The social development of an invisible minority: The deaf gay and lesbian population
by Klinger, Alison Beth, Psy.D., UNIVERSITY OF HARTFORD, 2007, 78 pages; 3272106

Abstract:

While societal attitudes and behaviors regarding the acceptance of diverse populations have made substantial changes throughout the past 20 years, both the D/deaf and gay/lesbian communities continue to face adversity and experience marginalization. Although a number of investigators have acknowledged various shared characteristics between these two groups, there seems to be a dearth of current literature on the D/deaf gay/lesbian population. The present study investigated the current developmental and psychosocial issues of D/deaf gay, lesbian, bisexual, and questioning (GLBQ) individuals. The hypotheses state that the more one feels comfortable with his/her cultural identity and the higher one's level of acquired sexual knowledge is, the more he/she will feel comfortable with his/her overall identity and the less discriminated against he/she will feel. Levels of family, social, and societal support were also hypothesized to be low for D/deaf GLBQ subjects, but viewed as highly important. D/deaf GLBQ individuals were asked to respond to a 39-item questionnaire designed to examine the various developmental and psychosocial issues and current support systems they must face. Results indicated that participants who identified more with the Deaf culture felt higher levels of comfort with their identity and higher levels of felt support from others. Participants who felt more comfortable with their identity were also found to have higher levels of acquired sexual knowledge. In addition, men were found to have higher levels of comfort with their identity and higher levels of acquired sexual knowledge as compared to women. Lastly, this study found that D/deaf GLBQ participants reported feeling less support from others than they found useful. These results indicate the need for further research on the Deaf culture in general and how its sense of community allows deaf GLBQ individuals to feel more secure with their identity. Further investigation is also needed with regard to gender differences among this population and why males seem to feel more comfortable with their identity than women. Most significantly, it appears that researchers must begin to explore ways in which to increase overall systems of support for this population.

 
AdviserDonna DiCello
SchoolUNIVERSITY OF HARTFORD
SourceDAI/B 68-06, p. , Oct 2007
Source TypeDissertation
SubjectsSocial psychology; Gender studies
Publication Number3272106
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