The Development of the Opinions about Deaf People Scale: A Scale to Measure Hearing Adults' Beliefs about the Capabilities of Deaf Adults
Date
1995-02-01Author
Berkay, Paul James
Gardner, J. Emmett
Smith, Patricia L.
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Abstract
This report documents the development of a scale to measure hearing adults' beliefs about the capabilities of deaf adults. An item pool created from a list of misconceptions about deaf people was used to develop a 35-item Opinions About Deaf People scale, piloted with 38 university undergraduates. A revised 20-item version of the scale was piloted with 290 undergraduates. Acoefficient alpha of .83 was obtained from the second pilot, with item-total correlations ranging from .22 to .58. Factor analysis demonstrated a General Deaf Capabilities factor (eigenvalue = 5.39). Some items also correlated moderately to strongly with an Intelligence factor (eigenvalue = 1.70). Construct validity was established through correlation with Cowen's Attitudes to Deafness scale (r = .75). Analysis supports that a reliable and valid scale has been developed that can be used to measure hearing adults' beliefs about the capabilities of deaf adults in education, employment, and other appropriate settings.
Citation
Berkay, P. J., Gardner, J. E., & Smith, P. L. (1995). The Development of the Opinions about Deaf People Scale: A Scale to Measure Hearing Adults' Beliefs about the Capabilities of Deaf Adults. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 55(1), 105-114. doi: 10.1177/0013164495055001010