title: Associations between parental hearing impairment and children's mental health: Results from the Nord-Trøndelag Health Study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Some previous studies indicate that parental hearing loss may have negative consequences in the parent-child relationship. However, most of these studies are qualitative or have apparent methodological shortcomings.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  This study is the first of its kind conducted in a large population-based sample with audiometrically measured hearing loss aimed at investigating the extent to which parental hearing loss affects adolescents' mental health.
  
  
  METHODS
  Questionnaires were administered to the adult (>19 years) and adolescent (age 13-19 years) population of Nord-Trøndelag county, Norway (1995-97), which collected information on mental and somatic health, including hearing loss. For adults participating in the study, pure tone audiometry tests were also administered. In total, 4047 fathers and 4785 mothers with self-reported hearing loss data were identified. The corresponding numbers with measured hearing loss data included 4079 fathers and 4861 mothers. The associations between the degrees of self-reported or measured parental hearing loss and the mental health of their adolescent, measured by Hopkins Symptom Check List (SCL) 5, were estimated using generalized estimating equations. After adjusting for several covariates, the mental health symptoms of adolescents were compared by parental hearing loss (i.e., with versus without hearing loss).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Adolescents whose mothers had severe measured or self-reported hearing loss had significantly worse mental health than their counterparts whose mothers did not have a hearing loss. No corresponding effects were found in the adolescents whose mothers had only a slight/moderate hearing loss, neither measured nor self-reported. Paternal slight/moderate self-reported hearing loss was associated with a small significant reduction of mental health in the adolescents, although attenuated when adjusting for paternal distress. No significant effects were detected in the adolescents whose fathers had measured hearing loss.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Severe maternal hearing loss is associated with significantly increased adolescent distress.
authors.affiliation: Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Division of Mental Health, PO Box 4404, Nydalen, N-0403 Oslo, Norway. Electronic address: ingrid.borren@fhi.no.
authors.forename: Ingrid
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Borren
authors.affiliation: Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Division of Mental Health, PO Box 4404, Nydalen, N-0403 Oslo, Norway.
authors.forename: Kristian
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tambs
authors.affiliation: Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Division of Mental Health, PO Box 4404, Nydalen, N-0403 Oslo, Norway.
authors.forename: Kristin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Gustavson
authors.affiliation: Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Division of Mental Health, PO Box 4404, Nydalen, N-0403 Oslo, Norway.
authors.forename: Helga
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ask
authors.affiliation: Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Division of Mental Health, PO Box 4404, Nydalen, N-0403 Oslo, Norway.
authors.forename: Bo
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Engdahl
authors.affiliation: Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Division of Mental Health, PO Box 4404, Nydalen, N-0403 Oslo, Norway; Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, PO Box 1094, Blindern, N-0317 Oslo, Norway.
authors.forename: Jon Martin
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Sundet
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D016241:Child of Impaired Parents / Q000523:psychology*; D005220:Fathers / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008603:Mental Health / Q000592:standards*; D009035:Mothers / Q000523:psychology; D009664:Norway / Q000453:epidemiology; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D019986:Persons with Hearing Disabilities; D057566:Self Report; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: Adolescents; Audiometry; Hearing impairment; Mental health; Norway; Parents; Population-based