A Pilot Study of Deaf Trauma Survivors' Experiences: Early Traumas Unique to Being Deaf in a Hearing World
UMass Chan Affiliations
Department of Psychiatry, Systems and Psychosocial Advances Research CenterDocument Type
Journal ArticlePublication Date
2016-12-01Keywords
UMCCTS fundingDeaf and hard-of-hearing community
Developmental trauma
Life Events Checklist
PTSD
Posttraumatic stress disorder
Communication Sciences and Disorders
Mental and Social Health
Psychiatry and Psychology
Psychology
Translational Medical Research
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
Conducting semi-structured American Sign Language interviews with 17 Deaf trauma survivors, this pilot study explored Deaf individuals' trauma experiences and whether these experiences generally align with trauma in the hearing population. Most commonly reported traumas were physical assault, sudden unexpected deaths, and "other" very stressful events. Although some "other" events overlap with traumas in the general population, many are unique to Deaf people (e.g., corporal punishment at oral/aural school if caught using sign language, utter lack of communication with hearing parents). These findings suggest that Deaf individuals may experience developmental traumas distinct to being raised in a hearing world. Such traumas are not captured by available trauma assessments, nor are they considered in evidence-based trauma treatments.Source
J Child Adolesc Trauma. 2016 Dec;9(4):353-358. doi: 10.1007/s40653-016-0111-2. Epub 2016 Jun 24. Link to article on publisher's site
DOI
10.1007/s40653-016-0111-2Permanent Link to this Item
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14038/50274PubMed ID
28138351Related Resources
ae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.1007/s40653-016-0111-2