Parenting Deaf Children: Exploring Relationships Between Resolution of Diagnosis, Parenting Styles and Morale, and Perceived Child Vulnerability

Abstract

Raising a deaf child can have significant impacts on parents’ wellbeing, their relationship with the deaf child, and their ability to parent effectively. Using an online survey, this study explored two questions: First, to examine whether hearing parents treat and perceive their deaf and hearing children differently while controlling for parent characteristics (including resolution of diagnosis), specifically in terms of parenting styles and perceived vulnerability. Second, whether hearing parents’ ability to resolve their feelings about their child’s hearing loss diagnosis was related to their parenting morale, and whether they perceived their deaf child as vulnerable. A total of 84 parents with a deaf child aged 5–12 years completed the survey, with 32 of those also reported about a second child without hearing loss in the same age range. They were asked to answer questions from the Reaction to Diagnosis Interview, and to complete several questionnaires addressing parenting morale, child vulnerability, and parenting styles. Findings suggest that unresolved feelings of diagnosis were linked to lower parenting morale and greater perception of child vulnerability. Sibling comparisons indicated that parents also reported a higher perceived child vulnerability score for the deaf child compared to the hearing sibling. No sibling differences were found regarding parenting styles. These findings suggest that the experience of having a deaf child can have a negative impact on hearing parents’ morale and perception of child vulnerability, particularly when parents remain unresolved about the diagnosis, highlighting the need for targeted supports and further research.

The process of acceptance and resilience of a mother with deaf child: Life history

“…Raising a deaf child can have a significant impact on the well-being of parents, their relationship with the deaf child, and their ability to parent effectively. Sealy et al (2023) have researched the parenting styles of deaf children exploring the relationship between diagnosis resolution, parenting style and spirit, and child vulnerability.…”

Level of Sign Language Between Parents and Students with Hearing Impairments

“…HI students also experience a lack of language input as they cannot access language like typical children, which affects language acquisition and other developments such as cognitive skills, social-emotional skills, school readiness, and academic outcomes (Hall et al, 2019). Studies on psychopathological development elucidate that HI students are at a higher risk of experiencing emotional, behavioral, and social problems compared to their typical peers (Sealy et al, 2023).…”

Deaf Disability Assessment Model

“…This shows that the teacher has not used the appropriate assessment model that shows objective data as it is because hearing loss in students seriously affects their quality of life (Li, et al, 2023). These findings imply that having a deaf kid might have a detrimental influence on parental morale and views of a child's fragility, particularly when parents are unclear about their diagnosis, emphasizing the need for tailored assistance (Sealy et al, 2023). According to Nuraini (2023) special schools (SLB) should be sufficiently established, with suitable facilities, infrastructure, equipment, and structures that are representative enough, staff are quite professional, and have strong institutional legality.…”