American Annals of the Deaf

Abstract:

Previous research has demonstrated relationships between cognitive autonomy (ability to think independently) and perceived social support (perceptions of available quality environmental support) among different samples (e.g., Michael & Attias, 2016). The present study examined 116 typically hearing and 91 deaf or hard of hearing (DHH) adults, who completed the Cognitive Autonomy and Self-Evaluation Inventory (Beckert, 2007) and the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (Zimet et al., 1988). Significant correlations were found between most of the cognitive autonomy and social support variables, with no significant differences between the correlations for the two groups. Participants who were DHH reported higher levels of four of the five cognitive autonomy variables than the participants with typical hearing. Additionally, for the DHH group, family status, education level, and age at detection of hearing loss significantly predicted some of the cognitive autonomy variables. Implication for research and practice are discussed.