Psychological resilience in deaf or hard-of-hearing students and associated factors: a cross-sectional study

Abstract

Aim Mental health in deaf and hard-of-hearing (D/HH) students is a severe issue. The level of psychological resilience would buffer the negative effect of mental illness. We aimed to examine the current situation of psychological resilience in D/HH students and identify the associated factors in China. Design A cross-sectional study. Methods Using multi-stage sampling, we conveniently selected two special education colleges tailored for D/HH students and randomly selected three classrooms from each grade in each college with clustering sampling. Psychological resilience was measured by the Connor - Davidson Resilience Scale. Univariate and multivariate linear regression models were applied to identify multiple levels of associated factors including individual, family, peer and social environmental factors. Results D/HH students had a middle level of psychological resilience. The results in multivariate linear regression model showed that D/HH students with leadership experience, acquired deafness, very good lip-reading ability, family annual income 120000 RMB or above, more D/HH friends or both D/HH and hearing friends, more social support demonstrated better psychological resilience. Conclusions Our study has important implications for disability nursing. The findings would inform practice and policy to identify the D/HH students who are at greater risk and develop effective intervention strategies to improve the psychological resilience and mental health in this marginal population. Patient or Public Contribution There is no patient or public contribution.