Date of Award
5-2022
Degree Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts in Interpreting Studies and Communication Equity
Department
ASL & Interpreting
First Advisor
Justin Small
Department/School
ASL and Interpreting
Abstract
This study investigated whether coping strategies were part of the curriculum in various American Sign Language interpreter education programs (ASL IEPs). The researcher conducted a national survey and ten interviews with participants to assess their current coping strategies, where they had been learned, and whether their IEPs had prepared them to cope with the possibility of secondary traumatic stress (STS) and vicarious trauma (VT). The researcher utilized literature regarding risks of STS and VT in several settings for interpreters to position the gap of literature regarding coping strategies interpreters use. This study focused on graduates of IEPs because IEPs provide an appropriate environment in which to learn coping strategies. The study has found that interpreters are not being prepared with the skills to cope with STS or VT, and that graduates’ perceptions of the demand-control schema as a coping strategy do not align with its emphasis in interpreter education.
Recommended Citation
Teitt, Anna N.. (2022). The Presence of Coping Education in American Sign Language Interpreter Education Programs as Perceived by Graduates. Retrieved from Sophia, the St. Catherine University repository website: https://sophia.stkate.edu/maisce/50