Abstract
ObjectiveSufficient self-esteem is extremely important for psychosocial functioning. It is hypothesized that hearing-impaired (HI) children have lower levels of self-esteem, because, among other things, they frequently experience lower language and communication skills. Therefore, the aim of this study was to compare HI children's self-esteem across different domains with those of normal hearing (NH) children and to investigate the influence of communication, type of education, and audiological characteristics.MethodsThis large (N = 252) retrospective, multicenter study consisted of two age- and gender-matched groups: 123 HI children and 129 NH controls (mean age = 11.8 years). Self-reports were used to measure self-esteem across four domains: perceived social acceptance by peers, perceived parental attention, perceived physical appearance, and global self-esteem.ResultsHI children experienced lower levels of self-esteem regarding peers and parents than NH controls. Particularly HI children who attended special education for the deaf were at risk, even after correcting for their language development and intelligence. Yet, levels of global self-esteem and self-esteem involving physical appearance in HI children equalled those of NH controls. Furthermore, younger age at implantation and longer duration of having cochlear implants (CIs) were related to higher levels of self-esteem.ConclusionHI children experience lower levels of self-esteem in the social domains. Yet, due to the heterogeneity of the HI population, there is high variability in levels of self-esteem.DiscussionClinicians must always be aware of the risk and protective factors related to self-esteem in order to help individual patients reach their full potential.
Highlights
Self-esteem refers to one’s general evaluation or appraisal of the self, including feelings of self-worth [1]
Individuals with higher levels of self-esteem are better able to cope with stressful life events [1], whereas lower levels of self-esteem are associated with more loneliness, peer rejection, aggression, delinquency, and psychopathology [2,3,4,5,6]
cochlear implants (CIs) recipients have been found to have levels of self-esteem that equal those of normal hearing (NH) children [12,13], which emphasizes the importance of adequate language development for self-esteem
Summary
Self-esteem refers to one’s general evaluation or appraisal of the self, including feelings of self-worth [1]. Besides an evaluation of the self, self-esteem denotes how one values oneself This basic appreciation of the self has effects on multiple dimensions in our lives, such as our friendships, our successes, and our academic career. One would assume that hearing-impaired (HI) individuals encounter more difficulties regarding their self-esteem because they often face multiple challenges, such as speech and language delays, communication problems, and less or no access to the sound-dominated world [7]. These problems could potentially harm HI children’s level of self-esteem, resulting in for example less stable friendships and more bullying [8]. CI recipients have been found to have levels of self-esteem that equal those of NH children [12,13], which emphasizes the importance of adequate language development for self-esteem
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