Self-esteem and Coping Strategies among Deaf Students

Abstract

Research studies on the determinants of self-esteem of deaf individuals often yield inconsistent findings. The current study assessed the effects on self-esteem of factors related to deafness, such as the means of communication at home and severity of hearing loss with hearing aid, as well as the coping styles that deaf people adopt to cope with everyday life in a hearing world. Data were collected among the deaf students of California State University, Northridge. Hierarchical regression modeling showed that identification with the Deaf community significantly contributed to positive self-esteem. Results also revealed that deaf students with greater degree of hearing loss and with bicultural skills that help them function in both the hearing and the Deaf community generally have higher self-esteem. Implications for further study are discussed.

Social Maturity and Executive Function Among Deaf Learners

“…Accordingly, a variety of studies has found deaf youth to report greater self-confidence and social well-being after receiving CIs (e.g., Dammeyer, 2010;Hilton, Jones, Harmon, & Cropper, 2013;Jambor & Elliott, 2005;Leigh, Maxwell-McCaw, Bat-Chava, & Christiansen, 2009;Wheeler, Archbold, Gregory & Skipp, 2007). As Archbold (2015) and others have indicated, however, the situation is complicated.…”

“…This is especially true among older students and young adults for whom the language demands are greater and the contexts of language and social interaction associated with social maturity are more abstract and complex (Dammeyer, 2010;Hilton et al, 2013). Knutson, Boyd, Reid, Mayne, and Fetrow (1997), Bat-Chava and Deignan (2001), Jambor and Elliott (2005), and Wheeler et al (2007) thus found that although deaf youth reported improved communication with hearing peers after receiving CIs, relatively few children, those with the best speech and hearing, were fully accepted by hearing peers. Moores and Kluwin (1986) argued that social maturity, and not just academic achievement, should be considered in decisions about educational placement of deaf students in mainstream or separate classrooms.…”

Bone-anchored hearing aids (BAHAs) for people who are bilaterally deaf: a systematic review and economic evaluation

“…24 However, deafness and hearing loss can have a profound effect on individuals and have been associated with a range of negative consequences, including educational and employment disadvantages, social isolation and stigmatisation. 25,26 According to a report by the World Health Organization, hearing loss is the second leading cause globally of 'years lived with disability' and has a larger non-fatal burden than alcohol use disorders.…”

“…Deafness present at birth or during early childhood (the pre-lingual period) has considerable effects on speech acquisition and cognitive and psychosocial development. 27 Deafness acquired post-lingually requires the individual to adopt new communication strategies and often an entirely different lifestyle, 24 and can result in isolation and compromised quality of life (QoL). 27 Hearing loss affects not only individuals, but also the people around them such as family and co-workers.…”

Hard-of-hearing children's sense of identity and belonging

“…Nevertheless, researchers have asserted that there is a HH identity (Andersson and Lawenius 1997), an identity that young people may construct 'based on their position with regard to hearing and deaf peers, and the differentness of both groups' (Israelite, Ower, and Goldstein 2002, 144). A study of the self-esteem of deaf students showed that identification with similar others has a positive impact on the individual's self-esteem, even when the identification is with a devalued minority group (Jambor and Elliot 2005).…”