Deaf Cultural Identity of Adolescents with and without Cochlear Implants

Wald, Rebecca L.; Knutson, John F.

doi:10.1177/0003489400109s1238

Cited by 27 publications

(27 citation statements)

References 10 publications

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“…This is consistent with previous studies examining the identities of teenagers with sequential cochlear implants (Hilton et al, 2013) and unilateral cochlear implants (Wheeler at al, 2007;Moog et al, 2011;Wald and Knutson, 2000). Hilton et al (2013) noted that the teenagers in their study were comfortable being 'deaf', as long as they could hear, and whether they felt deaf or hearing was mediated by how well they could understand.…”

Section: Being In the Middle Of Two Worldssupporting

confidence: 89%

“…In addition, teachers perceived that it was during adolescence that there was a move towards this bicultural state. Although adolescents with one cochlear implant indicated a strong bicultural identity in a study by Wald and Knutson (2000), they rated a hearing identity more favourably than those without a cochlear implant. Leigh et al (2009) also found that those with cochlear implants, although typically identifying themselves as bicultural, also showed a strong hearing identity.…”

Section: Being In the Middle Of Two Worldsmentioning

confidence: 92%

“…The research has highlighted the complexity and fluidity of the process of identity development in teenagers with cochlear implants. Wald and Knutson (2000) found that adolescents with cochlear implants were more likely to report a hearing identity when compared to those without cochlear implants. Adolescents with cochlear implants are more likely to attend mainstream schools where their peer group will be predominantly hearing.…”

Section: Identifying With Hearing and Deaf Worldsmentioning

confidence: 93%

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Exploring the experiences of teenagers with cochlear implants

Watson

Verschuur

Lathlean

2016

Cochlear Implants International

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Whilst much research has focused on the general health needs of adolescents, little is known about the specific needs of teenagers who wear cochlear implants. Thus it is important to widen the knowledge base regarding the experiences of this population, and to assist professionals to support this age group more effectively.This qualitative study investigated teenage cochlear implant users' perceptions of deafness, surgery, fitting of the device and life as a cochlear implant wearer in order to gain a more comprehensive understanding of teenagers' experiences of living with a cochlear implant by putting their perspectives at the heart of the research. This was achieved by working with the teenagers collaboratively throughout the research.Phase one of the study involved engaging with a small group of teenagers with cochlear implants to develop a website that would allow them to share their experiences. In phase two, ten semi-structured interviews were undertaken and nine were analysed using template analysis. Some teenagers experienced great preoperative anxiety and significant post-operative pain. Anxiety and pain are physiologically linked so strategies for reducing their anxiety are discussed. There was also a mismatch between their expectations and the disappointing reality of adjusting to the device. Disconfirmation-expectancy theory suggests that expectations counselling may narrow this gap. However, over time they experienced significant functional and psychosocial benefits as a result of their lives being easier. Almost all described complex, flexible identities where they felt connections with both the hearing and deaf world. Theoretical models of deaf identity support this 'bicultural' state. However, the hearing world sometimes posed difficulties for them when the listening environment was challenging. By giving prominence to the teenagers' voices this study has added new knowledge concerning their experience of surgery. The findings also more fully revealed the challenges of adjusting to the device and the impact of having a cochlear implant on the teenagers' identities.ii iii

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Section: Being In the Middle Of Two Worldssupporting

confidence: 89%

Section: Being In the Middle Of Two Worldsmentioning

confidence: 92%

Section: Identifying With Hearing and Deaf Worldsmentioning

confidence: 93%

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Exploring the experiences of teenagers with cochlear implants

Watson

Verschuur

Lathlean

2016

Cochlear Implants International

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“…Equally, few measures are available that assess individual identity in relation to hearing loss. One questionnaire, the Deaf Identity Development Scale (DIDS; Glickman and Carey, 1993) has been used to explore identity in young people with cochlear implants by Wald and Knutson (2000). They found that eight adolescents with cochlear implants endorsed items relating to a predominantly bicultural identity, rather than either hearing or Deaf identities.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Deafness-related self-perceptions and psychological well-being in deaf adolescents with cochlear implants

Mance

Edwards

2012

Cochlear Implants International

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“…Although CIs help deaf students to access the hearing world, they may not improve hearing sufficiently for these students to fit into the hearing world on an equal footing with hearing peers (Jambor & Elliott 2005). Although some studies warn of adverse consequences of early cochlear implantation on cultural identity (Kluwin & Stewart 2000), Wald and Knutson (2000) found that hearing identity of deaf individuals with CI is not associated with problems in either social adjustment or behavior.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Psychosocial Adjustment in Adolescents Who Have Used Cochlear Implants Since Preschool

Moog

Geers²,

Gustus³

et al. 2011

Ear &Amp; Hearing

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Objectives This study examined psychosocial characteristics of students who had used a cochlear implant (CI) since preschool and were evaluated when they were in elementary grades and again in high school. The study had four goals: (1) to determine the extent to which psychosocial skills documented in elementary grades were maintained into high school; (2) to assess the extent to which long-term CI users identified with the Deaf community or the hearing world or both; (3) to examine the association between group identification and the student’s sense of self-esteem, preferred communication mode, and spoken language skills; and (4) to describe the extracurricular world of the teenagers who were mainstreamed with hearing age-mates for most of their academic experience. Design As part of a larger study, 112 CI students (aged 15.0 to 18.6 yrs) or their parents completed questionnaires describing their social skills, and a subsample of 107 CI students completed group identification and self-esteem questionnaires. Results were compared with either a control group of hearing teenagers (N = 46) or age-appropriate hearing norms provided by the assessment developer. Results Average psychosocial ratings from both parents and students at both elementary grades and high school indicated a positive self-image throughout the school years. Seventy percent of the adolescents expressed either strong identification with the hearing community (32%) or mixed identification with both deaf and hearing communities (38%). Almost all CI students (95%) were mainstreamed for more than half of the day, and the majority of students (85%) were in the appropriate grade for their age. Virtually all CI students (98%) reported having hearing friends, and a majority reported having deaf friends. More than 75% of CI students reported that they used primarily spoken language to communicate and that good spoken language skills enabled them to participate more fully in all aspects of their lives. Identification with the hearing world was not associated with personal or social adjustment problems but was associated with better speech perception and English language skill. Ninety-four percent were active participants in high school activities and sports, and 50% held part-time jobs (a rate similar to that documented for hearing teens). Conclusions The majority of these early-implanted adolescents reported strong social skills, high self-esteem, and at least mixed identification with the hearing world. However, these results must be viewed in light of possible sources of sample selection bias and may not represent the psychosocial characteristics of the entire population of children receiving CIs.

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Deaf Cultural Identity of Adolescents with and without Cochlear Implants

Cited by 27 publications

References 10 publications

Exploring the experiences of teenagers with cochlear implants

Exploring the experiences of teenagers with cochlear implants

Deafness-related self-perceptions and psychological well-being in deaf adolescents with cochlear implants

Psychosocial Adjustment in Adolescents Who Have Used Cochlear Implants Since Preschool

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