Search

HIV-related prevention and intervention efforts for deaf adults with mental illness have been developed in the absence of empirical data regarding the risk behaviors in which this group engages. This study analyzes data provided by 66 deaf adults who received specialized services from a large psychiatric rehabilitation agency. Deafness-related social, linguistic, and behavioral factors are examined in relation to risky sexual behaviors, substance use, and serious mental illness. Risky behavior was significantly elevated among those who use cocaine and alcohol, have a history of sexually transmitted infections, have low levels of social integration and above average linguistic (sign) ability. Proficient sign language ability and engagement in the Deaf community interacted with substance use to increase the risk for HIV. Risk reduction for deaf adults should consider the interaction between mental health symptoms and the social consequences of deafness (e.g., delayed language acquisition). As well, interventions must be straightforward and administered by fluently signing, clinical staff. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: It has been suggested in the research literature that facial affect processing (FAP) and theory of mind (ToM) are both potential mediators of the well-established relationship between cognition and functional outcome among people with schizophrenia. The current project tests the mediating potency of these two domains of social cognition among deaf and hearing people with schizophrenia. Sixty-five people (34 deaf, 31 hearing) were assessed using measures of verbal and visual memory, attention, visual processing, FAP, and ToM. The results suggest that each domain of cognition, save vigilance, exerts an effect on functional outcome indirectly through its influence on social cognition. The patterns of mediation varied when the samples were broken down by hearing status and analyzed separately. Namely, the cognitive tasks directly involving linguistic ability (early visual processing [EVP] and word memory) were best mediated by social cognition for hearing subjects. For deaf subjects, the nonlinguistic cognitive tasks (e.g., visual–spatial memory-recall and copy [VSM-recall and VSM-copy]) were best mediated by social cognition. While FAP and ToM were equally effective as mediators for hearing subjects, FAP was a more potent mediator than ToM for deaf subjects. This study extends prior work in the area of social cognition and schizophrenia and indicates that the development of cognitive rehabilitation strategies should include not only interventions targeting specific cognitive abilities, such as attention and memory, but should include an emphasis on social–cognitive domains, including FAP and ToM. Further, deaf and hearing subjects may benefit from interventions addressing aspects of cognition that support linguistic ability, especially as they relate to social cognition. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Recent research has highlighted the relationships between impairments in cognitive functioning and poorer functional outcomes among people with schizophrenia (PWS). The purpose of this study was to replicate and extend this work by testing the relationships between cognition and functional outcome among deaf adults with schizophrenia. Empirical findings from deafness-oriented research reveals enhanced abilities in certain aspects of visual–spatial processing compared to hearing people. Sixty-five PWS (34 deaf, 31 hearing) were assessed using measures of verbal and visual memory, attention, and visual processing. The first hypothesis tested whether cognition predicted functional outcome in a similar fashion for both deaf and hearing subjects (n =63). For all subjects, higher levels of cognitive ability were associated with higher levels of functional outcome, and the strongest predictors of outcome were verbal memory and visual–spatial memory (recall condition) (VSM recall). However, the deaf and hearing groups did show different patterns of relationships between cognition and functioning when all cognitive variables were examined. The second hypothesis was that deaf subjects would display superior performance in early visual processing, visual–spatial memory (copy condition) (VSM copy), and VSM recall. Deaf subjects displayed superior performance on each task; however, no significant differences emerged. Deaf subjects outperformed hearing subjects in an unexpected domain (word memory/recognition). This study extends prior work in the area of cognition and schizophrenia and indicates that deaf and hearing subjects may benefit from interventions that address different domains of cognition. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]