Feeling of Loneliness in Deaf Adolescents: the Effect of an Online Life Skills Program

Abstract

Abstract The aim of the current study was to investigate the effect of life skills training on the reduction of feeling of loneliness among deaf and hard of hearing adolescents.This study had a pretest-post test with control and experimental group design using convenience sampling. The Feelings of Loneliness Questionnaire developed by Dehshiri (1387) was filled in by 275 individuals who were joined in a special social network for the deaf. The age rang of the sample group was from 17 to 37. Thirty of them who had the lowest scores in feelings of loneliness were randomly assigned to two fifteen-person groups. The experimental group received online life skills-based education, while the control group received no intervention. The training was performed in ten 120- minutes sessions. The data were analyzed by ANCOVA and repeated measures test. The results indicated that the online life skills-based training program reduced feelings of loneliness caused by a lack of interaction with friends and family in deaf adolescents. According to the results of this study life skills are so important for deaf adolescents and paying attention to these skills is a social necessity through which the mental health of individuals with hearing impairment and deafness can be improved. In addition, regarding the effectiveness of online life skills-based education and considering the inaccessibility of conventional consultation for all of individuals with hearing impairment and deafness, online counseling and also online social, cognitive, and consultative rehabilitation can be used and is recommended in other domains.