Self-esteem and wellbeing in deaf adults

Creighton, Jessica and Fletcher, Ian and Chatzidamianos, Gerasimos (2021) Self-esteem and wellbeing in deaf adults. PhD thesis, Lancaster University.

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Abstract

The first section details a systematic literature review, which examined self-esteem among deaf adults. Fourteen studies were included within the review. Deaf participants were found to report lower levels of self-esteem than hearing participants. Deaf identity was also identified as having a significant association with self-esteem, with higher self-esteem associated with having a Deaf or bicultural identity. Further studies are now needed to examine what influence cochlear implants might have on this relationship, in addition to examining how the reading comprehension of participants might influence the accuracy of findings drawn from written self-report measures. Second, a research study was conducted exploring the relationship between wellbeing, adult attachment and emotion regulation. Whilst associations between these variables have been identified among hearing populations, less is known on the association between these factors in the context of deafness. Data was collected via an online survey from deaf adults in the general population, with 86 participants included within the final analysis. The relationships between the variables, which also included demographic variables, were explored using correlations and t-tests. Adult attachment anxiety, cognitive reappraisal and preferred language were all found to be significant predictors of wellbeing in the final regression models. The findings support previous research indicating that early attachment experiences may influence adult wellbeing, with reciprocal communication between deaf infants and their parents thought to play a key role in developing a secure attachment. The findings have important clinical implications for supporting the families of deaf infants as well as supporting deaf adults. The third section details a critical appraisal of the whole thesis. This section comprises a summary of the key findings of the literature review and research study, areas for future research and personal reflections on the process.