Lived experiences of deaf parents: insights into pride, community, bilingualism, and barriers
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St. Clair, Victoria; Rosenburg, Patrick and Mercure, Evelyne. 2025. Lived experiences of deaf parents: insights into pride, community, bilingualism, and barriers. Frontiers in Psychology, 16, 1537618. ISSN 1664-1078 [Article]
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Abstract or Description
Introduction: Becoming a parent is a deeply personal process that changes the dynamics of one’s social and psychological worlds. Parenthood also exists within the context of cultural and, for those who give birth, medical backgrounds. Little is known about how those who identify as deaf experience navigating resources, medical and educational professionals, and support systems in parenthood.
Methods: This study investigates the lived experiences of N = 37 deaf parents using reflexive thematic analysis.
Results: Four primary themes were constructed from the data. The first was that many deaf parents felt a clear sense of pride and confidence in themselves and in their children. It was also obvious that deaf parents benefitted from the support of their family, friends, and their communities. A third theme was the importance and sometimes the challenges of navigating children’s bimodal bilingualism. Finally, deaf parents faced some common barriers: limited access to information and support, experiences of prejudice and discrimination, and the added stress and effort required to advocate for themselves and their children.
Discussion: Overall, this study offers important insight into the experiences of deaf parents, shedding new light on the ways in which deaf parents access information and professionals related to child development, and on their experiences of parenthood overall.
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Article |
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Funding: The author(s) declare that financial support was received for the research and/or publication of this article. Conceptualization and realization of this project was supported by an Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) Future Research Leader fellowship awarded to EM (ES/K001329/1) and Early Career Research Funds from Research Services at Goldsmiths, University of London awarded to EM. |
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| Data Access Statement: |
The raw data supporting the conclusions of this article will be made available by the authors, without undue reservation. |
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| Keywords: |
deaf parents, qualitative research, reflexive thematic analysis, bimodal bilingualism, sign language, communication, accessibility |
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| Item ID: |
39259 |
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| Date Deposited: |
23 Jul 2025 09:04 |
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| Last Modified: |
23 Jul 2025 09:04 |
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Peer Reviewed: |
Yes, this version has been peer-reviewed. |
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