Parent-Adolescent Attachment and Well-Being Among Chinese Hearing-Impaired Students: The Mediating Role of Resilience and the Moderating Role of Emotional and Behavioral Problems

Abstract

Although several studies have highlighted a significant association between parent-adolescent attachment and well-being in normal adolescents, studies exploring this relationship among hearing-impaired adolescents are scarce. The current study examined the association of parent-adolescent attachment with well-being and the underlying mechanism of this relationship among Chinese hearing-impaired students. A total of 512 hearing-impaired students from eight special education centers and schools (female: n = 223; mean age = 17.28 years) were recruited for this study and completed self-report measures of parent-adolescent attachment, resilience, emotional and behavioral problems, and well-being. The results found that for Chinese hearing-impaired students: (1) There was a significant positive correlation between parent-adolescent attachment and well-being. (2) Even after controlling for the effect of gender, parent-adolescent attachment was a significant predictor of well-being. (3) Resilience mediated the relationship between parent-adolescent attachment and well-being. Furthermore, emotional and behavioral problems moderated this relationship. These findings had broad implications in the field of well-being in hearing-impaired adolescents. It suggested that developing secure parent-adolescent attachment, improving resilience, and reducing emotional and behavioral problems could help improve the hearing-impaired students’ well-being.