Detection of behavioural and emotional problems in deaf children and adolescents: comparison of two rating scales

Abstract

The aim of this study was to establish rates of behavioural and emotional problems, and of social maladjustment, in a population of deaf children, particularly in relation to different methods of communication. The parents of 84 children who attended two schools for the deaf took part. They completed the parents' checklist (PCL), a behaviour rating scale for deaf children, and the Child Behaviour Checklist (CBCL), a measure widely used in the general population. The two instruments were significantly correlated on the severity of behavioural and emotional problems, but their previously established cut-off scores detected different rates of possible clinical cases, i.e. children with mental health disorders. According to the CBCL, 40% of children were within the clinical range, and 82% were socially dysfunctional compared with the general population. The PCL identified a much higher percentage (77%) of caseness. Behavioural and emotional problems were significantly higher in Asian children. Although all subjects used sign language, the additional use of speech, which may indicate increased hearing ability, had a protective effect for adolescents. The findings are discussed in relation to the validation of the instruments and the development of intervention programmes for deaf children.

Psychopathology and Its Risk and Protective Factors in Hearing-Impaired Children and Adolescents

“…All studies were published in peerreviewed journals and were assessed for their level of evidence. In line with the guidelines of the Cochrane Collaboration, 19 the included studies had recommendation B (cohort or case-control study), except for 1 study by Vostanis et al 7 that had recommendation C (caseseries study). Because of differences in outcomes when examining different study samples, the 18 included studies on specific psychopathological symptoms were grouped based on the study sample and recapitulated in Table 1 (community-based samples), Table 2 (samples with children attending special schools and/or profoundly HI children), and …”

Mental health in children with severe hearing impairment

“…Hindley 1997;Van Eldik 2004) show a higher incidence and prevalence of mental health problems in deaf children compared with their hearing counterparts. Specifically, emotional and behavioural problems seem to be twice as common among deaf children (Vostanis 1997). Neurodevelopmental disorders appear to have a different prevalence: the incidence of ADHD in children with inherited deafness is the same as in their hearing counterparts but higher than in children with non-inherited deafness (Hindley 1998).…”

The Cognition and Behaviour of Children with Cochlear Implants, Children with Hearing Aids and Their Hearing Peers: A Comparison

“…Within the literature on behavioural and emotional problems in hearing impaired children, the reported rates of psychiatric disorders are wide ranging. Using a London sample, Hindley et al [1994] reported that 43-50.3% of children with hearing impairments had behavioural problems or psychiatric disorders compared to 40-77% reported by Vostantis et al [1997] using a Birmingham sample. The London Health Observatory [2001] reported the prevalence of mild behavioural disorders in hearing children to be 15,000/100,000, moderate disorders to be 7,000/100,000 and severe disorders to be 1,850/100,000.…”