PsychologicalReports, 1992, 71, 764-766. O Psychologicd Reports 1992
UNIVERSITY STUDENTS' PERCEPTIONS OF DEAF PARENTS ' BETH M. RIENZI, KAREN S. LEVINSON, AND DAVID J. SCRAMS California State UniversiQ, Bakersfield Summary.-A methodology for assessing attitudes toward nontraditional parents was developed. 54 university students with a mean age of 26.5 yr. (SD = 10.2 yr.) participated in a study which assessed attitudes toward deaf parents by asking subjects to race the adoptive suitability of an unmarried applicant based on a scenario describing the individual as a deaf woman, deaf man, hearing woman, or hearing man. Women were perceived as more suitable to adopt daughters, and men were perceived as more suitable to adopt sons. Applicants' hearing status and gender influenced perceived suit. ability to adopt a son but not a daughter.
Deaf individuals have long been victims of negative stereotypes. Deaf adults are often seen as child-like, unintelligent, and foolish. Inabihty to hear is often confused with inability to function in any adult role, especially roles such as parenting which require being responsible for others (Gannon, 1981); however, parenting skills vary widely among adults, whether hearing or deaf (Rienzi, 1983). The purpose of this study was to develop a method for assessing attitudes toward nontraditional parents. Biological ties, prior legal standing, and attachment might bias evaluations of parent-child dyads. Using scenarios of applicants who wish to adopt allows subjects to evaluate hypothetical individuals without these confounds. Scenarios of single parents were selected to restrict measurement error which might be attributed to spousal influences. University students' perceptions of deaf parents were assessed as a preliminary evaluation of this technique. The applicants' gender and hearing status were expected to influence subjects' ratings of the applicants' suitability to adopt a child. Because women provide the majority of childcare, subjects were expected to rate single women more favorably than single men. Based on the negative stereotypes commonly associated with deaf individuals, we expected deaf individuals to be rated less favorably than hearing individuals. METHOD Fifty-four subjects (44 women) at a California university participated. Ages ranged from 18 to 54 years (A4= 26.5 yt, SD = 10.2 yr.). Most subjects were Caucasian (n = 38), most were single (n = 35), and most had no children (n = 36). One subject did not report ethnic it^, and one subject did not report mari t d status. 'Address enquiries to B. M. Rienzi, Department of Psychologv California State University, 9001 Stockdale Highway, Bakersfield, CA 73311-1079.
765
PERCEPTIONS OF DEAF PARENTS
Subjects were given one of four scenarios which described an unmarried applicant who was above average in financial security, work history, and general stability. The scenarios differed only in terms of gender and hearing status. Subjects read a scenario and rated the applicant's suitability as a potential adoptive parent on a scale in Likert format with anchors of poor (1) and excellent ( 5 ) . To examine the effects of the child's gender, respondents made separate recommendations for adoption of a boy and of a girl. Subjects were asked to provide a reason for their recommendations.
RESULTSAND DISCUSSION A two-by-two-by-two mixed-design analysis of variance examined the effects of applicant's gender, applicant's hearing status, and child's gender on ratings of the applicant's suitability to adopt a child. For each significant effect, a modified statistic (Tabachnick & Fidell, 1983) was calculated as an indicator of strength of association. There was a significant two-way interaction between the child's gender and the applicant's gender (F,,,, = 28.64, p
UNIVERSITY STUDENTS' PERCEPTIONS OF DEAF PARENTS ' BETH M. RIENZI, KAREN S. LEVINSON, AND DAVID J. SCRAMS California State UniversiQ, Bakersfield Summary.-A methodology for assessing attitudes toward nontraditional parents was developed. 54 university students with a mean age of 26.5 yr. (SD = 10.2 yr.) participated in a study which assessed attitudes toward deaf parents by asking subjects to race the adoptive suitability of an unmarried applicant based on a scenario describing the individual as a deaf woman, deaf man, hearing woman, or hearing man. Women were perceived as more suitable to adopt daughters, and men were perceived as more suitable to adopt sons. Applicants' hearing status and gender influenced perceived suit. ability to adopt a son but not a daughter.
Deaf individuals have long been victims of negative stereotypes. Deaf adults are often seen as child-like, unintelligent, and foolish. Inabihty to hear is often confused with inability to function in any adult role, especially roles such as parenting which require being responsible for others (Gannon, 1981); however, parenting skills vary widely among adults, whether hearing or deaf (Rienzi, 1983). The purpose of this study was to develop a method for assessing attitudes toward nontraditional parents. Biological ties, prior legal standing, and attachment might bias evaluations of parent-child dyads. Using scenarios of applicants who wish to adopt allows subjects to evaluate hypothetical individuals without these confounds. Scenarios of single parents were selected to restrict measurement error which might be attributed to spousal influences. University students' perceptions of deaf parents were assessed as a preliminary evaluation of this technique. The applicants' gender and hearing status were expected to influence subjects' ratings of the applicants' suitability to adopt a child. Because women provide the majority of childcare, subjects were expected to rate single women more favorably than single men. Based on the negative stereotypes commonly associated with deaf individuals, we expected deaf individuals to be rated less favorably than hearing individuals. METHOD Fifty-four subjects (44 women) at a California university participated. Ages ranged from 18 to 54 years (A4= 26.5 yt, SD = 10.2 yr.). Most subjects were Caucasian (n = 38), most were single (n = 35), and most had no children (n = 36). One subject did not report ethnic it^, and one subject did not report mari t d status. 'Address enquiries to B. M. Rienzi, Department of Psychologv California State University, 9001 Stockdale Highway, Bakersfield, CA 73311-1079.
765
PERCEPTIONS OF DEAF PARENTS
Subjects were given one of four scenarios which described an unmarried applicant who was above average in financial security, work history, and general stability. The scenarios differed only in terms of gender and hearing status. Subjects read a scenario and rated the applicant's suitability as a potential adoptive parent on a scale in Likert format with anchors of poor (1) and excellent ( 5 ) . To examine the effects of the child's gender, respondents made separate recommendations for adoption of a boy and of a girl. Subjects were asked to provide a reason for their recommendations.
RESULTSAND DISCUSSION A two-by-two-by-two mixed-design analysis of variance examined the effects of applicant's gender, applicant's hearing status, and child's gender on ratings of the applicant's suitability to adopt a child. For each significant effect, a modified statistic (Tabachnick & Fidell, 1983) was calculated as an indicator of strength of association. There was a significant two-way interaction between the child's gender and the applicant's gender (F,,,, = 28.64, p
