An extensive survey of the literature examines five major etiologies - prenatal rubella, premature birth, complications of Rh factor, meningitis, and genetics - in terms of their relevance to deafness and other disabilities. Following this survey, results of a study of 1,468 deaf children to determine causes of secondary handicaps in deaf children and to describe the nature of these handicaps are reported. Intensively studied were those deafened by maternal rubella (141), meningitis (137), prematurity (257), erythroblastosis fetalis caused by Rh factor complications (45), and heredity (79). Independent variables were these five etiologies. Dependent variables measured were intelligence, educational achievement, psychological adjustment, behavioral evidence of brain damage, communication skills, hearing loss, and physical anomalies. Data are analyzed for each of the dependent variables, and for prevalency of etiologies and of multiple handicaps. Findings for each of the five etiological groups are then presented. General conclusions were that much behavioral variance among deaf children is not due to their hearing loss, but can be ascribed to brain damage resulting from the same cause as the deafness. This variance was in areas critical to academic learning, psychological adjustment, and physical health. (KW)