18th ANNUAL EARLY HEARING DETECTION & INTERVENTION MEETING
March 3-5, 2019 • Chicago, IL
Investigating Key Biopsychosocial Factors that Mediate Lifespan Management of Prelingual Deafness: A Phase I Report
It is generally known that pre-lingual deaf people (those who were born deaf or deafened before
age 3) experience poorer educational attainment, employment/income attainment, mental
health, and physical health than the overall population. Management of any chronic condition
involves a complex, dynamic interaction of resources and skills that can come into play
differently across various social contexts. Research to date has not undertaken a sufficiently
broad approach to understand how key biopsychosocial factors interact across various social
contexts to influence deaf persons’ management skills. Most research concerning deaf
individuals typically focuses on the pathology of hearing and speech. Recent work exploring
deaf persons' perceptions of their quality of life concerning these disparities show that there are
negative and positive adaptations. We aim to investigate different key biopsychosocial factors
that lead to these adaptations and subsequently influence prelingual deaf persons' hearing loss
management skills. These biopsychosocial factors will be investigated through a two-phase
study focusing on both qualitative and quantitative data. Phase I is focused on collecting
qualitative data from individuals who are prelingually deaf to identify different psychosocial
management skills. Through qualitative interviews, pre-lingual deaf people were carefully
assessed to find biopsychological factors correlating Thompson Personal-Cultural-Structural
Model of Oppression and Discrimination. Preliminary findings suggest that deaf people can
cope with their lives in the hearing world only if they are provided with adequate
biopsychological resources — the common themes and strategies from the data in Phase I will
form the framework of Phase II quantitative testing. We are in the process of developing a
series of tests focusing on collecting data on the cognitive, linguistic, life skills, and intelligence
of 100 deaf adults. Through this mixed-methods research, we are focused on hoping to
understand better how pre-lingual deaf people manage their hearing loss across their lifespan.
These biopsychosocial resource findings can create more effective intervention strategies in
early childhood.
- Factors that affect a deaf person throughout their lifespan
- Which factors are the most prevalent?
- Which affect the individual the most?
Poster:
This presentation has not yet been uploaded.
Presenter: Linzie Fuechtmann
Linzie Fuechtmann is a research coordinator in the Obstetrics & Gynecology department of the University of Rochester Medical Center.
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
No relevant financial relationship exist.
Nonfinancial -
No relevant nonfinancial relationship exist.
Edith Dong is a research assistant on the biopsychosocials factor project under the National Technical Institute for the Deaf at the Rochester Institute of Technology.
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
No relevant financial relationship exist.
Nonfinancial -
No relevant nonfinancial relationship exist.