Advances in Cognition, Education, and Deafness

The Influence of Family Coping on the Cognitive and Social Skills of Deaf Children

The Influence of Family Coping on the Cognitive and Social Skills of Deaf Children Rosemary Calderon Mark T. Greenberg Carol A. Kusche T he ability of hearing families to adapt to having a deaf child has been understudied. Those studies that have explored the dynamic between hearing parents and their deaf children have generally used a univariate model with a stress-pathology paradigm (Calderon 1988). This study uses a multivariate model to explore the varying levels of adaptation in these families. This project used a family stress and coping model to conceptualize and assess the adjustment of deaf children and their hearing families. This model attempts to examine how the current adjustment of the parent and the child are affected by different types of intrapersonal and interpersonal family resources (e.g., socialcognitive strategies, personal beliefs, social support systems, utilitarian resources) as well as by demographic and historical factors regarding the child and hearing loss. The presence of a deaf child in a hearing family is continuously felt as a source of potential stress. The parents' ability to cope with this chronic stressor is likely to affect both the family and the deaf child. A comprehensive model for examining and predicting adjustment by the child and by the family as a whole would require an assessment and analysis of coping resources to determine their effect on family and child outcomes. Folkman, Lazarus, and Schaeffer (1979) have developed an integrative model for conceptualizing how both the individual's appraisal of stress and his or her coping resources can predict adjustment. In the present study we apply this model to studying deaf children and their families. Folkman et al. (1979) delineated five types of coping resources that moderate the adverse effects of stress. They have categorized the five domains of coping resources as: (1) problem-solving skills; (2) social networks; (3) utilitarian re195 196 Cognitive Development sources; (4) general and specific beliefs; and (5) health/energy/morale. Brief descriptions of these five domains of coping resources follow. Problem-solving skills include the abilities to search out and analyze information , to generate alternatives, and to consider the consequences of the alternatives to challenging life situations. Social networks are defined as potentially supportive relationships (e.g., spouse, friends, extended family) that may facilitate positive adaptation, especially during crises. Social networks are assessed by examining the quantity and, more important, the quality of satisfaction with these networks. Utilitarian resources include such factors as income, outside intervention and professional services, and education. Several utilitarian resources specific to deafness are available to hearing-impaired children and their families, including sign language classes, parent support groups, early intervention programs, and contact with deaf adults in the community. General and specific beliefs include feelings of self-efficacy, locus of control, and religiosity or spirituality. Parents' attitudes, expectations, and beliefs about their deaf child's potential might also be considered under this coping resource. Health/energy/morale is the level of physical and emotional well-being both before and during the period of stress. This factor was not assessed in the present study. These five coping resources are not mutually exclusive. They show some significant overlap (e.g., self-efficacy and parental depression; early intervention and social support). Although they have been divided into five domains for heuristic purposes, their interrelatedness is an important consideration when attempting to understand and explain outcome as a function of the individual's coping resources. In summary, family and child adjustment can be viewed as a function of the coping resources available to the family and the moderating impact that these resources have on the perceived stress associated with the presence of a deaf child. The purpose of the present study was to apply this coping-based model to families of deaf children in an attempt to more fully understand differential adjustment outcome. METHOD Subjects Thirty-six families were recruited from four school districts in northeastern Washington State. Of the participating families, 85% were white and 15% were of other ethnicities. The deaf child in each case lived at home and attended selfcontained classrooms in public schools. The classes used a Total Communication approach. Two parents were present in 66% of the families. Mean ages were 35 for mothers and 40 for fathers. Families were at a middle to lower middle socioeconomic level, and most parents reported having at least 12 years of education. Twenty-seven girls and 9 boys comprised the sample, with a mean age of 10 years 2 months. Their mean unaided...