Exploring Disability Identity Development in Adolescents with Hearing Impairment in Special Schools in Nigeria

This study explores the disability identity development process in adolescents with hearing impairment attending special schools in Nigeria, drawing on participants from schools in three geopolitical zones to capture regional diversity. Disability identity, understood as the integration of one's disability status into a coherent, positive sense of self, is an emerging area of research that moves beyond deficit models to examine how disabled individuals construct meaning and belonging from their experiences. For deaf and hard-of-hearing adolescents, identity development intersects with the question of Deaf cultural belonging and the negotiation of hearing and deaf worlds. Using a constructivist grounded theory design, the study conducts in-depth interviews with thirty adolescents with hearing impairment from special schools in Kano, Lagos, and Enugu. Interviews explore participants' self-perceptions, significant identity experiences, peer and family influences, and orientation toward disability. Grounded theory methods including theoretical sampling, constant comparative analysis, and memo writing are applied to develop a substantive theory of disability identity development among Nigerian deaf adolescents. The study offers an original Nigerian-contextualised contribution to disability identity theory, addressing the absence of African-centred perspectives in the existing literature. Findings are expected to generate a culturally grounded stage model of identity development with practical implications for school counselling and social-emotional support. Recommendations include incorporating disability identity affirmation into school counselling curricula. Keywords: disability identity, hearing impairment, adolescents, special schools, grounded theory.