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Poster #210 - Parents' Hearing Status versus Deaf Cultural Socialization as Predictor of Cultural Identity and Psychosocial Outcomes.

Sat, March 23, 8:00 to 9:15am, Baltimore Convention Center, Floor: Level 1, Exhibit Hall B

Integrative Statement

The Deaf literature has suggested that cultural identity development in deaf and hard of hearing (d/hh) individuals is largely determined by parents’ hearing status (Bat-Chava, 2000; Chen, 2014; Glickman & Carey, 1993). Deaf parents are presumed to raise culturally Deaf children because of their use of sign language, their cultural view of deafness, and their connection with the Deaf community. But roughly 95% of d/hh children have hearing parents (Mitchell & Karchmer, 2004). Hearing parents are presumed to raise culturally Hearing children because of their focus on spoken language, their medical view of deafness, and their lack of experience with Deaf culture. (Glickman & Harvey, 1996; Holcomb, 1997). The present study challenges the assumption that hearing parents do not engage in behaviors that support Deaf cultural identity development.

It is important to understand factors that predict cultural identity development, because identifying with the Deaf culture is associated with positive outcomes, such as higher self-esteem and satisfaction with life (Bat-Chava, 1993; Hintermair, 2008). Studies in ethnic and racial identity development have found that parental engagement in cultural socialization predicts child cultural identity development and other positive psychosocial outcomes (Hughes et al., 2006; Neblett et al., 2009). This is true even when parents do not share the child’s birth culture, such as in the case when parents adopt children from different racial or ethnic backgrounds (Lee, 2003). This study examines Deaf cultural socialization, or the process by which parents transmit messages to children regarding the importance and meaning of the Deaf culture and membership in the Deaf community. It is hypothesized that both deaf and hearing parents engage in Deaf cultural socialization, promoting positive outcomes.

D/hh emerging adults (N=401; Mage=21.9) completed an online survey. The Deaf Cultural Socialization Scale (DCSS; Cronbach’s alpha=.846-.971; Husting, in progress) measured the degree of socialization received in childhood across three domains: Overt (e.g. talking with child about Deaf culture), Covert (e.g. modeling engagement in the Deaf community), and Minority socialization (e.g. teaching how to cope with discrimination related to being deaf). Aspects of Deaf and Hearing cultural identity were measured with the Deaf Acculturation Scale (Maxwell-McCaw & Zea, 2011). Other psychosocial outcomes measured included self-esteem, satisfaction with life, and anxiety/depression.

Surprisingly, deaf and hearing parent groups did not differ in engagement in Overt, Minority, and Overall Deaf cultural socialization (see Table 1). The only group difference was found in Covert socialization, with Deaf parents engaging more than hearing parents (F=4.779; p=.029). Deaf cultural socialization predicted all indices of Deaf cultural identity and, surprisingly, most indices of Hearing cultural identity (see Table 2). Parents’ hearing status only predicted three of the twelve indices of cultural identity. Deaf cultural socialization predicted self-esteem and satisfaction with life, but not anxiety and depression. Parents’ hearing status did not predict any of the psychosocial outcomes.

The assumption in the literature underestimates hearing parents’ efforts to transmit an unshared culture to their children. Both deaf and hearing parents can and do affect positive outcomes by supporting Deaf cultural identity development though socialization.

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