Longing to Belong: Hard of Hearing Young Adults’ Experiences of Social Identity and Group Membership

Olsson, Sylvia; Gustafsson, Christine

doi:10.1353/aad.2022.0002

Cited by 7 publications

(5 citation statements)

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“…Even for participants who grew up with access to communication, there was a desire to seize every social opportunity, recognizing that Gallaudet University is an environment where they are with people like themselves. In a study on identity and group membership, Olsson and Gustafsson (2022) also found that deaf and hard of hearing young adults seek to belong despite feeling different than others. Consistent with the research of Frank ( 2017), deaf and hard of hearing students from families who were deaf did not seem to struggle with belonging or isolation as much as the mainstream students from hearing families.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Consistent with the research of Frank ( 2017), deaf and hard of hearing students from families who were deaf did not seem to struggle with belonging or isolation as much as the mainstream students from hearing families. Finding other like individuals can be similar to joining an "ethnic group" with shared communication (Olsson & Gustafsson, 2022). Within the general research on alcohol use, researchers found students used alcohol to connect with other individuals (Wamboldt et al, 2019) and with the community (Brown & Murphy, 2020).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Alcohol Use and Deaf and Hard of Hearing College Students

Gannon,

Gibble,

Evans

2024

AM J QUALITATIVE RES

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<i>Alcohol misuse on college campuses has been shown to be the cause of physical, socio-emotional, and academic harms. Alcohol is also an issue at Gallaudet University but there is a gap in the literature describing this phenomenon. Using the social ecological model, this qualitative case study explored student perceptions and experiences with alcohol use through interviews with 24 deaf and hard of hearing college students at Gallaudet University. The main themes included: something to do, isolation, coping, communication, “playing catch up with life,” belonging, peer pressure, and university dynamics. The results of this study supported the research on alcohol use in the college environment, showing these themes to also be true at Gallaudet University. As a result, researchers recommend for Gallaudet University and other institutions use the education and interventions shown to be effective in the College Alcohol Intervention Matrix with deaf and hard of hearing students. Researchers also identified themes that were divergent from general college students and specific to the experience of being deaf and hard of hearing. This study highlighted the interpersonal level impact and importance of communication with alcohol and related harms. Researchers recommend further research on the spectrum of communication isolation on alcohol use, related harms, and the social-ecological impact of these experiences. In addition, researchers recommend programming and services to specifically address the issues that occur as a result of isolation, coping challenges, desire to belong, susceptibility to peer pressure, and wanting to catch up on life. It is hoped that the insights gained from this study will be used to inform interventions for deaf and hard of hearing college students, to reduce alcohol misuse, and thus to impact positive change.</i>

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Alcohol Use and Deaf and Hard of Hearing College Students

Gannon,

Gibble,

Evans

2024

AM J QUALITATIVE RES

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“…It is possible that where youth shared their experiences and were understood (perhaps by their direct peer group) that this increased their perception of the value of sharing one's experiences, however, if the shared experience was not fully understood or did not result in the desired change, the youth may have felt less empowered. Various studies on the integration of Deaf and hearing youth have emphasised the challenges in establishing social connections which are sufficiently strong for Deaf youth to feel accepted and understood (Lee et al 2022;Olsson and Gustafsson 2022). In this project, although attempts were made to reduce the possibility of communication breakdowns between the two groups, it is possible that at times neither group felt fully accepted or understood.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Changing the Story: The Evaluation of a Leadership Development Programme for Vulnerable and Deaf Youth in South Africa

Bastable,

Cooke,

Harvey

et al. 2023

Social Sciences

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Vulnerable youth and youth with disabilities are at great risk of not having their rights met. In addition, they face challenges with regard to empowerment and participation in their own lives. Youth development programmes frequently focus primarily on the individual skills of the youth. However, reviews have indicated that for youth to be able to drive change, additional opportunities at community and broader society levels are required. This project sought to evaluate the changes facilitated by the Changing the Story—Leadership Development Programme as implemented in the Youth Accountability and Deaf Inclusion in South Africa project, for both vulnerable and Deaf youth. A longitudinal Q-sort methodology was used to measure the youths’ changes in perceptions. The results provided evidence of significant change following the programme, including increases in perceptions of empowerment within the community. Furthermore, although vulnerable and Deaf youth began the programme with differing perceptions of self, community and society, these perceptions were more aligned after completion of the programme. The results and challenges experienced using a longitudinal Q-sort methodology are presented and discussed. Recommendations and limitations are also highlighted.

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“…A myriad of suitable conditions such as commonality, togetherness and being understood allowed AYA in the study to foster a sense of belonging within the school space. Olsson and Gustafsson (52) indicate that similar sentiments around commonality were shared by Swedish HH young adults who stated that they felt comfortable around other HH peers because they knew what to expect in encounters with one other. Studies that explored AYA's experiences of school life and the impact of deafness found that those who went to special schools built more friendships and felt like a part of their circles (53)(54)(55)(56).…”

Section: School As a Safe Spacementioning

confidence: 93%

“…Olsson and Gustafsson (52) indicate that similar sentiments around commonality were shared by Swedish HH young adults who stated that they felt comfortable around other HH peers because they knew what to expect in encounters with one other. Studies that explored AYA's experiences of school life and the impact of deafness found that those who went to special schools built more friendships and felt like a part of their circles (53)(54)(55)(56). Among the factors that impact identity construction, Chen (21) stated that the type of school attended influenced identity construction.…”

Section: School As a Safe Spacementioning

confidence: 93%

Understanding identity construction among deaf adolescents and young adults: implications for the delivery of person and family-centered care in audiological rehabilitation

Hlayisi,

Sekoto

2023

Front. Rehabil. Sci.

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IntroductionThe provision of holistic person and family-centered care in the audiological rehabilitation of adolescents and young adults (AYA) requires in-depth consideration of identity construction. The purpose of this research study was to describe the lived experience of identity construction among deaf AYA. The thoughts, perceptions, and feelings of AYA on their identity and the processes underlying the construction of identity, with a focus on navigating disability, social relations and roles, community assimilation and self-perception were explored.MethodsA qualitative interpretive phenomenological approach was adopted. Participants were a purposive sample of 5 AYA, aged 15 to 19 years. Participants had moderate to profound deafness and were enrolled in schools for the deaf where they partook in semi-structured phenomenological conversations, detailing their lived experiences with identity construction.ResultsThe superordinate themes of creating a self-concept, belonging, stress and being deaf emerged from participants' narratives. Identity construction occurs concurrently at several levels. At the personal level, AYA create self-conceived ideals of who they are. At relational level, identity is fostered through person-to-person and person-to-group interactions. At societal level, AYA navigate inherent challenges with hearing impairment and their positionality as deaf individuals.ConclusionsUnderstanding the nuances of identity construction gives insights for further research and highlights the self-ascribed identity domains and related psychosocial variables that appeal to person and family-centered care, uncovering opportunities and barriers to successful delivery. Findings have implications for the transitional care of deaf AYA that is responsive to their needs.

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Longing to Belong: Hard of Hearing Young Adults’ Experiences of Social Identity and Group Membership

Cited by 7 publications

References 0 publications

Alcohol Use and Deaf and Hard of Hearing College Students

Alcohol Use and Deaf and Hard of Hearing College Students

Changing the Story: The Evaluation of a Leadership Development Programme for Vulnerable and Deaf Youth in South Africa

Understanding identity construction among deaf adolescents and young adults: implications for the delivery of person and family-centered care in audiological rehabilitation

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