•  
  •  
 

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore factors influencing the well-being of parents who have children who are deaf or hard of hearing (DHH) and to compare their experiences to non-clinical samples.

Method: A cross-sectional online survey was used to collect data (N = 296).

Results: Data analyses revealed the majority of parents of children who are DHH were functioning similarly to or better than the non-clinical samples in our comparison and within the non-clinical range for the included measures. No relationship was found between factors related to child age or timing of services (age at diagnosis, time between diagnosis and amplification fitting, age fit with hearing technology, child’s current age) and parent psychosocial functioning.

Conclusions: While most parents are likely to be functioning well, knowing when a parent is experiencing challenges has important implications for clinical practice, including supporting parents in finding solutions when sub-optimal daily intervention practices are occurring. Audiologists can incorporate strategies to identify parents that may be experiencing challenges into their routine practice.

Share

COinS