PSYCHOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF CHILD COCHLEAR IMPLANT CANDIDATES AND CHILDREN WITH HEARING IMPAIRMENTS

Objective: To describe the psychological status of deaf children with hearing parents who were seeking a cochlear implant and to compare the m with deaf children with hearing parents who were not seeking a cochl ear implant. Design: A sample of children consecutively referred for a cochlear implant at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics was contrasted on a number of standardized psychological measures with a c ohort of children from Boys Town National Research Hospital, who had h earing impairments and whose families had not sought a cochlear implan t. Results: Although the comparison group evidenced more externalizing and social problems than the implant group, the means of both groups fell well within the normal range. Similarly, although mothers of the implant group rated their child's home as characterized by more positi ve and supportive interactions than did mothers of the children in the comparison group, both group means were well within the average range . On measures of intelligence, the two groups also did not differ. Con clusion: Overall, the study indicated that children with hearing impai rments and their families who were seeking cochlear implants are not s ignificantly different from children with hearing impairments whose pa rents were not seeking a cochlear implant. The results provided no sup port for the notion that children with hearing impairments from famili es seeking a cochlear implants for their child evidence more behaviora l deviance than children with hearing impairments whose parents have n ot sought an implant.