Considering parental hearing status as a social determinant of deaf population health: Insights from experiences of the "dinner table syndrome"

Abstract

The influence of early language and communication experiences on lifelong health outcomes is receiving increased public health attention. Most deaf children have non-signing hearing parents, and are at risk for not experiencing fully accessible language environments, a possible factor underlying known deaf population health disparities. Childhood indirect family communication–such as spontaneous conversations and listening in the routine family environment (e.g. family meals, recreation, car rides)–is an important source of health-related contextual learning opportunities. The goal of this study was to assess the influence of parental hearing status on deaf people’s recalled access to childhood indirect family communication. We analyzed data from the Rochester Deaf Health Survey–2013 (n = 211 deaf adults) for associations between sociodemographic factors including parental hearing status, and recalled access to childhood indirect family communication. Parental hearing status predicted deaf adults’ recalled access to childhood indirect family communication (χ2 = 31.939, p < .001). The likelihood of deaf adults reporting “sometimes to never” for recalled comprehension of childhood family indirect communication increased by 17.6 times for those with hearing parents. No other sociodemographic or deaf-specific factors in this study predicted deaf adults’ access to childhood indirect family communication. This study finds that deaf people who have hearing parents were more likely to report limited access to contextual learning opportunities during childhood. Parental hearing status and early childhood language experiences, therefore, require further investigation as possible social determinants of health to develop interventions that improve lifelong health and social outcomes of the underserved deaf population.

Adverse Childhood Communication Experiences Associated With an Increased Risk of Chronic Diseases in Adults Who Are Deaf

“…One 2013 survey included a question concerning retrospective perception of adults who were DHH of how well they understood family conversations. 18 In a sample of 211 adults who answered this question, 81% (141 of 175) of respondents who had hearing parents and 18% (4 of 22) of respondents who had parents who were DHH reported lower levels of understanding indirect family conversations. Even when direct communication access is not obstructed (e.g., if parents sign adequately to a signing child who is DHH), missing out on incidental family conversations can occur when a child who is DHH has trouble understanding conversations that caregivers have with other family members.…”

Suicidal Behaviors and Help‐Seeking Attitudes Among Deaf and Hard‐of‐Hearing College Students

“…Research with D/HH persons found that social participation and feeling included in group conversations as well as being recognized and accepted as a deaf member in their environment were related to QoL (Kushalnagar et al, ). Research has also shown that having a deaf parent is associated with benefit to a deaf child (Hall, Smith, Sutter, DeWindt & Dye, ; Yoshinaga‐Itano, Sedey, Wiggin & Chung, ). Deaf mentor programs provide an alternative way to connect a family, comprised of hearing parents with a D/HH child, with a D/HH adult role model.…”

Current Research in Pragmatic Language Use Among Deaf and Hard of Hearing Children

“…40 A small number of studies have investigated pragmatic skills of DHH adolescents when conversing with more or less familiar peers and adults. The findings of these studies 33,43,44 suggest that although conversations between DHH adolescents and peers or adults are marked by unrepaired misunderstandings, communication appears more effective when interacting with someone familiar (eg, a parent or friend). This hypothesis is supported by Ibertsson et al, 39 who found that pairs of hearing and deaf teenagers with CIs engaged in productive conversations when they knew one another well, suggesting that joint communication skills in mixed DHH-hearing pairs can be developed over time.…”

“…More than 80% of deaf adults who have hearing parents report being left out of conversations with their hearing family members most of the time. 43…”