A phenomenological study of the lived experience of deaf adults participating in Alcoholics Anonymous in the United States

Deaf people encounter obstacles when attempting to access services for substance abuse. There is a paucity of research and published articles on deaf people suffering with substance abuse disorders. Alcoholics Anonymous is an evidence-based, 12-step program with researched success for maintained sobriety. There has never been a qualitative transcendental phenomenological study reflecting the lived experience of deaf persons who abuse substances participating in Alcoholics Anonymous. Themes related to deaf adults participating in A.A. were discovered using the transcendental phenomenological method of Clark Moustakas. After the interviews were conducted, three themes developed from the data analysis and the essence of this phenomenon emerged using the commonalities among participants. Implications for interventions and future research are discussed.