Deaf People and Social Trauma: Effects on Interpersonal Relationships and Resiliency
Holly Siegrist, Ph.D., Psy.D.
Description of the Study
This study was a dissertation done by Holly Siegrist, a deaf doctoral student in the Clinical Psychology program at the California School of Professional Psychology at Alliant International University, San Francisco, and supervised by Rhoda Olkin, Ph.D. The purpose of this study was to
investigate difficult social experiences that deaf/Deaf and hard of hearing
people have faced in childhood, such as trauma as a result of oppression or abuse, and how these experiences shape their sense of identity and social interactions as adults, with particular attention to experiences of exclusion.
The focus of the study was on social interactions between deaf and hearing people. However, the study also examined social interactions of deaf people with other deaf people, and intersectionalities of oppression. Another focus was on identifying both positive and less adaptive ways that deaf people handle difficult social interactions. The study was conducted in 2018 and involved an internet survey distributed to the United States and Canada with 278 respondents, and in-depth email interviews utilizing interpretative phenomenological analysis, with 10 participants in the U.S.
This study aimed to inform clinicians working with deaf clients, and policy makers, about how oppression can affect deaf people's well-being, sense of identity, and social development, and how they cope with difficulties related to communication and social interactions. The goal was to learn how social experiences can affect deaf people, and what can lead to their resilience. This phenomenon was studied from the participants' perspectives. At the end of the interviews, participants were asked if they thought they gained new knowledge about themselves as a result of the interviews. Psychological distress due to oppression in social interactions has important ramifications in the social lives of deaf people.
The survey results were that the majority of the participants reported that as children, they were encouraged by their parents to use spoken language rather than sign language, and most did not have brothers or sisters to sign with them. Also, almost half of the the participants reported experiencing emotional abuse in childhood. The survey results also showed that the participants' social experiences in childhood had an effect on their experiences in adulthood and on their sense of well-being. Oppression that the participants experienced in childhood and in adulthood predicted their sense of well-being in adulthood.
The interview results illuminated the more in-depth meanings the participants made about their experiences. The interview results revealed detailed accounts of the participants' experiences through the life course, including their social interactions, communication, and sense of identity. Many participants had both positive and negative experiences in their families and at school growing up. Most participants faced a variety of social challenges as adults, including communication barriers and social exclusion, and distressing social interactions. However, all the participants described positive ways of managing social difficulties, wisdom, and resilience.
Results of this unique study provide valuable information about the social experiences of deaf people and can be utilized in the implementation of clinical practices and policies, to promote social inclusion and empowerment of deaf people. See the results pages for detailed information.
