MARRIAGE AND FAMILY COUNSELING

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IMPAIRMENTS ACCESSING COUNSELLING

INTRODUCTION

In this chapter I will present the research results from the questionnaire to parents and the interviews that were conducted. I will do this by first presenting the results by means of tables and graphical representations (e.g. bar charts and pie charts) and then by discussing each one of these findings. Results from the questionnaire to counseling organizations will also be presented. I will also present results from parents’ views on how they thought counseling could be made more accessible. This chapter will only serve the purpose of presenting the results. In the next chapter I will discuss the research results from this study with the broader available literature and also by integrating it with the theoretical framework that has been discussed in chapter 2 of this thesis.

PRESENTATION AND INTERPRETATION OF RESULTS – AN OVERVIEW

Three hundred (300) parents of children with hearing impairments from the five main cities of the country, namely Harare, Bulawayo, Gweru, Masvingo and Mutare, completed three hundred questionnaires. Interviews were also conducted with the same parents to cross check the questionnaire responses. Two hundred and eighty two (282) parents responded to the open-ended questionnaire. In addition to 300 parents, a total number of 28 organizations took part in this study. Five special schools, five hospitals, three counseling organizations and 15 churches completed 28 questionnaires prepared for counseling service organizations. All 28 organizations responded to the open-ended questionnaire.
There was a 100% response rate mainly because the questionnaires were self administered and collected on the same day. It is possible that parents expected the study to bring quick solutions to their problems and so everybody wanted their contributions to be put forward. It could also have been due to the fact that it was emphasized to parents that if they wanted to leave early, they could either put the questionnaires in the box from which they took them or hand them to me directly. Most parents spent the day with their families supporting their child with a hearing impairment and only left at the required time, half past four in the afternoon. The questionnaire response rate was exceptional although not all the questions were fully completed.
Throughout this study, graphical representations and tables are identified by the relevant chapter number, which is used as a prefix, followed by the sequence number in which they appear in the chapter.

QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS ON THE QUESTIONNAIRE TO PARENTS

The word “parents” refers to representatives of the families that took part in the study, in the form of a wife or husband/or both. If both parents took part in the study, they completed one questionnaire and were considered as one parent (a couple). Participants in this study refer to parents and therefore the terms parents and participants or parent-participants will be used alternatively to avoid monotony. Although frequencies of results are shown in both raw scores and percentages, I will use percentages to report the results in the graphic representations. Before I present the results, I will provide biographical details of children with hearing impairments and of their parents.

BIOGRAPHICAL DETAILS OF PARENTS OF CHILDREN WITH HEARING IMPAIRMENTS AND OF THEIR CHILDREN

Items ‘i’ to ‘v’ on the questionnaire are represented by tables 4.3.1.1 to 4.3.1.5 that contain biographical details of parents of children with hearing impairments and that of their children Of the 300 parents who responded to item (i), 40% were men, 50% were women and 10% were couples. It is interesting to note that there is such a high number of men in this sample, because usually mothers are much more involved with a child with disability. However, it can also be explained that the parents’ main reason for coming was not the study but to spend a day with the family, interacting and sharing ideas with other parents, which has always been the tradition. It is also at such meetings that parents discuss the future of their children with the school authorities and have to make a commitment by signing documents for secondary or vocational education, especially for those children completing primary education. This could have necessitated the attendance of a large number of fathers. Studies by Bristol and Gallagher (1986:92) and Kazak and Marvin (1984:69), point out that fathers of children with disabilities play a peripheral parental role when compared to mothers. Seligman and Darling (1989:153) assert that through their attitude towards their wives and families, fathers affect the way in which mothers interact with a child with hearing impairments. Moores (1996:31) points out that traditionally, fathers have not played a large role in continuous relationships with professionals such as counselors, specialist teachers, speech therapists and psychologists. In most cases fathers would not take the responsibility of attending counseling, parental or consultation meetings (Moores & Meadow-Orlans, 1990:306). However, in their study, Cartwright, Cartwright and Ward (1995:398) noted that fathers have also only recently become a source of study in the families of children with disabilities. In this study, the high percentage of participants who were fathers, will contribute to this emerging body of knowledge Out of 300 participants, 60% of the parents’ children were boys, 40% of the parents’ children were girls and .3% of the parents had a girl and a boy with a hearing impairment. However, in the graph percentages are rounded off to the nearest ten and so .3% is indicated as zero percent. According to Cartwright, Cartwright and Ward (1995:271); Meadow (1996:86) and Moores and Meadow (1990:347), deafness is more prevalent in boys than in girls although the difference is not significant. A study by Vernon and Andrews (1990:158) indicates that after screening a pool of children, out of 566 children who were confirmed to be having hearing impairments, (286) 51% were boys and (280) 49% were girls.
Out of 300 parents who responded to item (iii), 55% of the parents’ indicated that their children were born deaf, 41% of the parents indicated that their children became deaf later, and 4% of the parents did not know whether their children were born deaf or whether they acquired deafness later. A study carried out by Moores and Meadow (1990:123), indicates that out of data presented on 200 children with hearing impairments, 55% were born deaf, 43% acquired deafness later in life through diseases and accidents and 2% were not known. The two acknowledged that it was sometimes impossible to ascertain when and how a child became deaf. In another study by Moores (1996:85), where he carried out an analysis on 619 children with hearing impairments, he established that (290) 47% were born deaf, 41% acquired deafness through other means and (77) 12% were deaf through unknown causes. It seems therefore that there is a high correlation between the etiological factors for the children of the participants in this study, and that of other studies that relate to children with hearing impairments.
Out of 300 parents who responded to item (iv), 53% indicated that their children did not become deaf later, while 43% of the parents indicated that their children became deaf later and 4% of the parents indicated that they did not know whether their children were born deaf or they acquired deafness later. It is interesting to note the inconsistency in responses to question (iii) and question (iv) When the statement was given as “My child was born deaf” 55% indicated “yes” and when it was stated “My child became deaf later” 53% indicated “no” instead of 55%. The same with children who are said to have become deaf later, in (ii) they are indicated as 41% and here they are indicated as 43%. This may mean that some parents were not quite sure as to whether their children were born deaf or acquired deafness later, as pointed out earlier on by Moores and Meadow (1990:123). It is interesting to note that parents can remain hesitant as attributing the causes of hearing impairment in their child.
Out of 300 parents who responded to item (v), 24% had children between the ages of five and eight, 49% had their children between the ages of nine and 13, 26% had children between the ages of 14 and 18 and 1% of the parents had children between nine and 13 and also between 14 and 18. In developing countries screening methods are very poor due to inadequate equipment and lack of qualified personnel (Nolan & Tucker, 1981:49 and Moores & Meadow, 1990:114). Most children with hearing impairments are identified at a late stage and therefore are enrolled late as well at the ages of nine or 10. This is further confirmed by the findings of Chimedza (1986) when he carried out a study in Zimbabwe in special schools for children with hearing impairments. Some children are hidden due to superstitious beliefs while others are hidden due to feelings of inadequacy and/or ignorance (Baine, 1988:16 and UNESCO 1981:48). Such children are sometimes discovered at a late age and put in a special school in standard one at the age of 10 years. This may explain why 49% of the parents have children between nine and 13 years and 25% have children between the ages of 14 and 18 years. From my own experiences as a teacher of children with hearing impairments for 23 years, it is very likely that parents of some of these children come from rural areas where they have limited resources in terms of transport and even lack of knowledge of special schools and the procedure of enrolling a child in a special school. They may also take time to acquire the required boarding or and tuition fees for the child. By the time the necessary funds are secured, the child will have lost a considerable amount of schooling time.

QUANTITATIVE RESULTS ON COUNSELING

Out of 300 parents who responded to item (vi), 90% said they received counseling and 10% said they did not receive counseling. Nystul (1999) and Kirk, Gallagher and Anastasiow (1997) point out that most parents of children with hearing impairments go through counseling in one way or another. According to Moores (1996) most parents receive counseling from professional counselors, individuals, members of the extended family, specialist teachers, and psychologists or from churches. On the definition of counseling Howard (1992:37), points out that counseling has always existed and will continue to exist and therefore almost everyone has a chance to receive counseling. Hallahan and Kauffman (1994:498) assert that some parents confuse counseling with advice. They further point out that sometimes parents are given both and may find it difficult to distinguish the one from the other. For the purposes of this study, I assume that the use of the term “counseling” in the formulation of the question may also include advice giving for the participants in the study.

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION, PROBLEM STATEMENT AND RESEARCH DESIGN
1.1 INTRODUCTION, PROBLEM STATEMENT AND  RESEARCH DESIGN
1.2 RESEARCH QUESTION
1.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE RESEARCH
1.4 PURPOSE OF THE STUDY
1.5 THEORETICAL/CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK
1.6 DEFINITION OF KEY CONCEPTS
1.6.1 COUNSELING
1.6.2 PARENTS OF CHILDREN WITH HEARING IMPAIRMENT
1.6.3 HEARING IMPAIRMENT
1.6.4 SERVICES IN SPECIAL EDUCATION
1.6.5 SCHOOL COUNSELORS
1.6.6 COUNSELING ORGANIZATIONS
1.6.7 CHURCHES
1.6.8 SOCIAL SERVICES
1.7 PARADIGM FOR THE STUDY
1.8 ASSUMPTIONS OF THE STUDY
1.9 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY
1.10 METHODOLOGY OF THE STUDY
1.11 POPULATION
1.12 SAMPLE (n = 300)
1.13 VARIABLES
1.14 PROCEDURE
1.15 INSTRUMENT
1.16 DESCRIPTION OF THE MEASUREMENT TECHNIQUES
1.17 DEVELOPMENT OF THE INSTRUMENT
1.18 SCORING OF THE SCALE
1.19 VALIDITY AND RELIABILITY OF INSTRUMENT
1.20 METHODS OF DATA ANALYSIS
1.20.1 QUANTITATIVE DATA
1.20.2 QUALITATIVE DATA
1.21 ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS IN RESEARCH
CHAPTER 2 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK & LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 INTRODUCTION
2.2 COUNSELING
2.3 HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVES
2.4 THEORIES OF COUNSELING
2.5 APPLICATION OF THEORIES IN COUNSELING
2.6 GROUPS AND COUNSELING
2.7 COUNSELING PARENTS OF CHILDREN WITH HEARING  IMPAIRMENTS
2.8 COUNSELING ORGANIZATIONS IN ZIMBABWE
2.9 MARRIAGE AND FAMILY COUNSELING
2.10 PASTORAL COUNSELING
2.11 EMPLOYMENT COUNSELING
2.12 REHABILITATION COUNSELING
2.13 A CRITIQUE OF COUNSELING ORGANIZATIONS
2.14 SUMMARY
CHAPTER 3 METHODOLOGY OF THE STUDY
3.1 INTRODUCTION
3.2 THE SURVEY METHOD
3.3 INTERVIEWS
3.4 POPULATION
3.5 SAMPLE (n = 300)
3.6 VARIABLES
3.7 PROCEDURE
3.8 INSTRUMENT
3.9 DESCRIPTION OF THE MEASUREMENT TECHNIQUES
3.10 DEVELOPMENT OF THE INSTRUMENT
3.11 SCORING OF THE SCALE
3.12 VALIDITY AND RELIABILITY OF INSTRUMENT
3.13 METHODS OF DATA ANALYSIS
CHAPTER 4 PARENTS OF CHILDREN WITH HEARING IMPAIRMENTS ACCESSING COUNSELING SERVICES: RESEARCH RESULTS
4.1 INTRODUCTION
4.2 PRESENTATION AND INTERPRETATION OF RESULTS – AN OVERVIEW
4.3 QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS ON THE QUESTIONNAIRE TO  PARENTS
4.4 CORRELATION BETWEEN THE GENDER OF PARENTS  AND WHERE THEY OBTAINED COUNSELING, WHAT THEY SAY ABOUT COPING WITH THE CHILD WITH A HEARING IMPAIRMENT, AGE OF CHILDREN AND WHAT PARENTS SAY ABOUT COPING
4.5 DEGREE OF CONSISTENCY BETWEEN POSITIVE AND  NEGATIVELY PHRASED ITEMS
4.6 QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS ON THE OPEN-ENDED QUESTIONNAIRE TO PARENTS
4.7 INTERPRETATION OF QUALITATIVE RESULTS ON THE ENDED QUESTIONNAIRE TO PARENTS
4.8 QUANTITATIVE DATA ON THE QUESTIONNAIRE TO SERVICE ORGANIZATIONS
4.9 QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS ON THE OPEN-ENDED QUESTIONNAIRE TO SERVICE ORGANIZATIONS
4.10 SYNOPSIS ON THE RESULTS FROM THE SERVICE ORGANIZATIONS
4.11 SUMMARY OF THE CHAPTER
CHAPTER 5 DISCUSSION OF RESULTS
5.1 INTRODUCTION
5.2 GENDERS OF PARTICIPANTS IN THE STUDY
5.3 GENDER OF PARTICIPANTS’ CHILDREN
5.4 NATURE OF HEARING LOSS
5.5 AGES OF PARTICIPANTS’ CHILDREN
5.6 PARTICIPANTS WHO RECEIVED AND THOSE WHO DID NOT RECEIVE COUNSELING
5.7 PARTICIPANTS’ SOURCES OF COUNSELING
5.8 THE NEED FOR COUNSELING AND ITS EFFECT ON PARENTS ACCEPTING AND COPING WITH THEIR CHILDREN WHO HAVE HEARING IMPAIRMENTS
5.9 UNDERSTANDING COUNSELING, THE NEEDS OF THE CHILD, TAKING RESPONSIBILITY AND PLANNING THE FUTURE OF THE CHILD
5.10 CORRELATION OF RESULTS BY GENDER OF PARENTS
5.11 QUESTIONNAIRE RESPONSE CONSISTENCY
5.12 QUALITATIVE RESULTS OF PARENTS
5.13 QUANTITATIVE RESULTS ON SERVICE ORGANIZATIONS
5.14 CHAPTER SUMMARY
CHAPTER 6 CONCLUSIVE FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
6.1 INTRODUCTION
6.2 OBJECTIVES AND FINDINGS
6.3 ASSUMPTIONS AND FINDINGS OF THE STUDY
6.4 MAJOR CHALLENGES ARISING FROM THE STUDY AND SUGGESTIONS TO ADDRESS THEM
6.5 RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH
6.6 CONCLUDING REMARKS
REFERENCES 
APPENDICES
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