Psychological Problems and Needs of Deaf Adolescents: A Phenomenological Research

Abstract

Deaf individuals experience a significant number of problems because of language barrier. This study aims to discover the psychological problems and needs of deaf individuals in various problem areas. The study is designed as an interpretative phenomenological research. The study group consists of 17 participants from a special education vocational school for the deaf. MaxQDA-12 program was used in analysis. During this stage, all the codes were merged into themes just after the codification. As a result of this analysis phase, five main themes were created: individual life, deaf culture, family life, social life and education life. This study reached some findings about the psychological problems and needs of the deaf individuals in different environments. Findings indicate that the psychological problems and needs stem from communication problems, not from being a deaf. It has been seen that these communication problems restrict living spaces of deaf individuals and pose a threat to their mental health.

Keywords

• Deaf,deaf adolescents,psychological problems

Ergenlik Dönemindeki İşitme Engellilerin* Psikolojik Problem ve İhtiyaç Alanları: Fenomenolojik Bir Araştırma

Öz

Bu araştırmada, ergenlik döneminde olan işitme engelli bireylerin psikolojik problem ve ihtiyaç alanlarının belirlenmesi amaçlanmıştır. Araştırma nitel yöntemlerden olan yorumlayıcı fenomenolojik desene göre tasarlanmıştır. Araştırmanın çalışma grubu İstanbul’da bulunan özel eğitim meslek lisesindeki kendilerini sağır olarak tanımlayan 17 katılımcıdan oluşmaktadır. Veri analizi sürecinde “MaxQDA-12” bilgisayar programı kullanılmıştır. Analiz sürecinde kodlama işlemi tamamlandıktan sonra oluşan kodlar temalara dönüştürülmüştür. Temalar arasındaki bağlantılar ve ilişkiler göz önünde bulundurularak ana temalar elde edilmiştir. Yapılan bu analiz aşaması sonucunda bireysel yaşam, sağır kültürü, aile yaşamı, sosyal yaşam ve eğitim yaşamı olarak beş temel ana tema oluşmuştur. Bu çalışmada işitme güçlüğü olan bireylerin farklı yaşam alanlarındaki psikolojik problem ve ihtiyaçlarına dair bulgular elde edilmiştir. Buna göre katılımcıların sahip olduğu psikolojik problem ve ihtiyaç alanlarının temelinde işitmeme durumunun değil iletişim engellerinin yer aldığı saptanmıştır. Yaşanan bu iletişim sorunlarının katılımcıların yaşam alanlarını kısıtladığı ve ruhsal sağlıkları için tehdit oluşturduğu saptanmıştır.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• İşitme engelli,işitme engelli ergenler,psikolojik problemler

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