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January 3, 1963. PERSONALITY TRAITS AND DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS IN THE DEAF. Kenneth Z. Altshuler, M.D.
Over the past six years, New York's pilot Mental Health Project for the Deaf has gathered data on the total deaf population of New York State and some
four hundred psychiatric patients. On the basis of these findings, which include intensive interviews of a large-scale random sample of normal deaf individuals, the personality traits of the congenitally deaf and those deafened early in life may be defined clinically: limitations in understanding and regard for the feelings of others (empathy), coupled with inadequate insight as to the impact and consequences of their own behavior, are particularly striking. A generally egocentric view of the world seems to predominate, with an adaptive approach of gross coercive dependence unfettered by excessive controls of conscience. Preferred defensive reactions to anxiety are typified by a kind of riddance through action, often in the form of impulsive behavior, and a relative absence of thoughtful introspection. Simple projection, where failure of an object to provide gratification is experienced as a hostile affront, is also common. Dr. Altshuler presents several case abstracts to bring these interrelated traits into clearer clinical focus and show how they are integrated in the total personality and may limit therapeutic efforts.
The child with early total deafness is not only isolated from auditory stimulation but cannot develop meaningful verbal communication without considerable delay and years of special training. According to John Bowlby, audition is essential in the development of the child's bond to his mother; without it the effect of sound in generating and fostering emotional response is missed. René Spitz considers the appearance of speech to be a primary 'organizer' of the psyche, prerequisite for 'the development of object relationships in the human pattern'. Jean Piaget counts hearing and verbal languag