Reframing parentification as fedakârlık: Turkish CODA adolescent experiences in collectivist culture
JOURNAL OF DEAF STUDIES AND DEAF EDUCATION, 2026 (SSCI, Scopus)
- Publication Type: Article / Article
- Publication Date: 2026
- Doi Number: 10.1093/jdsade/enag054
- Journal Name: JOURNAL OF DEAF STUDIES AND DEAF EDUCATION
- Journal Indexes: Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Scopus, Agricultural & Environmental Science Database, CINAHL, EBSCO Education Source, Education Abstracts, Educational research abstracts (ERA), EMBASE, ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), MEDLINE, MLA - Modern Language Association Database, Psycinfo, MLA International Bibliography, EBSCO Communication Source, Social Science Premium Collection (ProQuest), Biomedical Reference Collection: Corporate Edition (EBSCO), Communication Source (EBSCO), Education Collection (ProQuest), Education Source Ultimate (EBSCO), Health Research Premium Collection (ProQuest), Pharma Collection (ProQuest)
- Anadolu University Affiliated: Yes
Abstract
Responding to Palmer's call to dismantle deficit-based frameworks, this qualitative study examines how Turkish hearing children of deaf adults adolescents (ages 12-17, n = 20) navigate parentification. A mixed-positionality team analyzed semi-structured interviews via thematic analysis. Findings reveal participants reframe language brokering and caregiving not as Western narratives of "childhood loss" or "developmental burden" but as fedak & acirc;rl & imath;k (filial devotion) and h & uuml;rmet (filial piety), emphasizing accelerated maturation within a collectivist context. This reframing coexists with bicultural identity negotiations, peer exclusion, and heightened sensory awareness shaped by navigating silent versus auditory-dominant environments, while family support, especially from grandparents, serves as a key coping resource, interpreter shortages and structural audism intensify vulnerabilities. Building on Napier's reconceptualization of sign language brokering as a relational asset, this study extends scholarship to a non-Western context, advocating culturally responsive interventions that address systemic barriers and recognize parentification as a developmental resource.