Hearing loss is a low-incidence disability, affecting 1 to 6 per 1,000 live births. Until recently, hearing loss was not diagnosed until 2 years of age or later. In the late 1990s, a push began for Universal Newborn Hearing Screening: the ultimate goal was that every newborn's hearing would be tested before leaving the hospital.Prior to widespread implementation of UNHS, some researchers found that hearing parents of deaf children had higher stress and atypical parent-infant interactions. More recent research, focused on parents of infants diagnosed through UNHS, is inconsistent. Some researchers have found that parents of deaf and hard-of-hearing (d/hh) children have significantly more stress than parents of hearing infants; however, some researchers have not found these differences.Because increased stress is linked to impaired parent-infant bonding, researchers have made conclusions about bonding based on assessments of stress. The purpose of the current study was to compare the bonding of hearing mothers to d/hh infants to hearing mothers of hearing infants. A second aspect was to assess the needs of mothers of d/hh infants and to evaluate, from mothers' perspectives, how early-intervention services could be improved.Results from the current study show that mothers of d/hh infants were not bonding abnormally. In addition, the bonding of hearing mothers to d/hh infants is not significantly different from the bonding of hearing mothers to hearing infants. On the Postpartum Bonding Questionnaire (PBQ), mothers of hearing infants were significantly more likely to feel as if their babies cried too much. Interview results show that all mothers were worried about their children's future; however, mothers of d/hh babies had more specific worries, including those related to communication development. In addition, mothers discussed their experiences with early intervention and their valued qualities in an early-intervention provider.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:arizona.edu/oai:arizona.openrepository.com:10150/195604 |
| Date | January 2009 |
| Creators | Ammerman, Sarah |
| Contributors | Antia, Shirin D., Antia, Shirin D., Erin, Jane, Reichman, Julie, Umbreit, John |
| Publisher | The University of Arizona. |
| Source Sets | University of Arizona |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text, Electronic Dissertation |
| Rights | Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author. |
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