THE VALUE SYSTEM IN DEAF POLISH ADOLESCENTS

Adolescence is the core stage for the development of the value system, one of the most important determinants of the human identity. The issue discussed in this paper is the perception of the value system by the people with impaired hearing who constitute a cultural minority. Such assumption can be made based on the cross-cultural value survey conducted by S.H. Schwartz. The Schwartz’s approach was chosen in this research to measure the culture on individual level.Sixty-six deaf adolescent students from secondary residential schools aged between15 and 20 years (29 male, 37 female) and 93 hearing students from boarding middle schools aged between 15 and 17 years (39 male and 54 female) were tested by using the Schwartz Portrait Values Questionnaire.The results showed that the intergroup value system differences were modified by gender. Hearing adolescent males considered bene-volence, hedonism and stimulation as more important than female adolescents did. In the deaf subgroup, the females valued security, power and achievement more than males. The mode of communication within the family had only one significant effect: the use of signing language implies significantly higher level of conformity in comparison to the people who communicate verbally.