M. Cappelli et al., SOCIAL-DEVELOPMENT OF CHILDREN WITH HEARING IMPAIRMENTS WHO ARE INTEGRATED INTO GENERAL-EDUCATION CLASSROOMS, The Volta review, 97(3), 1995, pp. 197-208
The impact of hearing losses on children's psychosocial development ha
s not been well examined despite evidence that these children may be p
sychosocially at risk. In addition, little information is available ab
out the psychosocial development of hearing-impaired children who are
taught oral communication and integrated into general education classr
ooms. The psychosocial functioning of 23 hearing-impaired children mat
ched on sen and grade with class peers was evaluated using sociometric
assessments and self-report measures of social anxiety, knowledge, an
d self-competence. The results indicate that children with hearing imp
airments are more likely to be rejected by their peers than are normal
ly hearing children. Age was the best predictor of rejection, with you
nger children experiencing lower social acceptance as compared to olde
r children. The results suggest a need for early social skills interve
ntion to enhance friendships at earlier ages.