Developing Communication Skills and Social Adjustment in Deaf Students: The Effect of Role-Playing Activities

Deafness can impact a student's life in various ways, including social adjustment, and negatively affect their flexibility. This study aimed to determine the effectiveness of teaching role-playing methods on positive and negative affect and social adjustment in deaf students.

The present study employed a quasi-experimental pretest-posttest control group design. The target population comprised all deaf students between the ages of 14 and 18 enrolled in exceptional high schools in Ahvaz, Iran, during the 2023 academic year. Thirty participants were recruited through a convenience sampling method, and assigned to either the experimental or control group using random allocation (n=15 per group). The students completed the Scale of Positive and Negative Experience (SPANE) and the Bell Adjustment Inventory (BAI) at the pretest and posttest (two and a half months later). The experimental group received role-playing training in ten 90-minute sessions. The data were analyzed using the ANCOVA test.

The role-playing training group showed a statistically significant increase in positive affect from pretest (11.27±1.84) to posttest (18.60±2.11) (P=0.001). In contrast, the control group did not show a significant change in positive affect scores (10.32±1.06 at pretest; 11.14±1.66 at posttest). The role-playing training group exhibited a significant decrease in negative affect scores from pretest (22.27±3.08) to posttest (15.60±2.96) (P=0.001). The control group did not show a statistically significant change in negative affect (20.32±3.12 at pretest; 21.71±2.95 at posttest). The role-playing training group showed a statistically significant increase in social adjustment from pretest (11.27±1.84) to posttest (18.60±2.11) (P=0.001). The role-playing training group showed a statistically significant increase in social adjustment from pretest (40.87±5.21 at pretest; 53.15±7.00 at posttest; P=0.001). There was a statistically significant difference between the groups in the change of negative affect, positive affect, and social adjustment scores (P=0.001).

Role-playing training can be an effective intervention for improving the emotional well-being and social adjustment of deaf students. The observed reduction in negative affect and improvement in positive affect suggest that interventions focusing on role-playing methods can effectively address emotional challenges faced by deaf students.