\u0026nbsp;\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe second objective of this study sought to find out if the two predictor variables interacted significantly to produce academic performance or not. Towards this end, a combined descriptive analysis of the perceived social support and self-esteem scores was done and then tested.\u003cstrong\u003e\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp id=\"_Toc155691707\"\u003eThe Descriptive Analysis of the Interaction Effect of perceived social support and self-esteem on academic Performance of students with visual impairment\u0026nbsp;was based on the scores of the two predictor variables from the questionnaire. The range, mean, standard deviation, and skewness of perceived social support and self-esteem are presented in Table 2.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eTable 2 Descriptive Analysis of Perceived Social Support and Self-Esteem Scores\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ctable border=\"1\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\"\u003e\n \u003ctbody\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 187px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 60px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eN\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 66px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eRange\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 60px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eMin\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 66px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eMax\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 60px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eM\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 54px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eSD\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 54px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eSk\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 187px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003ePerceived social support\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 60px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e50\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 66px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e52.00\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 60px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e18\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 66px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e70\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 60px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e41.02\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 54px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e13.856\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 54px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e.268\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 187px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eSelf-esteem\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 60px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e50\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 66px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e22\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 60px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e17\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 66px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e39\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 60px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e27.1\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 54px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e5.76\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 54px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e.126\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003c/tbody\u003e\n\u003c/table\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eNote. N\u0026nbsp;\u003c/em\u003e= 50; Min = Minimum; Max = Maximum; \u003cem\u003eM\u0026nbsp;\u003c/em\u003e= Mean; \u003cem\u003eSD\u0026nbsp;\u003c/em\u003e= Standard\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDeviation; SK = Skewness\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe data in Table 2 shows that the minimum perceived social support scale and self-esteem scale were 18 and 17 respectively while the maximum scores for the same were 70 and 39 respectively. The mean scores for the perceived social support scale and self-esteem scale were 41.02 (\u003cem\u003eSD\u0026nbsp;\u003c/em\u003e=13.856) and 27.1 (\u003cem\u003eSD\u0026nbsp;\u003c/em\u003e= 5.76) respectively. The distribution of scores for both scales was found to be positively skewed (0.268 and 0.126 respectively).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTo test whether the interaction effect of the two predictor variables on academic performance was significant or not, the perceived social support and self-esteem scores as well as the academic performance scores were subjected to multiple regression analysis, and the results presented in Table 3\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTable 3 \u003cem\u003eRegression Analysis for Interaction Effect of perceived social support and self-esteem on academic Performance\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ctable border=\"1\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\" width=\"520\"\u003e\n \u003cthead\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd colspan=\"7\" style=\"width: 520px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd colspan=\"2\" valign=\"bottom\" style=\"width: 132px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eModel\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"bottom\" style=\"width: 96px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eS S\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"bottom\" style=\"width: 67px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eDf\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"bottom\" style=\"width: 92px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eM S\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"bottom\" style=\"width: 67px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eF\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"bottom\" style=\"width: 67px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eSig.\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd rowspan=\"3\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 48px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 84px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eRegression\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 96px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e2634.835\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 67px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e2\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 92px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1317.418\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 67px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e15.478\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 67px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e.000\u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 84px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eResidual \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 96px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e4000.445\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 67px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e47\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 92px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e85.116\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 67px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 67px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 84px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eTotal\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 96px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e6635.280\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 67px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e49\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 92px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 67px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 67px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003c/thead\u003e\n \u003ctbody\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd colspan=\"6\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 453px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003ea. Predictors: (Constant), Self-esteem, Perceived Social Support\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 67px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd colspan=\"5\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 387px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eb. Dependent Variable: Academic Performance\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 67px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 67px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003c/tbody\u003e\n\u003c/table\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eNote. N\u0026nbsp;\u003c/em\u003e= 50; \u003cem\u003eSS\u0026nbsp;\u003c/em\u003e= Sum of Squares; \u003cem\u003edf\u0026nbsp;\u003c/em\u003e= Degrees of Freedom; \u003cem\u003eMS\u0026nbsp;\u003c/em\u003e= Mean\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSquares; \u003cem\u003eF\u0026nbsp;\u003c/em\u003e= Critical value of F\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTable 3 shows that self-esteem and perceived social support had a substantial interaction effect on academic achievement (F=15.478, p \u0026lt;.05). The result variable and each of the predictor factors had a strong, positive association. It came as no surprise that when the two predictor variables were combined, they had a significant interaction effect on academic performance. Furthermore, the researcher wanted to know how much self-esteem and perceived social support impacted academic achievement. As a result, additional regression analysis was performed on this data, and the results are shown in Table 4.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTable 4 Predictive\u003cem\u003e\u0026nbsp;Values of perceived social support and self-esteem on academic\u0026nbsp;\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003ePerformance\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ctable border=\"1\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\" width=\"691\"\u003e\n \u003cthead\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd colspan=\"11\" style=\"width: 691px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd rowspan=\"2\" valign=\"bottom\" style=\"width: 48px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eModel\u003cstrong\u003e\u003csup\u003es\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd rowspan=\"2\" valign=\"bottom\" style=\"width: 43px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eR\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd rowspan=\"2\" valign=\"bottom\" style=\"width: 56px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eR Square\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd rowspan=\"2\" valign=\"bottom\" style=\"width: 76px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eAdjusted R Square\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd rowspan=\"2\" valign=\"bottom\" style=\"width: 76px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eStd. Error of the Estimate\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd colspan=\"5\" valign=\"bottom\" style=\"width: 316px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eChange Statistics\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd rowspan=\"2\" valign=\"bottom\" style=\"width: 76px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eDurbin-Watson\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"bottom\" style=\"width: 76px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eR Square Change\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"bottom\" style=\"width: 58px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eF Change\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"bottom\" style=\"width: 53px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003edf1\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"bottom\" style=\"width: 53px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003edf2\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"bottom\" style=\"width: 76px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eSig. F Change\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 48px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 43px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e.542\u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 56px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e.293\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 76px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e.279\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 76px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e9.88328\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 76px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e.293\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 58px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e19.929\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 53px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 53px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e48\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 76px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e.000\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 76px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 48px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e2\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 43px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e.630\u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 56px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e.397\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 76px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e.371\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 76px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e9.22582\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 76px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e.104\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 58px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e8.085\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 53px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 53px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e47\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 76px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e.007\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 76px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1.646\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd colspan=\"4\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 223px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003ea. Predictors: (Constant), Self Esteem\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 76px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 76px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 58px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 53px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 53px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 76px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 76px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003c/thead\u003e\n \u003ctbody\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd colspan=\"6\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 375px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eb. Predictors: (Constant), Self Esteem, Perceived Social Support\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 58px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 53px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 53px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 76px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 76px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd colspan=\"5\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 299px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003ec. Dependent Variable: Academic Performance\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 76px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 58px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 53px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 53px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 76px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 76px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003c/tbody\u003e\n\u003c/table\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe result of regression analysis in Table 4 above showed that there were significant effects of perceived social support and self-esteem together on students with visual impairment academic performance (R square value = 0.397). This means that perceived social support and self-esteem together accounted for 39.7% of the variance in visually impaired students\u0026apos; academic performance. This indicated that 60.3% of the variance in visually impaired students\u0026apos; academic performance was influenced by other factors that were not included in this study.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe independent effect of self-esteem (R square=.293) and perceived social support (R square= .104) accounted for 29.3% \u0026amp; 10.4% of the total variance of the visually impaired students\u0026apos; academic performance respectively which was positive and significant (F=19.929, P=.000\u0026lt;0.05; F=8.085, P=.007\u0026lt;0.05 respectively). \u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMoreover, the researcher is interested in finding the Regression coefficient results of self-esteem and perceived social support on academic performance. This data was therefore subjected to further regression analysis and the results were as shown in Table 5.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eTable5. Regression Coefficients\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ctable border=\"1\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\" width=\"640\"\u003e\n \u003cthead\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd colspan=\"2\" rowspan=\"2\" valign=\"bottom\" style=\"width: 186px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eModel\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd colspan=\"2\" valign=\"bottom\" style=\"width: 144px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eUnstandardized Coefficients\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"bottom\" style=\"width: 84px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eStandardized Coefficients\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd rowspan=\"2\" valign=\"bottom\" style=\"width: 47px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eT\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd rowspan=\"2\" valign=\"bottom\" style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eSig.\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd colspan=\"2\" valign=\"bottom\" style=\"width: 122px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eCollinearity Statistics\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"bottom\" style=\"width: 72px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eB\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"bottom\" style=\"width: 72px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eStd. Error\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"bottom\" style=\"width: 84px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eBeta\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"bottom\" style=\"width: 64px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eTolerance\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"bottom\" style=\"width: 58px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eVIF\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd rowspan=\"3\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 41px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 145px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e(Constant) \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 72px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e11.207\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 72px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e6.600\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 84px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 47px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1.698\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e.096\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 64px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 58px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 145px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003ePerceived Social Support\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 72px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.463\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 72px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1.218\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 84px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e.344\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 47px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e2.843\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e.007\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 64px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e.878\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 58px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1.139\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 145px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eSelf Esteem\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 72px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e8.515\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 72px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e2.441\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 84px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e.422\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 47px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.488\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e.001\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 64px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e.878\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 58px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1.139\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003c/thead\u003e\n \u003ctbody\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd colspan=\"4\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 330px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003ea. Dependent Variable: Academic Performance\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 84px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 47px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 64px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 58px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003c/tbody\u003e\n\u003c/table\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTable 5 reveals that self-esteem had a positive linearly significant predictive value for academic performance of students with visual impairment (B = 8.515, p=0.001\u0026lt;0.05). The results mean that for every standard deviation change in self-esteem scores, academic performance scores increased by 8.515 points. Similarly, perceived social support had a positive linearly significant predictive value for the academic performance of students with visual impairment (B =3.463, p=0.007\u0026lt;0.05). This means that one unit change in perceived social support while holding all other variables at zero results in 3. 463 units increase in the academic performance of students with visual impairment. \u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eDiscussions\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe first objective of this study was to find out the relationship between perceived social support and self-esteem with academic performance. To achieve this, objective, the Pearson product-moment correlation analysis method was used. The results and discussion are presented below. \u0026nbsp;The study found a significant and positive relationship between perceived social support and academic performance. The higher the participants\u0026rsquo; perceived social support mean scores, the higher their academic performance mean scores. This result agrees with the results of Yasin and Dzulkifli (2011) who studied 120 students in a public university in Malaysia and found a significant and positive relationship between their academic accomplishment and social support, showing that with higher social support, students\u0026apos; academic accomplishment also increases.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe results also corroborate the research findings of Shahid, Ilyas, and Hashmi (2016) who correlate perceived social support and academic performance of visually impaired students. They found that there was a positive correlation between academic performance and perceived social support of visually impaired students.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis result is congruent with that of Hagerty et al. (1996), who discovered that, while academic achievement and self-esteem appear to be tightly linked and impact each other, academic performance appears to be reliant on positive self-esteem, which must be acquired early in life. Low self-esteem is frequently used to explain poor academic achievement and self-destructive conduct. This affects the individual\u0026apos;s function and status in society as a whole, as well as their personal development. Similarly, Orth and Robins (2022) discovered that people with higher self-esteem are happier and more successful in their occupations and social interactions.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMoreover, Aryana (2010) found that there is a substantial (p\u0026lt;0.01) positive connection between self-esteem and students\u0026apos; academic accomplishments.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe results show that\u0026nbsp;the combined effect of perceived social support and self-esteem on the variance of visually impaired student\u0026apos;s academic performance was 39.7%. The independent effect of self-esteem was greater than the effect of perceived social support, which was 29.3% of the total variance. This result was consistent with the results of Boulton and Underwood (1992) who found that the cornerstone of academic accomplishment appears to be positive self-esteem, which must be developed early in life. Educational performance and self-esteem appear to be significantly correlated, and one influences the other. Poor academic performance and self-destructive behavior are frequently attributed to low self-esteem.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eLimitations of this study\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThough the study has meaningful contribution to the understudied relationship between social support, self-esteem, and academic performance particularly for visually impaired students in middle schools in the Ethiopian context, it has limitations on generalizability and transferability of the findings as it involved small sample size and focused on one geographical area, Dessie City. Future research should be done incorporating larger sample size of students and multiple study sites.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Conclusion","content":"\u003cp\u003eThe study showed that the majority of the sampled respondents reported moderate levels of perceived social support and self-esteem. Then, it is concluded that the level of perceived social support and self-esteem of the majority of respondents was moderate.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe one-sample t-test results indicated that the respondents' level of academic performance was high. The correlation analysis results revealed that perceived social support and self-esteem were positively and significantly correlated with visually impaired student's academic performance.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe regression analysis results indicated that both perceived social support and self-esteem positively and significantly predicted the academic performance of students with visual impairment.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eRecommendation\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFor students with visual impairment to increase their level of self-esteem, they should establish good social relationships, involve themselves in activities, and make a habit of noticing the good things in their lives.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eVisually impaired students need to develop positive and caring relationships with their parents, friends, and significant others which promote their academic performance.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003ePractical implications\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAn in-depth understanding of the influence of perceived social support and self-esteem on the academic performance of visually impaired students can inform the development of targeted interventions. Educational practitioners can benefit from evidence-based strategies that enhance social support networks, foster self-esteem, and ultimately improve academic outcomes for visually impaired students.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Declarations","content":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe participants\u0026apos; parents or legal guardians provided consent for their minors to participate in the study\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAuthor Contribution\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSeifemichael Tsegaye (Corresponding Author) wrote the main manuscript text and made a step-by-step revision of the manuscript. Mengistu Awulachew(Co-author) translated the research instruments into Amharic and prepared all the figures.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAcknowledgements\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe authors would like to thank all the participants, school directors and reviewers of the research instruments.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eConflict of Interests\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe authors have no conflict of interest for this article.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFunding\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNo funding was received for conducting this research.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEthical Approval\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eApproval was obtained from The Research and Ethical Review Board(RERB) of Wollo University. All procedures performed in this studies involving human participants were in accordance with the tenets of the Declaration of Helsinki\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eConsent to publish\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAuthors give consent ensuring that all information in this article could be used for publication.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eConsent to participate\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eInformed consent was obtained from all individual participants included \u0026nbsp;in this study.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eData Availability Statement\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe authors declare that any data for this study is not available publicly but can be shared upon request from authors.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eClinical Number\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNot Applicable\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"References","content":"\u003col\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAlvaristo, M., Silva, M., Viginheski, F., \u0026amp; P\u0026iacute;latti, L. (2020). 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The relationship between social support and academic performance. \u003cem\u003eInternational Journal of Humanities and Social Science\u003c/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003e1\u003c/em\u003e(5), 277-281.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eYıldırım İ.(2004). Algılanan sosyal destek \u0026ouml;l\u0026ccedil;eğinin revizyonu. Eurasian Journal of Educational Research; 17:221\u0026ndash;36.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eZimet, G.D., Dahlem, N.W., Zimet, S.G. \u0026amp; Farley, G.K. (1988). The Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support. Journal of Personality Assessment, 52, 30-41. \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ol\u003e"}],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":true,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":true,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":false,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":false,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"self-esteem, perceived social support, academic performance, visual impairment","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7158790/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7158790/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eThe purpose of the study was to examine the influence of perceived social support and self-esteem on the academic performance of students with visual impairment in selected middle schools of the Dessie city administration. The study adopted a descriptive survey research design. A sample size of 50 respondents was selected. Comprehensive sampling and purposive sampling techniques were used to select 50 SWVI and 5 middle schools. Data was collected using questionnaires and tests. Descriptive statistics (such as frequencies, mean, standard deviation, minimum and maximum scores, and cross-tabulation) and inferential statistics (such as Correlation and multiple regression analysis) techniques were used to analyze data. The study found that perceived social support and self-esteem were positively and significantly correlated to visually impaired students' academic performance. In addition, self-esteem and perceived social support had a positive linearly significant predictive value for the academic performance of students with visual impairment (B\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;8.515, p\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.001\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.05) and (B\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;3.463, p\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.007\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.05) respectively. The study recommends visually impaired students develop positive and caring relationships with their parents, friends, and significant others which promote their academic performance. Moreover, the study recommends the need for students with visual impairment to increase their level of self-esteem; they should establish good social relationships, involve themselves in activities, and make a habit of noticing the good things in their lives.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"The Influence of Perceived Social Support and Self-Esteem on Academic Performance of Students with Visual Impairment in Middle Schools of Dessie City, Ethiopia","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2025-08-06 08:36:07","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7158790/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"dfd913b1-246b-4692-99f0-1323850e9cca","owner":[],"postedDate":"August 6th, 2025","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"posted","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2025-10-16T07:24:20+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2025-08-06 08:36:07","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-7158790","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-7158790","identity":"rs-7158790","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"8U1c8b4HqxoKbykW_rLl7","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}