Exploring sign language, social connectedness, and life satisfaction of deaf adults
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 15018032 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Angela Radford (0009-0003-2496-0081, University of Derby, corresponding author), Simon Bignell (University of Derby), Alex B Barker (0000-0003-4568-5114, University of Derby), Ian Hamilton (0000-0003-2582-2361), Ian S Hamilton (Independent researcher) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 31 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 471-481 |
| Publication date | 2026-01-21 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | The Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1081-4159 • E-ISSN: 1465-7325 |
| Publisher | Oxford University Press (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1093/jdsade/enaf087 |
| PMID | 41563078 |
| OpenAlex | W7125218084 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 48 |
This study explored how sign language use and social connectedness influenced the life satisfaction of twelve British Deaf community members (n = 12, m = 2, f = 10, aged 23–79). During in-person and remote interviews, participants compared experiences of sign language use and social connectedness with experiences of spoken language and exclusion. Reflexive thematic analysis generated two main themes. (1) Gaining Deafness: which explored how sign language use and social connectedness created positive perceptions of deafness, enabling authenticity and agency. (2) Empowering Deaf pride: which examined how feeling connected to sign language and Deaf culture produced Deaf pride and self-advocacy, empowering participants. These findings support the implementation of sign language in early education for all children. The findings call for the social reconstruction of deafness, and for deaf-led development of inclusive definitions and terminology. This research provides new qualitative evidence on how sign language and Deaf cultural connectedness enhance the life satisfaction of Deaf adults
Deaf culture · Feeling · Qualitative research · Reflexivity · Sign (mathematics) · Sign language · Social connectedness · Sociolinguistics of sign languages · Thematic analysis · Child and Animal Learning Development · Hand Gesture Recognition Systems · Hearing Impairment and Communication
Society and the Adolescent Self-Image
Language acquisition for deaf children
Language deprivation syndrome
Spoken Language Development in Children Following Cochlear Implantation
Chasing the Mythical Ten Percent
The Satisfaction With Life Scale and the emerging construct of life satisfaction
Deaf children need language, not (just) speech
Measuring Global Self-Esteem
To saturate or not to saturate? Questioning data saturation as a useful concept for thematic analysis and sample-size rationales
Reflecting on reflexive thematic analysis
Deaf Identity Centrality
Representation and resistance
Deaf Children Need Rich Language Input from the Start
Adverse Childhood Experiences Among d/Deaf and Hard of Hearing Persons
At home, I never felt included, I always felt on the outside”
What You Don’t Know Can Hurt You
Predictors of Psychosocial Outcomes in Hard-of-Hearing Preschool Children
Language Planning for the 21st Century
Self-esteem and Satisfaction With Life of Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing People--A Resource-Oriented Approach to Identity Work
The Significance of Deaf Identity for Psychological Well-Being
Acquisition of Sign Languages
Hard-of-hearing children's sense of identity and belonging
Constructions of Deafness
Therapeutic Implications for Adolescent Deaf Identity and Self-Concept
The social construction of ‘deafness’
Avoiding Linguistic Neglect of Deaf Children
Cross-cultural correlates of life satisfaction and self-esteem
The need to belong
Subjective well-being
Subjective well-being
Social Alienation and Peer Identification
The Social Construction of Illness
| Highly cited | No |
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