title: A comparative study of psychosocial development in children who receive cochlear implants.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study assessed self-reported quality of life of children with a cochlear implant (CI), comparing results with two published reports from the past decade.
  
  
  METHODS
  Participants included 33 pediatric CI recipients with a mean age of 10.12 years (SD = 3.59), mean implantation age of 1.36 years (SD = 0.46), and mean CI experience of 6.23 years (SD = 1.75). Children in all three studies completed a self-report quality-of-life questionnaire that included seven benefit and six problem items, rated on a 5-point Likert scale.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Outcomes revealed agreement across studies in overall benefit and problem ratings. Environmental awareness and frustration reduction were the most and least positively rated outcomes, respectively. Items contributing to overall ratings differed across studies. Current CI recipients rated speech production, making new friends, and understanding speech more positively and taking extra care of the device more negatively than previous generations of pediatric CI users.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Overall, benefits outweigh problems of the device, according to children using CI. Differences in issues motivating self-report ratings reflect changes in CI candidacy, technology, and social participation over the past decade. These findings emphasize the need for clinicians to address not only communication needs, but also quality-of-life issues to optimize outcomes in children using CI.
authors: Dallas Cochlear Implant Program, Dallas, TX, USA; University of Texas at Dallas Callier Advanced Hearing Research Center, Dallas, TX, USA.
authors: Andrea D
authors: AD
authors: Warner-Czyz
authors: Betty
authors: B
authors: Loy
authors: Peter S
authors: PS
authors: Roland
authors: Emily A
authors: EA
authors: Tobey
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D041923:Adolescent Development; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D019929:Cochlear Implantation / Q000523:psychology* / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D003054:Cochlear Implants / Q000523:psychology*; D003638:Deafness / Q000523:psychology* / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007804:Language Development; D008297:Male; D010553:Personality Development; D011788:Quality of Life; D012919:Social Behavior; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult