Alcohol usage is extremely common in the United States. Its abuse, however, is also the cause of considerable social harm. Alcoholism is a chronic, progressive disease resulting from persistent and excessive drinking. In addition to health problems, alcoholic behavior can result in familial, vocational, and legal difficulties. In recent years, the problem of alcoholism among the disabled has received increasing attention. More specifically, hearing-impaired women may be particularly vulnerable to the drug's adverse effects.
Tyas & Rush (1993) define a handicapped person as "anyone with a physical or mental disability that limits substantially one or more of such major life activities as walking, seeing, hearing, speaking, working, or learning" (Tyas & Rush, 1993, pp. 275-281). The susceptiblity of the disabled to alcohol-related problems has been a subject of considerable debate. Whether depression or low self-esteem within this population contributes to substance abuse remains unknown. At present, only sparse prevalence data exist (Moore & Polsgrove, 1991, pp. 65-90). This limited research, however, does suggest that substance abuse among the disabled is at least as prevalent as in the general population. Furthermore, among certain disabled populations, this abuse may merit increased therapeutic focus.
One group in particular which may be adversely affected by alcohol abuse consists of hearing-impaired women. Although no reliable data exist on the number of deaf persons in the United States, the hearing-impaired may comprise as much as 9 percent of the general population. This estimate, therefore, makes deafness the nation's single most chronic physical disability. Likewise, the prevalence of prelingual--i.e., that which occurs before three years of age--deafness is also difficult to determine. One national survey conducted in 1989 identified over 46,000 hearing-impaired children (Steinberg, 1991, pp. 380...