The Horrors of being Deaf in Prison - Research Paper Example

Contrary to the misconception back in 1960s, it is wrong to believe that deaf individuals to have more capability of committing violent crimes and sexual deviances simply because several studies revealed that not all deaf individuals will aggressively respond to social isolation or minimal communication to other people (Young, Monteiro, & Ridgeway, 2000; Vernon & Greenberg, 1999). Likewise, Miller, Vernon, & Capella (2005) noted that there were several authors who over-represented the number of inmates with hearing loss that were held prisoners in country jails or the state prison cells (Zingeser, 1999; Jensema, 1990).

The authors also considered the significance of the research topic. Upon investigating the previous research studies that were conducted by other researchers concerning the deaf offenders (Miller & Vernon, 2002; Young, Monteiro, & Ridgeway, 2000; Vernon & Greenberg, 1999), the authors strongly suggested the need to compare and contrast the degree and types of violent offenses that were made by the deaf and hearing prison population because of the high incidence of psychiatric misdiagnoses due to lack of familiarity with deafness.

According to Miller, Vernon, & Capella (2005), there were quite a lot of previously available research studies that carefully examines the different patterns behind the offending behaviors made by deaf individuals and those without hearing problems. However, most of these studies were conducted using limited sample sizes which could somehow distort the actual research findings and analysis. As part of increasing the accuracy of the research study findings and analysis, the authors examined 99 deaf inmates with severe-to-profound hearing loss among the total of 133,680 inmates throughout the state of Texas back in 2001 (Miller, Vernon, & Capella, 2005).

Review of Literature In any types of research study, the authors should provide a clear literature review that clearly identify and compare the different types of criminal and non-criminal offenses made by prisoners with and without hearing problems, discuss how the variables and key terms are clearly defined, and examine the research strategies that