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A STUDY OF THE COPING STRATEGIES DEVELOPED BY OLDER ADULTS WHO HAVE BEEN DEAF SINCE ADOLESCENCE AND POSSIBLE APPLICATION OF THE STRATEGIES TO THE AGING PROCESS
Abstract
The major purpose of this study was to examine for the older deaf adult some of the important factors such as influence of early life experiences, the deaf community, communication techniques, peer group relationships, and social relations which together have created adaptive strategies. The necessity of adjusting to deafness in early life and its influence on the adjustment to the aging process also were examined. Utilizing the field approach (ethnographic, naturalistic), information was obtained through interview and participant-as-observer techniques for twenty-two deaf people aged fifty-five and over representing varying educational, occupational, and economic backgrounds. The age range for the eleven males and eleven females was fifty-five to eighty-four while the median age of the participants was sixty-three. Fourteen participants were prelingually deaf and eight were postlingually deaf. The researcher found that of the early life experiences one of the most influential was that of education. The educational program, with its emphasis on either the oral or manual method of communication, was of paramount importance because of its ramifications throughout the participants' lives and subsequent development of adaptive strategies. The emergence of a peer-based society in middle childhood and the strengthening of the friendship bonds throughout their lifespan was found to reap benefits for the older deaf adult. The researcher also found that the deaf used voluntary organizations throughout their lives to maximize sociability, a process which began early in their lives. Additional findings include the concept that over half of the participants felt the deaf population is treated as a minority group. Feelings of stigmatization which existed appeared to be more related to the use of sign language than to deafness itself. A major implication to be drawn from this study is the attitude of acceptance of their handicap and the carryover of this attitude to the participants' approach to the aging process. Adaptive strategies developed by the older deaf adult over the lifespan in confronting stigmatization, discrimination, social isolation from the hearing world, and treatment as a minority group may assist the deaf adult in making the transition from middle life to later maturity.
Subject Area
Gerontology
Recommended Citation
TIDBALL, L. KAYE, "A STUDY OF THE COPING STRATEGIES DEVELOPED BY OLDER ADULTS WHO HAVE BEEN DEAF SINCE ADOLESCENCE AND POSSIBLE APPLICATION OF THE STRATEGIES TO THE AGING PROCESS" (1986). ETD collection for University of Nebraska-Lincoln. AAI8620821.
https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/dissertations/AAI8620821