The number of children who have received cochlear implants (CIs) has increased dramatically in the past two decades. In view of potential concerns about their psychosocial adjustment, our aim was to assess the effect of implants on the adolescents' psychosocial functioning among a group of 57 deaf adolescents with and without CIs, using published and validated measures completed by the adolescents themselves, their parents, and teachers. Adolescents with CI tended to be more hearing acculturated, whereas those without CI tended to be more Deaf acculturated. Despite some differences in background characteristics between the two groups, there were no differences between them on the psychosocial variables assessed in this study, regardless of the reporting sources. Rather than having a direct effect on the psychosocial outcomes assessed in this study, it is through the mediating effect of acculturation and school setting that CI status exerts an influence over many of this study's outcomes. Recommendations for future research are made in light of our findings.
Editor's Note: With this issue we begin a new section of HCR which is devoted to brief reports of research. This section is devoted to research which is designed to replicate previous work, papers which report new measures for which insufficient validity data are yet available, and studies which are meaningful but do not permit major advancement of communication theory. “Brief Reports” are held accountable for both conceptual and methodological adequacy and are reviewed by the regular HCR editorial board. Submission requires that the author provide a full‐length paper for editorial review and, should the paper be accepted for publication, provide copies of the full paper to HCR readers who request same. Submission of ‘Brief Reports’ is actively encouraged by the editor. For submission guidelines, see the Fall 1978 issue of HCR (vol. 5, pp. 2–3).
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