Social-emotional issues among children with strabismus higher than among non-strabismus children in Western India

PURPOSE: Data on social-emotional aspects among children with strabismus in India are scanty. We compared the emotional symptoms (ES), loneliness and social dissatisfaction (LSD), and self-esteem (SE) and their associated risk factors among children with and without strabismus in India. METHODS: A cross-sectional case–control study design was used to recruit 101 children with strabismus aged 8 to 18 years and a control group of 101 children that were age- and gender-matched. Interviews were performed using standardized scales to assess ES, LSD, and SE. Variations in the intensity of ES, LSD, and SE were assessed using multiple classification analysis (MCA). RESULTS: A total of 202 children participated in the study. The mean ES, LSD, and SE scores were 3.4 (standard deviation [SD] 1.9), 48.4 (SD 3.2), and 22.1 (SD 3.8) for the strabismus group and 1.8 (SD 1.5), 33.3 (SD 3), and 31.3 (SD 2) for the non-strabismus group, respectively. Among the strabismus group, the highest levels of mean ES, LSD, and SE scores were observed among children facing problems in performing daily tasks. Amongst the non-strabismus group, children studying at the primary level and those facing neglect had the highest mean scores. In MCA, being affected with strabismus had the highest effect on the intensity of ES, LSD, and SE with a beta (b) value of 0.223 (P = 0.016), 0.922 (P < 0.001), and 0.853 (P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: A significantly high proportion of children with strabismus deal with elevated levels of ES, LSD problems, and low SE as compared with non-strabismus children, highlighting the need to address the poor social-emotional health of children.