An intergroup contact approach for understanding attitudes and behaviours towards deaf students among hearing students in Malaysia

• Date: 21 March 2023
• Pages: 927-942
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/EDI-03-2022-0059
• Published date: 21 March 2023
• Author: Poh Chua Siah,Chee Seng Tan,Wan Ying Lee,Mah Ngee Lee

An intergroup contact approach

for understanding attitudes

and behaviours towards deaf

students among hearing students

in Malaysia

Poh Chua Siah, Chee Seng Tan, Wan Ying Lee and Mah Ngee Lee

Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman, Kampar Campus, Perak, Malaysia

Abstract

Purpose –This study examines the hearing students’attitudes and behaviors towards deaf students in

Malaysia using the intergroup contact approach.

Design/methodology/approach –Purposive sampling was used to recruit 439 hearing students at

secondary schools. Hearing students were asked to fill in questionnaires that contained four measurements:

contact with deaf people, sources of knowledgeabout deaf people, attitudes towards deaf people and behaviors

toward deaf people. A serial mediation model was proposed to investigate the hypothetical mediating role of

knowledge and attitudes toward deaf students in the relationship.

Findings –The results of this study showed that contact frequency is negatively associated with attitudes

towards deaf people. However, such a relationship is suppressed, only when knowledge is included as a

mediator. In addition, mediation analysis supports that sources of knowledge and attitudes about deaf people

mediatethe relationship between contact and behaviors toward deaf people. Moreover, the frequency of contact

indirectly contributes to behaviors through knowledge and attitudes.

Originality/value –The findings indicate that increasing the contact between hearing and deaf students

would improve hearing students’attitudes and behaviors towards deaf students. However, this is only when

the contact can improve hearing students’knowledge about deaf people and deafness.

Keywords Hearing students, Deaf students, Contact, Knowledge, Attitudes, Behaviors

Paper type Research paper

1. Introduction

It is estimated that 466 million people worldwide have disabling hearing loss, of which 432

million are adults and 34 million are children. In addition, the number of people with disabling

hearing loss worldwide is projected to be over 900 million in 2050 (World Health

Organization, 2018). In Malaysia, based on the Department of Social Welfare record in 2018,

there are about 44,523 registered persons with hearing disabilities, which denotes 0.14% of

the Malaysian population. Among the population with hearing impairment, 14.9% (6,635)

were children aged between 7 and 12 years, and 8.31% (2,654) were children 18 years old and

below (Jabatan Kebajikan Masyarakat, 2018). Deaf people are a minority in the country, hence

are generally understudied in Malaysia. Most current studies on deaf people in Malaysia are

mainly focused on education (Lee et al., 2021;Miles et al., 2018;Nasir and Efendi, 2016),

learning (Zainuddin et al., 2009), religion (Ghadim et al., 2013;Mokhtar and Omar, 2018) and

technology (Chuan et al., 2017;Wong and Khong, 2011). There is a lack of research that

focuses on the social aspect of the deaf population such as the social experiences in the

hearing community.

An intergroup

contact

approach

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This study is sponsored by Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman Research Fund (6200/LG1).

The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:

https://www.emerald.com/insight/2040-7149.htm

Received 5 March 2022

Revised 19 October 2022

28 January 2023

Accepted 23 February 2023

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion:

An International Journal

Vol. 42 No. 7, 2023

pp. 927-942

© Emerald Publishing Limited

2040-7149

DOI 10.1108/EDI-03-2022-0059

Globally and locally, one of the main social challenges of the deaf community is to be

included in society. According to United Nations Sustainable Development Group (UNSDG),

discrimination and inequalities are the reasons individuals, families and whole communities

are marginalized and excluded. Social exclusion is especially prominent for people with

disabilities, who are often left out. Such forms of marginalization often begin very early and

experienced from young for children with disabilities. For rural communities in India, it is

common for families to keep their own children with disability from mobility, education and

employment (Janardhana et al., 2015). Such social exclusion not only hinders the development

of children with disabilities, it also indirectly impacts the development of society. In the

bigger picture, social exclusion is often a cause of poverty, conflict and insecurity (Office of

the United Nations Human Rights [OHCHR], 2005). Hence, to tackle these potential issues,

UNSDG and Malaysia are committed to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development to

“Leave No One Behind”(United Nations Sustainable Development Group, 2022).

Although Malaysia subscribes to the notion of leaving no one behind, there is still much

that needs to be done to reduce the discrimination of the deaf population. It has been noted

that nearly 40% of Persons With Disabilities (PWD) in Malaysia are discriminated against by

their employers (Khoo et al., 2013). There are misconceptions that PWDs cannot perform well

in jobs, hence this prejudice often affect their employment opportunities or prevent them from

being employed (Ang et al., 2015). It may be said that the discrimination experienced by

PWDs stem from the preconceived ideas people have without actual knowledge and prior

interaction. One case for this point is the recent study that explored healthcare professionals’

knowledge, attitude and practice toward deaf patients in Malaysia. Results revealed that

health professionals who had prior exposure to deaf people demonstrated more accurate

knowledge of the deaf patient’s needs and, therefore, could provide access to healthcare

accordingly (Wasi et al., 2021). Regardless whether discrimination was unintended, studies

have shown that deaf people perceive and experience some form of unfair or prejudicial

treatment in both school and work setting (e.g. Reagan, 2020).

In schools, thefundamental right of children to feel safe and free from bullying, harassment

and abuse, is one which should be equally extended to those children with disabilities

(Mepham, 2010).Bullying usually happens to the deaf due to poor communication and support

system in a hearing environment. There is the deaf students’need for better connection,

support and quality social relationships (Leeet al., 2021). At the same time, the teachers may

lack effective communication methods and training to support the deaf appropriately(Miles

et al., 2018). When there is insufficient support for the deaf students, especially in

communication, it oftenleads to misunderstandings between deaf students with their hearing

teachers and students. The unresolved conflict may result in deaf students experiencingdeaf

stigmatization (Mousley and Chaudoir, 2018), social exclusion and isolation (Lee et al., 2021)

and psychological distress (Cheng et al., 2019). Few studies in Malaysia documented the

narratives of deaf students’experiences(Lee et al., 2022) but none has specifically documented

incidences such as bullying victimization ordeaf stigmatization in Malaysian context.

As for discrimination in work settings, Hasanbegovic and Kovacevic (2018) surveyed 171

deaf workers, hearing workers and managers from 16 industries in Bosnia. Deaf workers

have a higher mean score for “not having an equal position with other workers”than hearing

workers and managers. The US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission analyses

compare the allegations filed by persons with hearing disabilities and individuals with other

physical or sensory disabilities. The results also revealed that more allegations were found in

hiring, promotion, testing, training and discharge conditions among persons with hearing

disabilities than individuals with other physical or sensory disabilities (Bowe et al., 2005).

Overall, studies have reported associations between perceived discrimination and poor

physical health, poorer mental health outcomes and risky lifestyle behaviors (Beiser and Hou,

2006;Moghaddam et al., 2002;Schmitt et al., 2014;Williams et al., 2003). Besides, the

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