Eighty mother-infant dyads, evenly distributed among the four possible hearing status combinations, were videotaped during free play when infants were 12 months old and again when they were 18 months old. Pairs of trained observers evaluated interactive behaviors for mothers, infants, and dyads. At time 1, hearing mothers and deaf infants ranked lowest, hearing mothers and hearing infants ranked highest, with the two deaf-mother groups intermediate. At time 2, deaf mothers and hearing infants received more negative rankings, leading to concern for the effect of mismatched hearing status regardless of the functional capabilities of mothers and infants to communicate in a mutually comprehensible mode. Discussion focuses on possible explanations for the negative influence of hearing status differences.
Hearing mothers and fathers of 20 deaf or hard-of-hearing (D/HH) and 20 hearing 9-month-old infants completed the Parenting Stress Inventory (PSI) and a questionnaire tapping the Stress of Life Events (SLE). Their overall scores on the PSI were quite similar but subscale scores show that mothers were more likely than fathers to perceive their infants as 'distractible' and to report more negative spousal relationships. Mothers whose infants are D/HH report greater life stress compared to mothers of hearing infants, especially in relation to finances and to work. These results are discussed from the perspective of effective intervention.
Language, maternal responsiveness, and developmental play levels were investigated in 43 middle-class dyads at 9, 12, and 18 months: hearing child/hearing mother (hH), deaf child/deaf mother (dD), deaf child/hearing mother (dH). Group dH provides information about play when language is delayed and maternal responsiveness decreased. Group dD provides information on developmental effects of diminished audition. There were no 9-month group play differences. At 12 months, hH infants displayed more representational play than infants in either deaf group (p < .001). At 18 months, hH and dD children displayed more preplanned play than dH children (p = .01). At 12 and 18 months, language was associated only marginally with play levels. Maternal responsiveness was significantly associated with 18-month-olds' preplanned play (p = .01).
Interactions were observed in a day care center serving deaf and hearing children. Observations focused on eight children (two deaf with deaf parents, two deaf with hearing parents, two hearing with deaf parents and two hearing with hearing parents) between 2 and 3 years of age. Center classes included deaf and hearing teachers and all children were encouraged to sign. Deaf and hearing children alike frequently interacted with other children and teachers whose hearing status differed from their own. However, each group showed a stronger tendency to initiate communication with same hearing status peers. Hearing children displayed the ability to modify their communications modes to match the hearing status of their intended communication partner. Language ability, not hearing status, was associated with the frequency of communication experienced by each child.
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