Abstract :
In order to study psychological correlates of refractive errors, a Short Adjective Checklist measuring the Big Five (SACBIF) and a scale of Activities involving Near Vision (NVAL) were administered to a sample of 88 patients in various optometric centres. Both the patientsʹ refraction and that of their parents was measured. The relationships between refraction, visual behaviour, personality factors and the refractive errors in parents were investigated using a correlational approach. Results indicate that the main correlate of simple myopia is the time spent in near vision, while this variable is not correlated at all with the presence of an astigmatism. However, simple myopia occurs more frequently if the mother is affected by the same ametropia, while astigmatism occurs if one or both parents are astigmatic. Among personality variables, myopic individuals seem to tend toward Conscientiousness, Introversion and Mental Closeness, providing evidence for psychological differentiation of myopes from other refractive types.
