Psychological approaches to myopia: a review

This paper reviews the literature on psychological or behavioral factors in the development and modification of myopia. A wide variety of topics in psychology have been involved in this work, and there are a number of potentially fruitful areas for further research. In regard to the development of myopia, the following were concluded: axial length of the eyeball is a critical physiological variable; heredity plays a definite though minor role; there are personality and intellectual correlates of myopia; and excessive visual near work behavior is almost certainly a powerful relevant factor. In regard to modification, little has as yet been accomplished, although the demonstration of temporary changes in subjective acuity and refractive error by behavioral means supports a view of myopia as a behavioral physiological disorder.