Altering locus of control of individuals with hearing impairments by outdoor-adventure courses.

Altering Locus of Control of Individuals with Hearing Impairments by Outdoor-Adventure Courses

For some time, researchers have been concerned with the significance of the degree to which individuals perceive their rewards as contingent upon their own behavior. Locus of control as a psychological construct is considered a generalized expectancy variable that operates across many situations and relates to individuals' perceptions of control or power over the reinforcements they receive (Rotter, 1975). Those who primarily view rewards they receive as caused by their own behavior have been described as possessing an "internal" locus of control. Those who believe their rewards are caused by something or someone outside themselves are said to have an "external" locus of control (Rotter, 1966). It has been found that persons who attribute their success to internal causes affirm more pride and satisfaction in their accomplishment than do people who attribute success to an external cause (Weiner, 1979). Studies examining the relationship between locus of control and personal adjustment (Ainsworth, 1977; Shavitt & Rabinowitz, 1978) have found an internal locus of control is related to positive personal adjustment while external locus of control is related to decreased personal, social, and overall adjustment.

Many characteristics have been ascribed to persons possessing an internal or external locus of control. Internally oriented individuals have been described as having a tendency toward self-regulation (Liverant & Scodel, 1960). They are able to overcome obstacles and are able to develop constructive responses to frustation (Brissett & Nowicki, 1973). They show more initiative to control the environment, regulate impulses better, improve personality problems, and choose higher probabilities of success. Internals describe themselves as being assertive, achieving, powerful, independent, effective, and industrious (Hersche & Scheibe, 1967).

Individuals who possess an external control orientation have been described as being self-pitying and unable to cope with the reality of a situation (Phares, 1968). They express aspirations incompatible with their abilities (DuCette & Wolk, 1972), and have lower vocational expectancies (Marecek & Frasch, 1977). Hountras and Scharfe (1970) have characterized externally oriented individuals as inhibited, wary, resentful, self-centered, confused, stereotyped in thinking, and lacking self-direction and self-discipline. In addition, they have been described as low in self-confidence and in expectations for success (Rotter, 1966). Research involving locus of control and individuals who are hearing impaired has suggested that in comparison to their hearing peers, hearing-impaired individuals tend to be more externally oriented (Blanton & Nunnally, 1964; Bodner & Johns, 1977; Dowaliby, Burke, & McKee, 1983).

The use of outdoor-adventure education programs as a therapeutic intervention has recently been gaining recognition (Stich, 1984). Outdoor-adventure education provides individuals an opportunity to learn from the natural environment. It is a method of teaching and an approach to learning that emphasizes hands-on, multi-sensory experiences. Courses consists of a series of prescribed physical and social tasks, where stress, uncertainty, and the need for problem solving, communication and immediate judgment are present. Outdoor-adventure programs are an educational process concerned with self-discovery and a recognition that many of an individual's limits (physical, emotional, psychological, and spiritual) are self-imposed. Through activities such as rock climbing, white-water canoeing, winter mountaineering, a ropes course, and group process, it is believed that participants will come to recognize that they are capable of much more than they had previously thought.

Research (Lefcourt, 1976) has revealed that individuals' locus of control orientation scores are susceptible to influence. People change in the causal attributions if they encounter experiences that meaningfully alter their contingencies between their acts and perceived outcomes. Lefcourt (1976), stated: "The more action oriented therapies which stress the learning of and effecting of contingent results seems to be the optimal approaches for changing client perceptions of causality" (p. 126). Therefore it is believed that the stress-challenge and controlled risk-taking elements of outdoor-adventure education courses may be useful in influencing locus of control because of the high degree of arousal and anticipatory stress. Clear demands are placed upon the participant to accept responsibility for dealing with arousal states and accepting the clear and obvious natural consequences for choices, actions, or inactions. The responsible choices and actions are further reinforced by individual and group feedback. Research conducted to investigate the effect of outdoor-adventure programming on hearing individuals' locus of control have exhibited positive findings (Gaston, 1978; Wright, 1982).

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of an outdoor-adventure education course on the locus of control of hearing-impaired young adults. Also, to assess if gains did occur would they be maintained for a period of two-months after participation on the outdoor-adventure experience. Method

Subjects

Ten (10) hearing-impaired individuals, eight (8) females and two (2) males, participated in the outdoor-adventure education course. A group matched for sex, age, ethnicity, degree of hearing loss, age of onset of hearing loss, parental hearing status, and lack of a secondary handicapping condition were chosen as a control group (see Table 1).

Instrumentation

The Levenson Locus of Control Scale (1973) was chosen for this study because of its multidimensionality and the highest reliability and validity for all the locus of control tests (Harris & Salamone, 1981). Levenson (1972) contended that the external end of the continuum should be reconceptualized. She devised two subscales of external locus of control: chance (C) and powerful others (P). The multidimensional conceptualization differentiates between two types of external orientation--belief in the basic order and predictability of the world, coupled with the expectancy that powerful others are in control. This distinction allows for a broader view of the attributions of causality. Individuals who believe that the world is unordered, thus unpredictable, would theoretically show less involved behavior than other externally oriented persons who believe that while powerful others dominate the course of events, their participation could potentially lead to control (Levenson, 1972). This refinement of the construct to include the subscales of chance and powerful others may be especially appropriate for disabled populations when one takes into account their general reliance on able-bodied individuals.

The internal (I), powerful others (P), and the chance (C) scales are presented as a unified measurement of attitude. There are 24 items that subjects respond to in a six-point, Likert format ranging from "strongly disagree" to "strongly agree." The items are personalized, phrased directly to the subject rather than worded to pertain to all humankind. Summarizing reliability and validity figures, overall, as well as the factor analysis, Levenson (1974) stated that the items were able to distinguish between internality and externality and were free of socially desirable responses. Internal consistency was moderately high considering the variety of samples. Kuder-Richardson reliabilities were r = .64 for I, .77 for P, and .78 for C. Split-half reliabilities using the Spearman-Brown formula were r - .62 for I, .66 for P, and .64 for C. Test-retest reliabilities after an interim of one week were r = .64, .74, and .78 for I, P, and C, respectively. Similar findings of content validity and factor structure were demonstrated by Lindbloom and Faw (1982) in a study comparing the Rotter IE, the Adult Nowicki-Strickland, and the Levenson Locus of Control Scale.

An additional consideration when working with individuals who are hearing impaired is to use assessment instruments specifically geared to the linguistic structures and academic levels of the subjects. For the purposes of this investigation, the language level of this instrument was judged as satisfactory.

Program Description

The Breckenridge-Outdoor Education Center (BOEC) of Breckenridge, Colorado provided the experimental intervention. Course participants lived and traveled in a group of 10 peers plus 3 instructors for 10 days. The course took place during the winter months, therefore, travel through the mountains was undertaken using cross-country skis. The course was composed of three distinct phases--training, expedition, and course conclusion.

The training phase established the foundation for the entire course. Time was allocated for developing and sharing personal goals, discussion of safety concerns, skills instruction, and physical fitness training. The expedition phase included an extensive cross-country skiing trip. Course participants were responsible for daily planning, navigation, and travel. The conclusion of the course provided students with a culminating physical and psychological challenge. They participated in a two-mile running and a nine mile cross-country skiing marathon. Throughout the course, time was set aside for meetings to discuss group issues, decision making processes and personal feelings. Data Collection

This study used a pre/post/follow-up research design. The experimental group was administered a demographic questionnaire along with the assessment instrument upon their arrival in Breckenridge, after the course was completed and two months following the course end. The control group, after being administered a demographic questionnaire and the assessment instrument, attended to their regular daily schedules. They were retested at the ten day and two-month follow-up dates. Tests were administered in a small group setting or individually in order to accommodate for individual schedules. All tests were administered by the researcher in a conference room setting. Results

Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was performed on each subscale of the Levenson Locus of Control Scale using Statistical Analysis System (SAS) procedures to test for a difference between groups at the post-test and the two-month follow-up. Analysis of covariance was chosen because the groups were not randomly selected, but participated on a voluntary basis. By using pretest scores as the covariate, the initial differences were overcome by statistically adjusting the post-test and follow-up means, thereby reducing the error term. The alpha level for statistical significance for this study was .05.

As can be seen by Table 2, participation in the 10-day outdoor adventure education course had a significant positive effect on the internal locus of control orientation of the experimental group. In addition, the gains were maintained for the two-month period that followed the course. The data presented in Tables 3 and 4 indicate that the outdoor-adventure education course did not significantly affect the participants' orientation of powerful others or chance at the post-testing or two-month follow-up. Discussion

This study was conducted to investigate the effectiveness of using a 10-day winter outdoor-adventure education program as a method of intervention for altering the locus of control of a group of hearing-impaired individuals. The results of this study must be considered with an awareness of possible limitations. First, this study was undertaken using a small number of subjects. This is the result of the low-incidence of hearing impairment -- 5 out of 1,000 individuals Cartwright, Cartwright, & Ward, 1985) and the difficulty of finding subjects interested in participating in a research project. Therefore, the conclusions apply only to the specific population described in the study and, therefore, generalizations should be made with discretion. Second, it is importance to note that the instrument assessed subjective perceptions of the participants, which may or may not correlate with ratings by others. And third, there are certain problems in self-evaluation research, such as, the tendency of subjects to respond to items in a socially desirable manner (Wylie, 1974). Finally, research undertaken with individuals who are hearing impaired has continually been beset with problems due to the difficulty in finding instruments that appropriately meet the language and reading levels of this population. These are all potential sources of errors in estimates of locus of control and assessment of individuals who are hearing impaired.

Competence in dealing with one's environment is not a fixed act or simply a matter of knowing what to do. Rather, it involves a synergistic effect in which cognitive, affective, and psychomotor skills are integrated into courses of action in accordance with certain rules and strategies (Kolb, 1984). Individuals' ascriptions for the consequences of their behavior influence their thought processes and emotional reactions during anticipatory and actual interactions with the environment. In essence, people process, weigh, and integrate diverse sources of information concerning their self-perceptions, and they regulate their behavior and effort expenditure accordingly. Those who maintain self-doubt or judge themselves unable to affect the quality of their life tend to avoid situations they believe exceed their capabilities and limit the amount of effort they expend in the face of obstacles and aversive experiences. In contrast, those who have a generalized expectancy for personal success tend to exert greater effort to master challenges and seek alternative experiences to develop new skills and enhance personal competencies.

As expressed by Bandura (1977), "successful performance is replacing symbolically based experiences as the principle vehicle of change" (p. 191). Through active involvement one's attention is compelled to the existent problems at hand. Exploration, challenge, coping with risk and danger, and struggling to attain basic needs all provide involvement and hence, opportunity to expand personal limits. To succeed at easy tasks furnishes no new information for altering one's self-perceptions, whereas mastery of challenging tasks conveys salient evidence of enhanced competence. For course participants, overcoming the adversity of blizzard conditions with a-20 degree wind-chill factor, successfully navigating through potential avalanche areas, preparing meals in subfreezing weather conditions, and implementing the appropriate skills to stay warm throughout the night, active involvement was necessary. As a result, the conclusions drawn from the statistical data presented in this study indicate that participation in an outdoor-adventure education course causes a significant increase in internal attributions for assuming responsibility for one's actions.

The results of this study also indicate that the outdoor adventure education course participants could not be differentiated from the control group on the external dimension of the locus of control scale as measured by the powerful others or chance subscales at post-testing or at the two-month follow-up. The maintenance of externality scores for the hearing impaired subjects are consistent with previously cited findings (Bodner & Johns, 1977; Dowaliby, Burke, & McKee, 1983). One of many possible explanations for the sustaining of the powerful others scores may be that it is a reflection of the nature of the specific situation, that of being a hearing-impaired in a hearing world. Many hearing-impaired persons are reliant on hearing individuals to provide various forms of interpretive services. This distinction can also be demonstrated on a daily basis when one examines the avenues that are available to hearing persons but are limited to hearing-impaired individuals. Such examples include: listening to the radio; meeting new people and having a casual conversation; going to the movies and being able to follow the story line and being able to watch and make sense of any television show one chooses. Concomitantly, there exists a paucity of hearing-impaired leaders to serve as appropriate role models for hearing-impaired children and youth.

A second possible explanation may be found in examining the parenting practices of parents of hearing-impaired children. Research (Malkin, Freeman, & Hastings, 1976; Schlesinger & Meadow, 1972) has indicated that parents of the hearing-impaired children tend to be overprotective and limiting in the amount of freedom they allow their child. An investigation undertaken by Levenson (1973) has demonstrated a positive relationship between parental protectiveness and controlling behaviors to scores on the powerful others scale.

The findings that the participants did not demonstrate any changes in their orientation as measured by the Chance subscale may be an indication of appropriate adjustment. In view of the facts that the prevalence of a hearing impairment is estimated at .5 to .7% of the population (Gearheart & Weishahn, 1984) and of those, 50% are due to unknown causes or environmental factors (Nance & Sweeney, 1975), the potential of adhering to a philosophical perspective that gives credence to the variables of fate or luck is greatly increased. Another possible explanation may be found with an understanding that 90% of hearing-impaired children are born to hearing parents (Moores, 1987). With total communication only recently becoming an accepted practice, it is certain that many hearing-impaired children grew up on the periphery of the household communication process. Research undertaken by Levenson (1973) concluded that "subjects who had problems discerning what to expect from their parents had significantly more perceptions of the world as unordered--as controlled by fate or chance" (p.27).

Another consideration that is presented by Rotter (1975) and Levenson (1981) is that there is no justification to think in terms of typologies. Although people do speak of "internals" and "externals," it is important to remember that the scores are distributed along a continuum and that the range and mean for each sample are specific to that population. As stated by Levenson (1981), to be "external is not always undesirable, maladjusted or bad" (p. 17). Such perceptions may be accurate appraisals of the nature of specific situations or cultural sanctions and may promote effective and innovative strategies for interacting with the environment.

A final point of concern pertains to the implications of this study for professionals in the field of rehabilitation. The recent report to the President and the Congress of the United States entitled, Toward Equality: Education of the Deaf (1988), developed by the Commission on Education of the Deaf, reported that the majority of adults who are hearing impaired receive inadequate rehabilitation services. The Commission recommends that Congress authorize funds for the development of programs to meet the existent educational, psychological, vocational, and social needs of hearing impaired adults. It is suggested that action oriented programs such as the one described in this study be considered when the Rehabilitation Services Administration designs programs to meet the unique needs of adults who are hearing-impaired should such funds become available.

Table : Demographic Data for Subjects

Table : ANCOVA Comparing Experimental and Control Groups on the Levenson Locus of Control Internal Subscale

Table : ANCOVA Comparing Experimental and Control Groups on the Levenson Locus of Powerful Others Subscale

Table : ANCOVA Comparing Experimental and Control Groups on the Levenson Locus of Control Chance Subscale