• Hugo Fournier, Marie Hasdenteufel, Constance Garrouteigt, Mathieu Perie, Antoine Gliksohn, Béatrice Jouanne, Smail Hadj-Rabia, Benoit Arveiler, Fanny Morice-Picard, and Bruno Quintard.
• Laboratory of Psychology (LabPsy) UR 4139, University of Bordeaux, Bordeaux, F-33000, France. hugo.fournier@u-bordeaux.fr.
• Bmc Med. 2024 Jan 29; 22 (1): 4040.

BackgroundTo date, almost no research on the psychosocial implications of albinism has been conducted in France and an exploration of albinism-related experiences could be beneficial, in order to better understand this condition. The aim of this study was to examine how French people with albinism and their parents live with and adapt to this condition in all the areas of their lives.MethodsSemi-structured phone interviews were conducted with 9 parent-child dyads, each participating separately. Participants were recruited by convenience sampling, thanks to the combined efforts of a patient association (Genespoir) and professionals from the partner medical referral centers involved in the project. Dyads in which the individual with albinism had any comorbidity were excluded. The interviews were then transcribed and subjected to in-depth thematic analysis. Two codebooks were constructed in a mirrored process: one for people with albinism; the other for their parents. They were finally merged at the end of the coding step.ResultsFour main categories were identified: personal perceptions and social representations of albinism, difficulties and obstacles encountered by people with albinism, resources and facilitators, and the importance of parent-child functioning. The results indicated that experiences of stigmatization during childhood and adolescence are common and that people with albinism face challenges in adapting to certain obstacles related to their visual impairments (VI) (e.g., inability to drive a car; eye strain...). Parents emerged as one, if not as the main, source of support for people with albinism throughout their development. Although external support systems exist to assist them in various aspects of their lives, some of them primarily rely on their own personal resources to cope.ConclusionsThis research highlights the importance of a systemic and transdisciplinary approach to make sure families receive the support that best meets their needs.© 2024. The Author(s).

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