Susan Anthony-Tolbert, Psychology

Ultimately, this research project will involve three phases. However, funding is only being requested for the first part which will evaluate the psychometric properties of the Anthony-Tolbert Verbal Abuse Scale for use with deaf and hard-of-hearing adults in their retrospective accounts of verbal abuse in childhood and adolescence. The present research will also assess the reliability of the Attachment Style Questionnaire developed by Feeney, Hanrahan and Noller (1994) and the Anthony-Tolbert Depression Checklist for use with deaf and hard-of -hearing respondents. After the psychometric qualities of these instruments have been examined, future research will consider the correlates of verbal abuse and its implications for adult romantic and social attachments. Throughout the consideration of the reliability and validity of these instruments, demographic and background variables such as family communication (type, frequency and quality), parent drinking, driving, drug abuse and "at-home" aggression during the respondent's childhood and adolescence, respondent's age, gender, ethnicity, family income, family size and education levels of the parents will be assessed for their relationship with scores on these instruments.