Quality of Life, family function and mental health of deaf and hard-of-hearing adolescents in mental health services in Norway - a pilot study

Abstract

Object: The main aim of this study was to gain a better understanding of Quality of Life, family functioning and mental health for Norwegian deaf and hard-of-hearing children and adolescents. Method: We used the Inventory of Life Quality for Children (ILC), McMaster Family Assessment Device (GFS) and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). These instruments were used to assess Quality of Life, family functioning, emotional and behavioural problems in deaf and hard-of-hearing (n= 20) and hearing Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (CAP) patients (n = 717) as well as in a hearing normative sample (n= 1032). Results: We found that Quality of Life and family functioning of deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) CAP patients were comparable to those of their hearing CAP peers. DHH CAP patients showed a non-significant tendency to report more emotional and behavioural difficulties than hearing CAP patients. Conclusion: Based on these results, Norwegian deaf and hard-of-hearing CAP patients score similarly to their hearing peers in CAP on measures of Quality of Life and family function, whereas there may be a tendency for DHH CAP patients to report more emotional and behavioural problems than hearing CAP patients. Due to the very small sample size more research is needed on the subject.