Control Strategies of Visually Impaired Travelers

Abstract

This exploratory study evaluated visually impaired travelers' (VITs) psychological adaptations by identifying the travel constraints they anticipated before the trips and encountered when they arrived at the destinations, and the control strategies they employed to negotiate the constraints at the two travel stages. Semi-structured qualitative face-to-face interviews with 18 VITs and their caregivers were conducted. The findings demonstrated that participants were challenged with structural and intrapersonal constraints in these two travel stages and various control strategies were implemented. Selective primary control and compensatory primary control strategies were used to cope with constraints under the VITs' control by changing the external environment, whereas selective secondary control and compensatory secondary control strategies were used to cope with constraints beyond their control by altering one's inner world. This study comprehends how VITs psychologically adapt to the travel constraints they anticipate before and encounter during their trips. Practical implications were provided.