A qualitative research on religious coping methods of hearing-impaired individuals (Çorum sample)

The ratio of disabled individuals to the general population in the world and in our country is considerably large. One of the groups among disabled individuals is the hearing impaired. Hearing impaired individuals face various individual and social difficulties in terms of hearing, speaking and healthy communication due to auditory inadequacy. This situation negatively affects the psychological well-being of the hearing impaired individual, leading to questioning and trying to make sense of their experiences. When a person sees hearing impairment and the negativities brought by the disability, they may ask questions such as "Why did this disability happen to me? Or is God punishing me?" and experience spiritual and psychological traumas. In addition, people with hearing impairment must somehow struggle with the obstacles and negativities they experience. At this point, individuals can resort to coping methods. "Religion", one of the important sociological elements that shape life, has a say in perceiving, interpreting and explaining the disability situation, as it greatly affects the individual and society. In this master's thesis, which is a field research conducted in the field of religious psychology, the religious coping strategies of hearing impaired individuals are examined using socio-psychological methods and techniques. In this study, the effect of religious coping methods on the processes of hearing impaired individuals coping with their disabilities was evaluated; it was aimed to reveal the role of these methods on the positive or negative mood of the individuals. According to the findings of the research conducted with 20 hearing impaired individuals, it was determined that the participants widely used religious coping methods. The obtained data show that religiously motivated coping strategies play an important role in supporting the psychological well-being of hearing impaired individuals. In addition, it is among the findings of the research that religiosity positively affects the happiness of hearing impaired individuals.