development of the communication profile hearing ...

Journal of Speech and Hearing Disorders, Volume 52, 129--143, May i987

DEVELOPMENT

OF T H E C O M M U N I C A T I O N HEARING IMPAIRED

PROFILE

FOR THE

MARILYN E. DEMOREST University of Maryland Baltimore County SUE ANN ERDMAN Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Washington, DC

The rehabilitative needs of hearing-impaired adults depend On the degree of communication handicap experienced and on many other factors (environmental, behavioral, emotional, and attitudinal) that contribute to communication problems. The Communication Profile for the Hearing Impaired (CPHI) is a 145-item self-assessment inventory for adults. Its 25 scales encompass four areas: Communication Performance, Communication Environment, Communication Strategies, and Personal Adjustment. The inventory was developed at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and pilot tested over a 3-year period on 827 patients who attended the Aural Rehabilitation Program at the Army Audiology and Speech Center. The rationale and methods used to develop the CPHI are discussed, and normative data for the Waiter Reed population are presented.

tion Program at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. This patient population consists of active-duty and retired military personnel who are issued hearing aids on the first day of the program and who remain for 8 or 9 days of group and individual activities. Demographic characteristics of the 827 patients who participated in Phases 2 and 3 of this research are given in Table 1. The sample was almost exclusively male and ranged in age from 20 to 70 years (M = 39.1, SD = 8.6). Patients came from both officer and enlisted ranks, and the distribution of educational levels was bim0dal, reflecting this diversity. Occupational specialties were also

The rehabilitative needs of hearing-impaired adults depend on the degree of communication handicap imposed by the hearing loss and on a multitude of other factors that can contribute to communication problems. Although many questionnaires and self-report inventories have been developed to assess hearing handicap, most of the existing instruments emphasize communication performance or communication effectiveness. 1 Some also include information about emotional reactions to hearing problems, but they do not systematically address the many environmental, behavioral, emotional, and attitudinal factors that enhance or detract from communication effectiveness. Identification of these factors and awareness of their effects on the communication of the hearing-impaired person can facilitate appropriate intervention and thereby enhance and expedite the rehabilitative process, The Communication Profile for the Hearing Impaired (CPHI) was designed to provide a systematic and comprehensive assessment of a broad range of communication problems. It was developed at Walter Reed Army Medical Center for use with patients in the Aural Rehabilitation Program at the Army Audiology and Speech Center. This article describes the rationale and empirical methods used to develop the inventory and presents data on its 25 scales, including descriptive statistics and internal consistency reliability, for the Walter Reed population. The inventory itself is presented in the Appendix.

Table 1. Demographic characteristics of patients in Phases 2 and 3 of CPHI development.

Variable

Category

Phase 2 Phase 3 Combined (N = 394) (N = 433) (N = 827)

Gender

Male Female

94.9 5.i

96.3 3.7

95.6 4.4

Age

20-29 30-39 40--49 50-59 60-70

14.2 41.0 34.4 9.4 1.0

11.5 40.2 36.5 9.3 2.5

12.9 40.6 35.5 9.4 1.7

Education