Social capital and identity of d/Deaf adolescents: an interpretive phenomenological analysis

Abstract

The social capital experiences of 10 Australian adolescents aged between 13-16 years, who identified as d/Deaf, were explored in semi-structured interviews. Additionally, one parent of each adolescent was interviewed about the adolescents’ experiences as a way of augmenting the adolescents’ responses. This study used a social capital framework to explore various aspects of the adolescents’ lives and ascertained factors that facilitated or diminished the social capital reserves of the young participants through an interpretative phenomenological analysis approach. Four themes were identified: Social Capital Reserves; Social Capital Boosters; Social Capital Barriers; and Identity. Particular attention is drawn to how these adolescents perceived themselves and the role of the school in developing, or diminishing, social capital